KAKAMMPI News

Philippine diplomatic and labor officials will hold an outreach program in two areas in the United Arab Emirates this weekend to cut down the large number of applicants for travel documents. An 18-member team from the Philippine Consulate General and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai will hold the program in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah on Saturday. “The outreach program will help reduce this number as applicants from RAK and Fujairah will not have to queue up at the Consulate," Consul General Benito Valeriano said in an article posted on UAE news site Khaleej Times Friday. He said the mission will cater to Filipino applicants queuing up at the consulate for affidavits and e-passports. Valeriano said the outreach program will serve the Filipino Community in Ras Al Khaimah in the morning and in Fujairah in the afternoon. Applicants for notarized affidavits and e-passport had gone up to an average of 300 and 200 daily, he noted. “Many of the staff have had a hectic...

Philippine diplomatic and labor officials will hold an outreach program in two areas in the United Arab Emirates this weekend to cut down the large number of applicants for travel documents. An 18-member team from the Philippine Consulate General and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai will hold the program in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah on Saturday. “The outreach program will help reduce this number as applicants from RAK and Fujairah will not have to queue up at the Consulate," Consul General Benito Valeriano said in an article posted on UAE news site Khaleej Times Friday. He said the mission will cater to Filipino applicants queuing up at the consulate for affidavits and e-passports. Valeriano said the outreach program will serve the Filipino Community in Ras Al Khaimah in the morning and in Fujairah in the afternoon. Applicants for notarized affidavits and e-passport had gone up to an average of 300 and 200 daily, he noted. “Many of the staff have had a hectic...

A Filipina hairdresser faced a court in Dubai last Thursday for allegedly forcing two women into prostitution after luring them to the United Arab Emirates. The 33-year-old Filipina was accused of human trafficking before the Court of First Instance, news site Khaleej Times reported Friday. One of the victims, a 25-year-old Filipina, told prosecutors the woman offered her a job as a saleslady in a supermarket in Dubai and demanded Dh6,000 (P71,132) as visa fee, flight ticket charge and housing cost. When the complainant could not pay the amount, the defendant allegedly agreed to shoulder the cost but on the condition that the complainant would pay it back. Last April 23, the defendant and a Filipino man met the complainant at the Dubai International Airport and took her to the defendant’s apartment in Muraqqabat. “There, she told me that I should pay her Dh20,000 (P237,108) as flight ticket charge, visa fee and rent for staying with her," the complainant said. When she told the de...

One of two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who escaped from their employers in Jordan is due to return home this Sunday. Melith Ante, 27, is due to arrive with other OFWs on Sunday, her mother Berlita said in an article on news site Visayan Daily Star Friday. But Melith's sister Lenen, 25, is reportedly still en route to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Amman, Jordan, Mrs. Ante said. She said Lenen was rescued on Oct. 4 and was admitted to a hospital for a checkup. The elder Ante called anew for justice and settlement for the moral and financial damages her daughters incurred during their ordeal. Melith escaped from her employer after an attempted rape, and sought help at the Mactav Recruiting Manpower Domestic Worker. She stayed there for two days without food and was taken into custody by the Philippine Embassy. Mrs. Ante said her daughters were recruited for janitorial jobs by a friend who worked in a city government. Berlita said she was asked to pay P11,000 but receive...

Two of the 12 overseas Filipino workers arrested for taking part in a religious activity in Saudi Arabia criticized the Philippine embassy for refusing to sign the "kafala" or written guarantee for their release. One of the OFWs, an engineer, said the embassy promised to sign the written guarantee for them but never did. "We had to depend on our respective employers for our release. By 3 a.m. on Saturday, the police gave us back our iqamas," the OFW, who is also a local community leader, said in an article posted on Arab News Friday. “There were assurances that the Philippine Embassy would sign a kafala for us, but it never came," he added. Another OFW said that while they are thankful for the embassy's show of concern, they were "helpless" as far as the kafala was concerned. “We are thankful to the two officials because they showed concern for us, except that they were helpless as far as the issuance of a kafala was concerned," said the seco...

At least 84 Filipina cleaners have been living in misery since being abandoned by their employer without salary, food, water and electricity at a home in the United Arab Emirates. While the local Filipino community has extended some help, the Filipina cleaners are also seeking redress from labor officials in Dubai as well as help from doctors. “We welcome any Filipino doctor who will come and check our health. Many have symptoms of hypertension due to the depressing situation, breathing difficulties, asthma, skin rashes, cough and cold. We are sleeping on the rooftop where we can get fresh air," Mary Grace Teneros said in an article posted Sunday on UAE news site Khaleej Times. Teneros was one of the first four cleaners who filed a suit before the Dubai court after they found out they were illegally brought there. For now, leaders of the Filipino community have helped keep up the spirits of the stranded Filipina workers and have brought them food, medicines, and toiletries. Roach ...

Iniwan nila ang glamoroso at maingay na mundo ng showbizness upang makipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa at makapagsimula ng bagong buhay. Sa episode ng OFW Diaries hosted by Kara David nitong Biyernes, ikinuwento nina Julio Diaz at Bernardo Bernando ang kanilang naging karanasan bilang mga overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Dekado 80 nang sumikat si Julio sa industriya ng showbiz bilang dramatic actor. Sa husay niya sa pag-arte, dalawang Best Actor Award na kanyang naiuwi. Ngunit matapos makagawa ng mahigit 60 pelikula, unti-unti nang nawala ang ningning ng bituin ni Julio, na nagmarka sa ginawa niyang pelikula tungkol sa buhay ng bayaning si “Macario Sakay." “During that time kasi nandito ako sa bansa natin, siyempre medyo bumaba na nang bumaba yung career ko, bumaba na yung marketing value ko rito as an actor, so sabi ko hindi ako puwedeng titigil lang dito para lang sa isang bagay na para bang maghihintay," kuwento ni Julio sa OFW Diaries. Taong 2002 nang lumipad si Julio sa Aus...