KAKAMMPI News

ROY C. MABASA September 5, 2011, 6:50pm MANILA, Philippines — About 1,000 nurses are needed to fill vacant positions in at least 12 military hospitals in the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), recruitment agencies based in Manila announced. Representatives from the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA), Al Hada Hospital, and King Khalid Military City Hospital-Hafr Al Batin are also slated to visit the country by mid-September to interview some 300 Filipinos for work as nurses, medical technologists, dental surgery assistants, phlebotomists, CSSD and other allied medical positions. The deployment of Filipino nurses to Saudi Arabia has risen from 5,926 in 2004 to 9,956 in 2009. It declined slightly in 2010 with 8,771 nurses. This year, salaries of nurses in military hospitals in Saudi are projected to increase by 15 to 20 percent. The LBS Recruitment Solutions Inc. announced that hospitals in Jeddah need experienced nurses in specialty and clinical wards with at least two ye...

(Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times, in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line.) http://www.preda.org/main/archives/2011/r11091401.html It’s back to the dark ages for the hysterical tabloid press in Metro Manila where the bellowing newscasters and commentators are condemning street children and children in conflict with the law as criminals. The most strident commentators call for the children to be charged and jailed and reduce the age of criminal liability to 12 years old or younger. They demand that the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act be changed. This act, Republic Act 9344 is a landmark legislation of compassion that seeks to restore the deprived life of children in conflict with the law. It says that children younger than 15 have an alternative to harsh, cruel prison life where enough of them have been raped, abused, beaten and starved in sub-human conditions. They can be helped, given a chance of an education and rehabilitation through meeting ...

The Philippine government is considering Damascus and Aleppo in Syria as relatively secure areas where Filipinos seeking repatriation can be picked up and brought to Manila. In a radio interview on Wednesday, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said there are places in Syria that are relatively secure from violence, at least for now. "Ang mga protest and violence, karahasan, ito hindi naman sa... buong Syria, may pockets lang. So may safe places like for example Damascus at Aleppo, there have been (reports) that these are still very secure places for our OFWs. "So sa mga ganoong lugar pwede magtipon-tipon at later on kung maari sila dalhin sa place where they can be repatriated," Hernandez said over radio dzRH. (Protests and violence are not everywhere, at least for now. There are still safe places for our OFWs, including Damascus and Aleppo. Those who wish to avail of voluntary repatriation may want to gather there for now.) In the sa...

The Philippines imposed a deployment ban to Syria as hostilities there continue to escalate, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Tuesday. POEA administrator Carlos Cao said they will temporarily stop the deployment of overseas Filipino workers there until the situation there improves. “Kapag ang level three is confirmed all over the country, banned ang deployment — both ng balik-manggagawa at new hires," he said in an interview with reporters. Violence in Syria continues as anti-government protesters are demanding for the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, to step down. — JE, GMA News

A Filipino dentist practicing on Harley Street in London’s high-end medical district is being haled to court for allegedly duping her fellow Filipinos to land a job in the United Kingdom. Dr. Ressie Reyes Macaraeg, who runs Ocean Implants & Cosmetic Dentistry and Ocean Care Recruitment, is at the center of a brewing scandal after at least three Filipinos complained of her alleged dishonest operations. Every applicant paid £4,000 (P277,171) to Macaraeg to process their papers, but they never got the certificates of sponsorship (COS) they were promised, according to Balita Pinoy. A COS is needed for work permit applications, which, in turn, are needed to apply for a visa to either enter or remain in the UK. Balita Pinoy said many of her supposed clients are facing the prospect of being illegal immigrants as their original visas are about to lapse. Macaraeg disputes fault While Macaraeg admitted she owed the money claimed, she disputed being at fault. She said she is...

Almost a year after the Manila hostage tragedy, two survivors and a relative of a fatality are seeking compensation from the Philippine government. Survivors Chan Kwok-chu and Yik Siu-ling applied for legal aid to pursue their claim, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported on Thursday. The two survivors, together with Tse Che-kin — brother of slain tour guide Masa Tse — are planning to go to the Philippines later this month to meet with some government officials, the RTHK report said. A separate report on Hong Kong’s "The Standard" on Friday said the three are planning to go to Manila August 21, two days before the first anniversary of the tragedy on August 23. On Wednesday, the group sent a letter to Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen seeking the help of the Hong Kong government to settle the incident through diplomatic channels, the report said. However, a spokesman said the Chief Executive's Office is not in a position to intervene because it is a ...

Amid persistent reports of "premature" terminations in Saudi Arabia, Philippine officials there advised overseas Filipino workers in the Kingdom to report terminations "without valid cause" to the Philippine Embassy. The Embassy particularly urged OFWs who receive questionable termination notices to get in touch with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) nearest their place of work (Riyadh, Jeddah and al-Khobar). "Amid persistent reports on the termination of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia, Filipino workers who receive termination notices from their employers or who have been terminated without valid cause are advised to get in touch with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) nearest their place of work (Riyadh, Jeddah and al-Khobar). POLO officers will provide the necessary assistance to the complainants," the Embassy said in an advisory posted on its website. The embassy also urged the Filipino community to regularly visit the Philippine Em...