KAKAMMPI News

THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) recently signed an agreement with SM Supermalls to put up  PhilHealth Express  offices inside their SM malls in Manila, Pampanga, and Cebu City. The move will further bring PhilHealth services closer to its members and would-be-members. The PhilHealth Express shall be open seven days a week except during regular holidays in accordance with mall hours and will be on hand to generate PhilHealth Identification Number and Member Data Record; facilitate member data amendment; eligibility checking; and respond to walk-in inquiries. It shall also receive premiums from members and collection reports from employers such as ER2 and RF1 of at most five employees.

15 August 2013 - In view of the escalating civil unrest and insecurity as well as the declaration of a month-long State of Emergency in Egypt, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario has, upon the recommendation of the Philippine Ambassador in Cairo, raised crisis in that country to alert level 3 this morning. Alert level 3 entails the voluntary repatriation of Filipinos in Egypt. The deployment of new workers, as well as the return to Egypt of vacationing workers, spouses of Egyptian nationals, Islamic University students and their dependents, is likewise suspended. Secretary del Rosario has instructed the Embassy in Cairo to assist in the repatriation of Filipinos who wish to return to the Philippines. There are around 6,000 Filipinos in Egypt.  END

After being stranded off the coast of Malta with no fuel and only limited supplies, the 21 Pinoy seafarers of the cargo ship A Ladybug will  be the repatriated by the Philippine government, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). In a news release, the DFA said no exact date has been given on the seafarers' repatriation. However, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Virgilio A. Reyes Jr. said they have provided assistance to the stranded mariners through two members of the Philippine Embassy in Rome. "They were assured of the government’s continued support and assistance in the resolution of their current situation, primarily the payment of their wages," the DFA said. "The Embassy expressed appreciation for the assistance extended by the Maltese government, the International Transport Workers’ Federation in Malta (ITF-Malta) and the KShipping Company of Mr. Kevin Attard," it added. Maltese port authorities provided the vessel fuel to move to its waters, to whic...

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday urged Filipinos in Egypt to stay in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Cairo and take needed precautions amid growing unrest there. Binay, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino worker concerns, said the Philippine government is ready to provide them the needed help. "I urge our kababayans in Egypt to take all the necessary precautions and to immediately get in touch with the Philippine embassy in Cairo to receive instructions. I would like to assure our kababayans and their relatives here that  the Philippine government is prepared to provide the needed assistance ," he said in a post on his Facebook page. He also urged Filipinos to pray for the safety of the OFWs in Egypt, and for peace to return to the country. "I ask everyone to pray for their safety and for peace to reign in Egypt," he said. Earlier on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs raised the crisis alert level in Egypt to level 3. This w...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration today announced that overseas workers from Samar and Leyte who are returning to their respective jobsites may get their exit clearance at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said he instructed the POEA Labor Assistance Centers (LAC) at NAIA Terminal 1, 2, and 3 to issue balikmanggagawa overseas employment certificates (OEC) to OFWs who can show proof or documents that they are residents of Leyte or Samar and they are returning to the same employer. Meanwhile, Cacdac said POEA has opened a separate counter for OFWs from Samar and Leyte at its office in Ortigas for those who are not leaving on the same day that their OECs are processed. The POEA regional satellite office in Tacloban City has started operating and reported to have processed four balik-manggagawa yesterday (November 26), its first clients since that fateful November 8th, he added. Cacdac also reminded other OFWs retur...

Tags:  Department of Foreign Affairs The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday suspended the deployment of new Filipino workers to Egypt after it raised the crisis alert level in the Middle Eastern country to Level 3 due to continued civilian unrest and Islamist protests following the ouster of President Mohamed Mursi. “In view of the escalating civil unrest and insecurity as well as the declaration of a month-long State of Emergency in Egypt, Secretary Albert del Rosario has upon the recommendation of our Ambassador in Cairo, raised crisis in that country to alert level 3 this morning,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said in a text message. The new crisis alert level means Filipino workers in Egypt can volunteer to be repatriated to the Philippines with the assistance of the Philippine embassy in Cairo. There are currently around 6,000 Filipinos working or residing in the Middle Eastern country. Aside from the suspension of the deployment of new workers to Egypt...

(Updated 6:51 a.m., 14 August 2013)  The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was able to confirm the involvement of several lawmakers in the alleged “pork barrel scam,” and charges are forthcoming, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Tuesday. "We were able to confirm the involvement of some lawmakers—members of the Senate and the House—but we don't know yet whether the list that we have now is complete, so we are verifying it,” De Lima said in a chance interview at the House of Representatives following her attendance to an event there. Without giving names, De Lima said the charges will be filed “in a few weeks’ time.” “We will file cases only by evidence, whether testimonial or from documents,” she said. The supposed scam refers to the P10 billion in pork barrel — or the multi-million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) given to lawmakers every year — that went to bogus non-government organizations (NGOs). Businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles has been accused of...