KAKAMMPI News

For Marine 2nd Lt. Jefferson Talicuran, it was the fulfillment of his “American dream.” On May 23, 2014, Talicuran, who immigrated to the US from the Philippines in 2005, was among the 1,000 who graduated from the Naval Academy to become an officer of the US Marines.   Marine 2nd Lt. Jefferson Talicuran.  Photo from the Navy Times In a  press release  by the academy, the 25-year-old Talicuran said working with the Marines was the “best thing that happened” to him. This, despite the incident in 2008 that almost cost him his life. Before entering the Naval Academy four years ago, Talicuran was deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, to Sangin, Afghanistan, where he was hit by an improvised explosive device attached to a bicycle. Narrating the incident to the Navy Times , Talicuran said: “I was probably the fourth person to pass the bicycle and by the time I passed it, when I was about six feet away from it, it exploded. We never thought that a bicycle coul...

(Updated 10:56 a.m.) WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama asked his administration on Tuesday to hold off on making any changes to the nation's deportation policy until the end of the summer in order to allow Congress time to pass immigration legislation, administration officials said. The move signaled the White House's renewed optimism in the ability of Republicans in the House of Representatives to pass broad immigration reform. In March, convinced the chances of passing such a bill through a divided Congress were slim, Obama asked the Department of Homeland Security to review US deportation policy and suggest ways the administration could act without Congress to ease the threat of deportation for undocumented immigrants under existing law. House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner, have indicated in recent weeks they might be open to working on such a bill. But they said any changes from the Obama administration would weaken their trust in the president to en...

Starting June 1, the Philippine consulate in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates will accept only typed application forms for various documents. Philippine officials said the move aims to minimize mistakes in processing various documents, UAE news site Khaleej Times reported Wednesday. Vice-consul Geronimo Suliguin  said applicants can download and fill out the forms online, and have their entries typed in typing centers before submitting the documents to the three processors at the Philippine Consulate. “When we launched the online application form, it achieved at least 30 percent ... reduction in wrong entries or reports. Now, we want to have 100 percent error-free reporting,” Suliguin said. Also, he said the forms are available on the old Philippine Consulate website www.pcgdubai.net. The forms may be available at the new website, www.dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph, by end of June, he added. “Clarity and error-free reports depend on how neatly the forms are filled [out]. Many are written in ...

(Updated 10:49 a.m., May 28) The family of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) facing death penalty in Qatar for espionage and economic sabotage had sought the help of the government as early as 2012, a close friend of the OFW revealed. In an exclusive interview aired on 24 Oras on Tuesday, the friend showed a copy of the letter that the three children of the embattled OFW had sent to President Benigno Aquino III dated June 15, 2012. “We will be indebted to you and deeply grateful for any action to explore diplomatic ties with the Qatar Government that can facilitate a favorable outcome regarding this matter,” the letter reads. The friend said the family of the OFW did not receive any reply from the Palace for the past two years. “24 Oras” reported that Malacañang had denied receiving any letter from the family of the OFW. In a text message to GMA News Online on Wednesday, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said there is no record of the letter accor...

Filipinos in Saudi Arabia were reminded this week to follow basic health practices to avoid getting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).   The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh also said MERS-CoV testing for Filipino workers was voluntary, including those who plan to return to the Philippines.   However, the embassy in a  press release "strongly encouraged"  Filipino workers in the health care sector and those who may have had contact with known MERS-CoV patients to voluntarily undergo MERS-CoV testing at least 14 days before traveling abroad.   It urged Filipinos in Saudi Arabia to strictly observe the following basic protection measures issued by the Department of Health in the Philippines and the Saudi Ministry of Health:   - Cover your mouth and nose with tissue when coughing or sneezing. - Wash hands properly, especially after coughing, sneezing and using toilets. - Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwa...

The Filipinos who were arrested in Qatar in 2010 for alleged espionage and economic sabotage, including those who were found guilty later on, have complained of torture at the hands of arresting officers, a report on “24 Oras” said Monday. “Binitin ako ng patiwarik, na kung saan yung talampakan ko hahampasin po ng stick,” said one of the nine arrested Filipinos. Another one said: “Pina-squat nila ako. Pag ako nagkamali ng sagot tinatadyakan ako. Yung posas sumisikip hanggang sa 'di ko na maramdaman ang kamay ko.” Three of the arrested Filipinos were found guilty by a Qatari court last April 30 — one sentenced to death and two to life imprisonment. The rest were cleared in July 2010, the “24 Oras” report said. One of the two who were meted life imprisonment had also complained of torture, his wife said. “Nung una po ang sabi niya sinaktan daw siya,” the wife said in the report. “Hindi niya po nai-describe. Hindi daw po kasi pwedeng sabihin.” Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Crescente...

Permission has been granted for Philippine consulates to conduct field registration for overseas absentee voters (OAV) in the country they are in. “We granted the authority for them to go to mall for mobile registration and field registration to increase the number of new registrants,” said Commissioner Lucenito Tagle of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The Comelec is looking to register some 1 million OAVs for the 2016 local and national elections. Tagle, who chairs the Comelec committee on OAV, said consulates need approval from the poll body before they could conduct mobile registration. “They are conducting field registration but with our approval,” he said. Among the consulates who have requested permission from the Comelec are those in  Qatar, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and New York in the United States. Tagle said mobile registrations are being conducted in areas with a large concentration of Filipinos. The OAV registration started last May 6, and will run ...