KAKAMMPI News

Gunmen stormed a luxury Tripoli hotel popular with diplomats and officials Tuesday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, killing at least nine people—including two Filipinos and three other foreigners—before blowing themselves up.   The assault on such a high-profile target underlined the fragile security situation in the Libyan capital, which is controlled by a patchwork of militias allied with one of two governments claiming to rule the country.   And if it is confirmed that it was carried out by Islamic State militants it would highlight the growing reach of an extremist group with ambitions to spread its influence throughout the Middle East and North Africa.   After setting off a car bomb outside the opulent Corinthia Hotel—where visiting world leaders have met local dignitaries in the past—three militants rushed inside and opened fire, Issam al-Naass, a security services spokesman, told AFP.   They made it to the 24th floor of the hote...

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a reminder to Filipino workers based in the United Arab Emirates against taking out loans and using credit cards. "This advisory is being issued in view of the alarming increase in the number of Filipinos detained due to unpaid loans," the DFA said. According to the DFA, low interest rates lure OFWs to apply for loans for various reasons without paying much attention to the other charges which appear in the fine print, and the prospect of taking as much as 18 months of one’s salary. Usually, banks require only a certificate of employment to approve a loan application. "Debt-related cases are extraordinarily difficult to handle especially if the lenders, both banks and individuals, have filed criminal or civil cases against the borrowers," the DFA explained. It added, "Once a civil case has been filed against a delinquent borrower, a travel ban is automatically imposed against the borrower and he or ...

DUBAI - A Filipino women’s group advised their compatriots in the United Arab Emirates to strictly follow the laws of their host country particularly on morality and public decency following two separate cases involving Filipinas who had sex at Dubai’s public beach recently. In a report published in UAE’s major dailies, a Filipina housemaid was sentenced to one year in prison by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors on Tuesday after her Emirati employer reported to the police that she had become pregnant during her several late night trysts with her Pakistani lover at the Jumeirah Open Beach.    The 26-year-old Filipina admitted in court she had consensual sex with her 25-year-old Pakistani boyfriend who works as an accountant. Presiding Judge Mohammad Ahmad Shoaib said the couple will be deported following the completion of their jail terms.    In another report, the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors heard in the same week another illegal sex-on-the-beach case invo...

The family of Bartolome C. Cadavero of Puerto Princesa was the winner for the sea-based category. Captain Cadavero worked for 33 years overseas, and after his retirement, he acquired farm lands, real estate properties, and set up a plantation of exotic, high value trees like rubber and gmelina. The family of Fe S. Lao of Bansalan was the winner for the land-based category. Her savings from abroad were used by her husband to set up a multi-million integrated, organic farm enterprise with supplemental by-products. As grand prize winners, Cadavero and Lao received trophies, cash prize of P500,000 and appliances. Special awards were also handed out. The family of Engr. Isidro M. Cabantac of Region 1 received Best in Community Projects award for their agricultural projects. The family of Capt. Juan M. Cope of Region V also received the Best in Entrepreneurship award for their school and hospital. The special awards winners were given plaques of recognition and P100,000 each. M...

Pag-IBIG Fund does not award projects or deal with contractors, the agency’s President said today as agency officials appealed to Senator Antonio Trillanes not to sully the name of the agency with his baseless allegations aimed at Vice President Jejomar C. Binay who is Chairman of the Pag-IBIG Board of Trustees.  “We work hard to earn the trust of our 14.6 million members. Please do not sully the good name of Pag-IBIG Fund with baseless allegations of an anomaly,” Pag-IBIG Fund President and Chief Executive Officer Atty. Darlene Marie Berberabe said. Berberabe vehemently denied statements made by Senator Trillanes that Pag-IBIG Fund is involved in an anomaly that allegedly favors contractors whom he claimed were identified with the Vice President. “In the strongest terms, I deny that Pag-IBIG Fund favors any stakeholder. On the contrary, we pride ourselves with having leveled the playing field when the new management and the new Board assumed office in 2010,” Atty. Berberabe st...

A black market is emerging for Filipina household helpers in the United Arab Emirates with prospective employers being made to pay up to $4,600 (Dh17,000) for a helper, a UAE news site reported over the weekend.   This, in the face of a virtual ban by the Philippine government on the deployment of Filipina workers to the UAE, news site  Gulf News  reported.   Despite the ban, some employers bite the offer for Filipina helpers, who were recruited in the Philippines as salesladies, clerks or salon staff.   Gulf News said the Filipinas are made to apply for such work but become nannies once they reach the UAE, in a procedure dubbed processing-reprocessing.   Vic Fernandez, leader of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, said this "is a form of misrepresentation and is, of course, illegal under Philippine law."   "The risk far outweighs the rewards,” he said.   On June 1 last year, the UAE interior ministry ...

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday warned overseas Filipino workers in the United Arab Emirates against availing loans through their credit cards that they can't afford to pay. The advisory was issued following the "alarming" increase in the number of Filipinos detained there due to unpaid loans. According to the DFA, many OFWs are tempted to apply for loans in the UAE due to low interest rates. "They (OFWs) are lured by low interest rates, without paying much attention to the other charges which appear in the fine print, and the prospect of taking as much as 18 months of one’s salary," the DFA said. "Usually, banks require only a certificate of employment to approve a loan application," it added. Meanwhile, the DFA also reminded the OFWs that issuing a bounced check is a criminal offense in the UAE. "Lenders usually require borrowers to affix his or her signature on a blank check as a security measure. When the borrower defaults ...