KAKAMMPI News

A recruitment agency was stripped of its license after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration caught it collecting placement fees from would-be overseas Filipino workers. The POEA canceled the license of TCI Recruitment Corp., which it said violated at least thrice the rules on collection of placement fees by licensed recruitment firms. POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said  the firm collected P45,000 from an applicant  for a housekeeping job in Dubai, even without a signed employment contract. An investigation showed the agency also did not issue the appropriate receipt, and that it failed to deploy the worker. The second case involved having an applicant pay P60,000 for a job in Cyprus as household service worker. While the worker paid P16,000 and signed an employment contract and waited seven months, she was not deployed. The third case involved the deployment of an OFW to Dubai for a job as manicurist, after the agency collected a placement fee of P25,000. But...

Despite rave reviews from netizens, a Filipino-penned song was disqualified from a songwriting competition in Singapore commemorating the country's 50th founding anniversary. A  report on Channel News Asia  said Singaporean media company MediaCrop disqualified Jude Gitamondoc's "As One" because the contest was open only to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. The song was not selected as a finalist despite an admission from MediaCorp deputy CEO Chang Long Jong that the song was well-liked by the judges. Lawrence Wong, Singapore's Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Ministry of Communications and Information, expressed puzzlement over the song's rejection in a post last March 9.   While he acknowledged MediaCorp's qualifying criteria, he said that no one should be barred from contributing art for Singapore's 50th anniversary. "Let's have an inclusive celebration, and embrace all who share our values and i...

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has reminded Filipinos to refuse offers of employment as nannies, household service workers, or tutors in Mainland China to avoid abuse or legal action. An advisory from the embassy on Tuesday said it is against Chinese laws for foreigners to be employed as nannies, household workers and tutors in Mainland China. "Extreme caution must be exercised when dealing with agents in the Philippines who offer employment in mainland China as a nanny, household worker or private tutor. It is advisable not to accept their offers," the embassy said. Filipinos were also cautioned against dealing with agents or individuals who offer help in extending tourist visas for employment in exchange for a fee, as these elements "are involved in illegal recruitment... and often resort to unscrupulous actions." Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Chief Hans Leo Cacdac had earlier  advised Filipinos to refuse job offers which promise work abr...

A native of Davao is the first Filipina graduate of the Japan National Defense Academy. Second Lieutenant Karen Eve Mante took her oath before Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo Monday.   2nd Lieutenant Karen Eve E. Mante, the first Filipina graduate of the Japan National Defense Academy, taking her oath before Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel M. Lopez at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.  Photo courtesy of PHL embassy The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday said Lopez also administered the oath-taking and donning of rank of Second Lieutenant to Mante. "A native of Davao, Second Lieutenant Mante spent a year in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) before being sent by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the JNDA as a full scholar. She spent five years of cadetship training in the JNDA, which since 1953 has produced officers for the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF),"  the embassy said . Mante will join the ...

The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former Philippine ambassador to Nigeria for misusing over P3 million assistance fund intended for kidnapped Filipino seafarers in 2007. Masaranga Umpa, who was ambassador to Nigeria from 1996 to 2008, was sentenced to up 17 years in jail, according to a news release from the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday. The anti-graft court said Umpa committed three counts of malversation of public funds over the misuse of the Assistance-To-Nationals (ATN) Stand-by Fund totaling $80,478.80 or P3,749,948.98. "Ombudsman prosecutors were able to prove that in February 2007, the Philippine Embassy to Nigeria received US$95,856.08 to cover expenses needed for the negotiations and repatriation of 25 Filipino seafarers who were kidnapped in Port Harcourt and Warri Delta State, Nigeria," the Ombudsman said. It said the prosecutors were also able to present the results of an independent verification made by the  Internal Audit Service Team of the Department of ...

Thousands of Filipinos and Americans paid tribute to World War II soldiers who died during the infamous Bataan Death March at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico last Sunday. More than 6,000 marchers participated in the annual 26-mile march, considered the largest commemoration of the event outside the Philippines. “The Bataan Memorial Death March began and will continue to provide a way to honor those who perished and those who lived through a horrific chapter of World War II,” said Brig. Gen. Timothy Coffin, commander of the White Sands Missile Range, during the event. More than 72,000 people participated in the march since it was suggested by the Army ROTC Department of the New Mexico State University in 1989. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/354091/pinoyabroad/news/25th-bataan-memorial-death-march-in-us-draws-more-than-6-000-attendees The event commemorates the sacrifices made by 75,000 Filipino and American soldiers who were forced to march from Bataan to Pampanga on A...

Representatives from the European Union and other countries including the Philippines met for a two-day regional consulation on ways to protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in crisis-stricken countries. The consultation, organized by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas and held March 23 to 24, "provided an opportunity for governments of Asian countries to exchange views on the global initiative and on existing best practices for assisting migrants in crisis situations," the EU said in a statement. The meeting was part of the "Migrants in Countries in Crisis" (MICIC) initiative for South, South-East and East Asian countries. CFO chief Secretary Imelda Nicolas said the MICIC initiative was launched to “to save lives, increase protection, decrease vulnerabilities and improve responses” during crisis situations. It was tackled during the meeting that Filipinos, while protected by robust laws, remain unwilling or unable to access humanitarian assistance in certain c...