KAKAMMPI News

There's another name on the list of notable Filipinos who help make the magic of Disney happen. Remember the name: Josie Trinidad, the Fil-Am head of story for the upcoming movie "Zootopia." Josie Trinidad Trinidad oversees the translation of the script to its visual form. The script itself was written by Jared Bush and Phil Johnson, based on a story by Bush, Rich Moore, and the film's director Bryan Howard. Trinidad says the story is "near and dear" to her heart. She relates to lead character Judy Hopps, a rabbit who moves to the big city and finds herself wondering if she made a terrible decision. “This is the exact same thing I went through when I moved to New York,” she explains. But things turned out well for Trinidad. In 2004, she started working for Disney Animation Studios as a story apprentice. She was subsequently hired as a story artist and her credits now include "The Princess and the Frog," "Tangles," and "W...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) is looking into the cases of the OFWs in Saudi Arabia who have reportedly resorted to selling their blood for cash after their employer failed to give their salaries for five months. In an interview on News To Go on Thursday, POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jeddah are monitoring 113 labor cases filed by  OFWs with the Saudi Labor Office against construction company Saudi Oger Ltd. "It's a matter of resolving the disputes alongside sa pakikipag-usap dun sa employer at Saudi government, 'yung Saudi Labor Office na nakatutok pa rin dito," Cacdac said. He added that recruiters of the OFWs in the Philippines have already offered their assistance in repatriating the Filipino workers who wish to return home. At the present, the POEA is monitoring 21 repatriation cases. Saudi Oger Ltd. has already promised their employees that they will...

No Filipino casualty was reported in  Wednesday’s car bomb attack in Turkey’s capital of Ankara  that killed more than a dozen people and injured several others, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. “Per our embassy in Ankara, there are no Filipino affected by the bomb blast in Turkey,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message on Thursday. In her Facebook account, Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Maria Rowena Sanchez assured that all Filipinos in the capital are safe. “Dear friends and family of the Philippine Embassy Ankara, please know that all of us are safe and thankfully also our kababayans who study or work here,” Sanchez said. “We pray for those who perished and were hurt by this tragedy and their families. Let us all strive harder to work for peace.” Sanchez told GMA News' Malou Talosig-Bartolome that the blast site was just 30 minutes away from the embassy, in a government complex. "Most of our kababayans work in households and the ot...

The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates warned Filipinos based there against a syndicate offering fake passport extensions. Khaleej Times reported on Tuesday that the consulate sent out the advisory after it received two cases of passport tampering over the course of two weeks. One case involved the spouse of a passport holder who paid 700 dirhams (about P9,000) for a fake extension stamp while the other was of a company that inquired about the consulate's alleged passport extension program. Consul Ferdinand Flores, whose signature was forged on the fake stamp, said it was obviously a scam as his signature was stamped and not originally signed. One victim paid a renewal fee of 240 dirhams (about P3,100) and emergency passport extension fee of Dh120 (P1,550). Consul Paul Raymond Cortes clarified that the consulate stopped extending passports for the purpose of visa stamping and travel purposes, except for family and medical emergencies, since J...

At least 50,000 Filipino workers in the industrial sectors in Saudi Arabia will be affected by the present oil crisis in the Middle East by March, according to pro-migrant group Migrante on Wednesday. Primarily affected are workers of Saudi Oger Ltd. and Bin Laden Co., two of the biggest contractors hired by the Saudi government for construction and industrial projects. At a press briefing in Quezon City, Migrante chairman Garry Martinez said the figure is based on their "initial study" using information shared by their coordinators in Saudi Arabia. "Libu-libo po sa ating mga kababayan na ang tambay o hindi na pinasasahod at sila po ay nag-aantay na lamang kung sila ay ire-repatriate or sila ay ma-expire na lang 'yung tinatawag nilang working permit or iqama," he said. At Saudi Oger Ltd., Martinez said, some 20,000 Filipino workers have been put on floating status or have their wages withheld for six months. Migrante presented an internal memo dated N...

Some OFWs in Saudi Arabia who have not received their salaries for five months have been reduced to selling their blood just to earn money, a report on "News To Go" said Wednesday. "Dito lang kami sa bahay, sir, tapos kung walang-walang pera na nagdo-donate na lang kami ng dugo [sa mga ospital]," one of the OFWs said. "Pagkatapos pahinga ng konti, ibang ospital naman." The report said the OFWs, who are currently without work, are also worried of getting arrested as their residence permits have become invalid. In a memorandum, the OFWs' employer has asked for understanding for its failure to give their salaries. It also promised to give their one-month salary next week. The employer, which the report only described as a large firm, also promised that things will go back to normal in March. The report also said failure to send remittances to their families in the Philippines has resulted in some of the OFWs having problems regarding their ma...

A homeless Filipina was arrested in West Covina, California, on Monday for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby at a restaurant inside a shopping center, reports said. A  report on KTLA 5  identified the suspect as Mary Grace Trinidad and described her as a "38-year-old Filipina transient." Trinidad was accused of abandoning her baby boy after giving birth to him in the restroom of a Subway restaurant. The KTLA 5 report said the infant was discovered after a customer of the restaurant saw a bleeding woman leaving the restroom and told an employee about it. The two went to the restroom together and found the child "crying, upright and half-submerged in the water," the report said. The report, citing West Covina Police Department Cpl. Rudy Lopez, said the infant was full term and had his umbilical cord still attached. The placenta was found in a trash can. Trinidad, who is the subject of a drug-related warrant, is facing charges of attempted murder and c...