KAKAMMPI News

Published  February 23, 2018 5:44pm  The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has tightened regulations on third-party worksites involving foreign employees. "The H-1B visa program generally allows a foreign employee to work for a specific sponsoring American employer. As is true in many employment situations, the location of work can change," USCIS said in a statement. "USCIS has published a policy memorandum making clear that USCIS may request detailed documentation to ensure a legitimate employer-employee relationship is maintained while an employee is working at a third-party worksite," it added. USCIS' latest policy memorandum aims to ensure that a "legitimate employer-employee relationship is maintained while an employee is working at a third-party worksite." According to the new policy, petitioners must show evidence that they will be employed in a specialty occupation and maintain an employer-...

Published  February 23, 2018 1:30pm  Authorities have already identified the couple being linked to the killing of Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis in Kuwait, according to Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) head Hans Leo Cacdac on Friday. "Wala lang sa akin ngayon ang eksaktong pangalan... Arabic name, kaya baka ako magkamali ng bigay," Cacdac said in an interview on News To Go. The couple, a Lebanese man and a Syrian woman, is currently the subject of manhunt operation by the International police (INTERPOL). Demafelis was found stuffed in a freezer inside the couple's abandoned apartment in Kuwait two weeks ago. The brutality of the killing prompted the Philippine government to ban the deployment of first-time Filipino workers to the Gulf state. Cacdac said Demafelis' family's last communication with her was in 2016. Her case was reported to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration officials in February 28 last year. The...

Published  February 22, 2018 6:10pm  By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday visited the wake of overseas Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis, whose death prompted him to impose a ban on deployment of new hires to Kuwait. Duterte spent around 30 minutes at the Demafelis residence in Sara town in Iloilo, talking to members of her family, including her mother Eva and father Crisanto. Virgil Lopez @virgillopez LOOK: Pres. Duterte visits the wake of OFW Joanna Demafelis in Sara, Iloilo. The President promised to give justice for Demafelis, whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait. : SAP Bong Go @ gmanews 5:25 PM - Feb 22, 2018 1 See Virgil Lopez's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy After the visit, Duterte told reporters that he promised justice for Demafelis, whose body was found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait two weeks a...

Published  February 22, 2018 5:57pm  Many Filipino workers who arrived home after availing of the Kuwaiti government's amnesty have brought back tales of abuse, with some bearing scars reminding them of their ordeal. One of them, Angelie Calamba, said the scar was caused by her seven-year-old ward using the electric iron on her during a tantrum. "Gusto maglaro eh ayaw kong maglaro kasi naglilinis ako kaya 'yon, 'yung plantsa ginanon sa kamay ko," she said in a Balitanghali report by Ian Cruz on Thursday. A total of 610 Filipinos, including minors, arrived home on Wednesday, the biggest batch so far since the amnesty program in Kuwait started, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, a total of 2,286 of the estimated 10,000 overstaying or undocumented Filipinos in Kuwait have been repatriated. Kuwait's amnesty program has been extended until April 22, according to Deputy Administrator Brigido Dulay of the Over...

Published  February 22, 2018 4:09pm  By AMITA LEGASPI, GMA News Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday urged the government to strictly implement the law on overseas Filipinos and not allow the deployment of workers to countries where their rights are not protected. Gatchalian said he was dismayed when he learned during the hearing on the case of Joanna Demafelis that Kuwait is only considered partially compliant under Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. “Nadismaya ako kahapon, we found out in the hearing na ang Kuwait ay partially compliant, ibig sabihin ina-address naman ang problema ng kababayan natin pero wala silang ganitong batas kaya nagkakaroon ng problema,” he said during Kapihan sa Senado. Section 4 of RA 80 states the overseas Filipino workers should only be deployed in countries where their rights are protected. Suicide cases Gatchalian said in Kuwait, of the 200 Filipinos who died, 10 percent...

Published  February 22, 2018 2:22pm  Norisa Manambit, the missing Filipina who was reportedly found comatose in Kuwait, was actually safe and is in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Hans Cacdac said Thursday, clarifying reports. Interviewed on Dobol A sa Dobol B, Cacdac said this was confirmed by Philippine labor officers in Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait following an investigation. "Sa huling report po ay mukang si Norisa Manambit ay nasa deportation center sa Dammam, Saudi Arabia," he said. "Hindi siya nasa Kuwait at comatose." He added the next stage of the investigation is to look if there is indeed a comatose Filipina in a hospital in Kuwait. "'Yun na lang ho ang kukumpirmahin natin kasi posibleng meron pa ring naroon sa Kuwait hospital na comatose. Pinatitignan po natin ito," Cacdac said. A video of a comatose patient initially thought to be Manambit was posted on social media by ...

Fr. Shay Cullen 23 February 2018       Vatican City- Church and police authorities and non-government organizations (NGOs) came together recently in the Vatican under the Santa Martha Group headed by Cardinal Vincent Nicholas to discuss and share their experience and listen to each other. They discussed greater cooperation in combating the global scourge and horrific crimes of human trafficking of vulnerable people into modern slavery. Such cooperation is absolutely essential to find an efficient global response and local action to save the victims and challenge the criminals.   Human trafficking is rife in both the developed rich world and in the poorer developing countries and Eastern Europe that are the source of the victims of slavery. Pope Francis has rightly called it a crime against humanity and convened the grouping in his Santa Martha residence. Anti-trafficking is now on top of the Church agenda since hundreds of thousands of migrants and r...