KAKAMMPI News

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday said repatriated Filipino voters intending to vote in Eleksyon 2022 have until September 30 to apply for transfer of overseas registration. The deadline for such transfer was initially set on August 31. "The Commission en Banc recognizes the need to prevent the disenfranchisement of a great number of our kababayans who have been unexpectedly repatriated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hence the decision to extend the deadline. If they will be in the Philippines on election day, then they can still exercise their right of suffrage by casting their ballot here,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said. The Comelec said the voter intending to transfer his/her registration record from overseas to the Philippines must be a resident of the locality where he/she intends to vote in May 2022. The voter must also file the application personally with the Office of the Election Officer in his/her locality. The Comelec also reminded the publ...

Five Filipina domestic helpers complained that they were allegedly abused by their employer, a former general in Saudi Arabia. According to a report of JP Soriano on "24 Oras" on Thursday, even the wife and children of the former officer have abused the Filipina workers. "Pinagsisipa po ako sa ari ng ilang beses. Hindi ko po alam kung ano po'ng dahilan," Ely Mae said. (I was kicked in my private part several times. I do not know for what reason.) Aside from abuse, Analyn said the employer even forced her to seal drugs. "Hindi ko po sukat akalain na 'yong magiging trabaho ko doon ay isa pala akong tagabalot ng droga niya at 'pag hindi po ako sumunod, sinasabunutan niya at susunugin ng sigarilyo," she said. (I never thought that my work there would include packing illegal drugs and that if I do not follow the instruction, they pull my hair and burn me with a cigarette.) The women then decided to take a video of their employer's son whi...

By MICHAELA DEL CALLAR More than a thousand Filipino workers in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Monday asked the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban on the country's Northern territory so they could come home for Christmas. The Department of Foreign Affairs enforced a worker deployment ban to Iraq in January 2019. In a letter to the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, the Samahan ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino asked the government to lower the security status from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 for Kurdistan, saying it is an autonomous region far from capital Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, where civil protests are ongoing. Alert Level 4 - the highest security warning given by the Philippines on countries that pose security risks to Filipino travelers and workers due to armed conflict or disaster - was enforced by Manila after Iran fired rockets at Iraq's al Asad airbase, which hosts US forces. Iran retaliated against the US for killing its top commander, Qassim Sul...

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday (PHL time) called anew for the abolition of the kafala system — a scheme that allows employers in Middle Eastern countries to control the employment and migration status of foreign workers they employ. In a speech during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly UNGA), Duterte said the kafala system is a “behemoth that chains the weak, the desperate, and the voiceless to an existence of unimaginable suffering”. "Millions of Filipinos work abroad under the most difficult and inhumane of circumstances. We call for the abolition of all structures that allow the exploitation and oppression of migrant workers," he said. "Nothing can justify the continued existence of this unjust system," Duterte added. The President first made the call for the abolition of the kafala system in April during the Virtual Forum on Labor Mobility and Human Rights organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Kingdom of Saudi...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said three Filipinos were evacuated from Afghanistan over the weekend while 20 of their compatriots are still in the conflict-stricken country. With the development, the number of repatriated Filipinos from Afghanistan has increased to 191, the DFA said in its situation bulletin posted on Twitter. Of the 20 remaining Filipinos in Afghanistan, the Foreign Affairs Department said 18 have opted to stay there while two are open for repatriation. Nevertheless, the DFA said its embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, which covers Afghanistan, will continue to monitor the situation and prepare assistance to Filipinos there. Weeks after the militant group Taliban took over Afghanistan, the Philippines took in refugees of the nation. "We stay steady where others waver: tonight we welcome Afghan nationals including women and kids seeking refuge," Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said but refused to give further details. — Consuelo M...

By HANA BORDEY, GMA News The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday admitted the lack of funding for some regional consular offices (RCO) and foreign service posts (FSP), which has forced them to use the budget for other programs to continue operations. In a Senate budget hearing, Senator Imee Marcos raised her concern about the “paltry sum” allotted to RCOs in some provinces. “These were included in 2019 as additional items but they were excluded in 2022. How are they gonna survive? Are we gonna close them or can they carry on somehow?” she asked. “We’re a bit worried, these RCOs are a huge help to our probinsyanos and we’re really worried that they’ll have to shut down because in 2019 nabigyan yan ng pera [they were given funds]. 2022, axed out na naman, paano ba yun [what can we do about it]?” she added. DFA Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said they had to “cannibalize” their funds for other programs and realign them to the RCOs. “Some of them we have already opened u...

By JOJO DASS Published September 24, 2021 3:00pm DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A 53-year-old Zamboangueño working as an Abu Dhabi Emergency Medical Service (EMS) staff has won AED100,000 – the equivalent of P1.37 million – in the latest raffle draw here that’s fast becoming popular in the Filipino community as 18 Pinoys have so far won big in just five months. “Hannibal,” not his real name, was among 10 lucky participants, including five other overseas Filipino worker (OFWs), who matched five out of the six winning numbers (3, 6, 9, 11, 23 and 43) for the AED1 million prize and took home AED 100,000 each. “First time kong nanalo ng ganito,” Hannibal, who said he has been trying his luck on raffle draws since college, told GMA News Online. “Ever since ay naglalaro na ako, lotto pa nga sa Pilipinas,” the OFW, who has been in the UAE for the past 15 years, said. “Ito na ang pinakamalaki kong nakuha. Na-miss ko lang yung isa pang number. Kung nakuha ko lahat eh, bye-bye na talaga,” ...