KAKAMMPI News

By GMA News The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has repatriated 350 distressed Filipinos from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The repatriates arrived in the country on Friday, DFA Acting Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said. Among those repatriated were senior citizens, expectant women, and children, including six infants. "As the festive season draws near, your DFA will work tirelessly to bring back to our country our kababayans so that they may partake in the joy of being with their family," De Vega said in a statement. advertisement "Seeing their smiles upon reaching our motherland is the inspiration that drives us to exert our utmost in serving our new heroes. Nandito kami para sa inyo (We are here for you),” he added. — Richa Noriega/VBL, GMA News

By GMA News Overseas Filipino workers departing the country for jobs abroad need not wear personal protective equipment or PPEs, Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said. Ople, who is in the US as part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, on Friday said the wearing of PPEs is not sanctioned by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and POEA. "I agree with the sentiments of Senator Pia Cayetano and other legislators that the PPE requirement for departing OFWs is outdated, misguided and oppressive. I regret not having issued this order much earlier to spare our OFWs the discomfort of going to the airport in full PPE attire," Ople said. The POEA thus issued Advisory No. 62 on Friday against requirements of certain agencies for OFWs to wear full PPEs upon departure. It said it has not issued nor implemented rules and guidelines requiring OFWs to wear PPEs, ...

Thousands of balikbayan boxes from the Middle East have been abandoned by foreign courier services at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), with the BOC and local delivery services working to get them to their intended recipients. advertisement In JP Soriano’s “24 Oras” report on Thursday, Jasmine Velarde Espeleta, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Abu Dhabi, said she used a new delivery business in Abu Dhabi to send her packages to her family in Leyte. Espeleta said the company promised to deliver the packages in two months. However, they ended up abandoned at the BOC. She said the company also did not pay for the processing at Customs and delivery of the packages once they arrived in the Philippines. “Matagal ka mag-ipon, pinaghirapan mong ipunan. Pagod, puyat, pawis mo. Kasi kailangan mong humanap ng pera bago ka makabili non,” she added. Both the BOC and the Door-to-Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines have begun delivering the boxes to their intended recipients, despi...

By GMA News The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is offering job opportunities and legal assistance to victims of illegal recruitment who still want to work abroad. advertisement According to a report by Lei Alviz on "24 Oras", over 700 job applicants have benefitted from the job fair hosted by DMW and participated in by licensed recruitment agencies. Many job seekers at the fair were victims of illegal recruiters who have been arrested by the PNP, the local government units, and the DMW. There were job orders for carpenters, housekeepers, kitchen and restaurant workers, and hairdressers in New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. The DMW also offered free legal assistance as they warned OFWs to be cautious of illegal job offers to prevent scams and human trafficking cases. "'Wag kakagat sa mga offer na mayroong libreng plane ticket at minsan pa bibigyan ng pocket money," DMW Undersecretary Hans Leo. J. Cacdac said. "Sa konting pera na matata...

By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA News Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople on Tuesday directed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to extend assistance to overseas Filipino Workers in Japan who were affected by Typhoon Nanmadol. advertisement Nanmadol forced at least four million residents to evacuate from their shelters. Heavy rains and strong winds hit Japan's southern island, with nearly 98,000 households in Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagasak, and Miyazaki already without power. Aside from OWWA, Ople also instructed the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) to continue monitoring the situation of OFWs and be ready to provide aid when necessary. Citing information from POLO-Osaka, the DMW said some 13,904 OFWs have been accounted for and are unharmed and safe. Of the total number, 5,368 are in Fukuoka, 660 in Saga, 1,001 in Nagasaki, 2,520 in Kumamoto, 1,607 in Oita, 786 in Miyazaki, and 1,962 in Kagoshima. POLO-Osaka is also in contact with most e...

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople underscored Tuesday the need for more research and published articles about the impact of climate change on labor migration around the world. advertisement Ople mentioned this during her bilateral talks with International Organization on Migration (IOM) director general Antonio Vitorino in New York City. Ople is part of the Philippine delegation in President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s official trip to the United States. “The Philippines is sadly very familiar with the effects of climate change and how it results in the displacement of people,” Ople said in a statement. “We are also aware of the need to enhance multi-sectoral, multi-agency, and multi-country partnerships to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on migrant workers and communities,” she added. For his part, Vitorino said the IOM is expected to tackle the need to support countries, which are more vulnerable to the ...

LONDON — Huge crowds built in central London overnight and from early morning on Monday to secure a spot to watch the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. As dawn broke over the River Thames, a steady stream of well-wishers streamed out of Embankment underground station headed for Parliament Square. But many were already there, camping in sleeping bags behind the metal barriers along the Whitehall government district, where the funeral procession will pass. "It's part of history," said Bethany Beardmore, 26, an accountant whose brother is a Grenadier Guard and part of the ceremonies. "Not in my lifetime is there going to be another queen." Beardmore arrived at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday but, fueled by too much sugar and caffeine, found it impossible to sleep in the cold. "Everyone was chatting," she said, as sporadic applause from the good-natured crowd broke out when a stream of police and military personnel passed. Former soldie...