KAKAMMPI News

Land Bank of the Philippines announced on Monday a deposit instrument designed for overseas Filipinos and their relatives to ease the impact of the shrinking peso equivalent of their offshore earnings. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, also Landbank chairman; Landbank president and chief executive officer Gilda Pico; and, administrator Marianito Roque of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration introduced the new deposit product, known as the long-term negotiable certificates of deposit or LTNCD, to more than 150 Filipino business leaders in Dubai. “This deposit product is designed to help overseas Filipinos and their families participate in the government’s savings mobilization program, as well as to help soften the adverse impact of the sharp peso appreciation on our OFWs as the LTNCD carries a higher yield compared to existing peso savings and time deposits," Teves said in a statement. The peso-denominated LTNCD will be issued in P20,000-denomination in five- and-½ and 10-y...

A suspect in the killing of Filipino worker Arcelie Solbrito de Laoagan in Calgary, Canada had been charged with first-degree murder. The Calgary Herald reported on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) that 21-year-old Christopher James Watcheston, a steelworker from Ontario, has been put behind bars and charged for Laoagan’s death on Jan. 19. Laoagan, 41 years old, immigrated to Canada in 2004 after working as a nanny in Hong Kong for two years. She was returning home late Thursday night from her second job as a scanner operator at Western Canadian printing company when she was attacked near a train station. Her roommate reported her missing Thursday night after she made a frantic call to a friend that she was being attacked, then the phone went dead. Her blood-soaked body was found behind the Grace Baptist church Friday morning. The Calgary Police took time identifying the body as Laoagan’s because her face was mutilated beyond recognition, but her two sisters and a brother who had flown from...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA] confirmed that it has increased its budget this year for its marketing mission activities. POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said from P500,000 allocation last year, they have set aside about P1.5 million this year. "We allocated P1.5 million this year for the marketing mission," Baldoz said. But she stressed that while they raised the budget for the marketing mission this year it does not mean that the government will embark totally on this marketing mission venture that would led to the displacement of the private recruitment companies. Baldoz also added that the P1.5 million budget for marketing mission is not enough to cover the cost of the mission which averages from P100,000 to P300,000 per country. "We have no desire to engage in recruitment. In fact, the marketing mission is not really to open new markets," he said. Moreover, Baldoz said it was the host countries that sent invitations to the Philippi...

Five Filipino technicians were detained for two days in Malaysia over an alleged “love triangle" spat with a Malaysian. In an interview with GMANews.TV on Monday, Penang Support Group (PSG) president Veronica Estores said the Filipinos were brought to a police station for questioning after “sharp weapons" were found in their hostel. According to the information relayed to Estores by Labor Attache Josephus Jimenez, the incident happened early morning of January 21 when a scuffle ensued between the Filipinos and two Malaysians who confronted them in the hostel in Sungai Ara. GMANews.TV tried calling Jimenez but was unavailable as of posting time. Estores said the Malaysian wanted to retrieve the laptop he gave to his Indonesian girlfriend who also had a romantic relationship with one of the Filipinos. The laptop was apparently given by the Indonesian to her Filipino ‘boyfriend.’ Estores mentioned that three of the Filipinos who were detained in Balik Pulau police station served...

Jordanian labor ministry officials said Wednesday that the Philippine government did not inform them of the decision to ban the deployment of Filipino domestic workers to Jordan. The Philippine government imposed the ban on Monday after receiving reports of rising cases of mistreatment and abuse of domestic helpers by Jordanian employers. A report by the Jordan Times said that Labor ministry secretary general Majed Habashneh met with Philippine ambassador to Jordan on Wednesday to discuss the issue on abuse that resulted in dozens of Filipino workers seeking refuge at the embassy. In that meeting, ministry officials reminded the Philippine ambassador of the importance of coordination in addressing the workers’ complaints in a way that is beneficial to all parties involved, the report said. The report quoted Habashneh as saying, "We also briefed the ambassador on the Jordanian domestic helper recruitment agency and the Jordanian employers." The Philippine ambassador expressed ...

Senate President Manny Villar Jr on Thursday urged the government to act immediately on the plight of about 150 distressed overseas Filipino workers in Jordan who are awaiting repatriation. "We should avoid resorting to last-ditch efforts which compromise the safety and security of our OFWs," Villar said in a statement. The Philippine government on Monday imposed an indefinite ban on the deployment of new workers to Jordan after 120 to 150 OFWs, mostly household helpers, fled from their employers because of abuses, including rape and non-payment of wages. The workers sought refuge at a Philippine-run social welfare center in Amman. "The repatriation of OFWs who long to return to the comfort of their families in the Philippines after suffering in the hands of their foreign employers should be a priority of the government," the Senate President said. Villar recently helped in the repatriation of eight minors at the Filipino Workers Resource Center in Amman, Jordan. On...

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion is “misinformed" about the plight of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East, a migrants group said Thursday. Migrante-Middle East said that Brion’s claim that the Philippine government was successful in stopping exploitation and in promoting the welfare of OFWs in the ME was untrue. Brion made the statement in his report at the 4th Ministerial Consultations on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labor for Countries of Origin and Destination in Asia held in Abu Dhabi from January 21 to 22. “The truth is, the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration is deploying skilled workers abroad to become victims of abuses, maltreatment and neglect in an effort to intensify a labor export program that squeezes OFWs of their hard-earned dollar remittances," said John Monterona, Migrante-ME regional coordinator. “Secretary Brion should look into the logbooks of cases of abuse against OFWs filed in various Philippine embassies and labor and welfare offices be...

Amid the political tension in Lebanon, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo extended the mandate of the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee (PMEPC) by another three months. In issuing Executive Order 692, President Arroyo said the PMEPC, headed by special envoy Roy Cimatu, would continue its administrative and operational functions until March 31. An additional P3 million will be allocated to the committee, the funds of which would be sourced from the Office of the President. "Additional financial requirements that may be needed by the committee shall be sourced out by the Department of Budget and Management from available funds of the concerned PMEPC member0agecnies, subject to the usual government accounting and auditing rule sand regulations," the EO read. The PMEPC was created in 2002 following the Iraq crisis which later led to the deployment ban of Filipino workers in the troubled Middle East country. In 2004, the situation was compounded by the abduction of Fi...

THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will hold forums to educate exporters and families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on how to ease the effects of the peso’s rapid appreciation on their finances. Monetary authorities will hold one session each in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao within the first quarter, with presentations from banks offering hedging facilities and testimonies exporters who have benefited from such programs. Exporters and OFWs have been complaining of the rapid rise of the peso — which appreciated by about 18% last year — and are demanding special treatment such as subsidized currency exchange rates. Exporters are instead being encouraged to hedge but banks are still encountering some resistance as the practice of hedging is still unfamiliar. Hedging is a financial tool designed to minimize one’s exposure to unwanted business risks while still allowing profit from an investment activity. Some of the most common currency hedging tools offered by banks are forward co...

A Filipino teenager was stabbed to death in a fight at a park in Vancouver last Sunday. Fifteen- year-old Deward Ponte, son of Filipino immigrant Daisy Ponte, didn’t return home Saturday night after a basketball game with friends, Vancouver’s The Province reported on Monday, quoting his stepfather Keith Blais. British Columbia’s Globe and Mail said Ponte came home early Sunday morning after working overnight at a care home to find out that her son is dead. Ponte left the Philippines seven years ago and worked almost five years before she could sponsor her son and her 13-year-old daughter to join her in Canada. Deward, who went to Canada two years ago, is a student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School who loved to play basketball. Ponte described her son as quiet and friendly. “That's why I don't [understand] what happened to him. He was a very good kid," she said. The incident began with a commotion in Gray's Park, a neighborhood patch of green space, in Metro Van...

To make the second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in October meaningful, a group of overseas Filipino workers has asked President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to convince participating countries to sign and ratify the United Nations Conventions on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Their Families. In a statement sent to GMANews.TV via e-mail, the Saudi Arabia-based Migrante International said the GFMD hosting of the Philippines will be useless if most of the host countries of OFWs will not adopt or honor the UN resolution. “We challenge the government to push countries especially those that host large concentrations of OFWs and have numerous cases lodged at different Philippines Embassies for violating OFWs rights and welfare to attend the forum," said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante ME Regional Coordinator in Riyadh. “We also want them to sign and ratify the UN resolution for the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of the...

ZURICH, Switzerland (via PLDT)—In a move to advance the country's energy independence program, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will meet with the officials of the Aragon Financial Group (AFG) Wednesday afternoon in Davos, her first activity in the ski resort city after arriving Tuesday night at the Zurich International Airport from Manila. The President is scheduled to meet with the Aragon Group executives at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday (Swiss time, 12:15 a.m. Thursday in Manila) at the Casa Bracke in Klosters, Davos. The financial group is assisting oil and natural gas companies that need funding from financial partners such as private investors, venture capital, equity and institutional and banking sources. The AFG has available funding for natural gas projects in the United States and is currently looking for clients with existing operations that require funding through build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, debt finance, equity refinance and even merger. The financial group could help ...

ZURICH, Switzerland (via PLDT)--The temperature was a chilly four degrees Centigrade when Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight PR 001 bearing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her official delegation touched down at the Zurich International Airport at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday (6:15 a.m. Wednesday, Manila time). Wearing a dark gray trench coat, the President and First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo alighted at the airport tarmac and were welcomed by Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Minerva Falcon, Philippine Mission to Geneva Ambassador Erlinda Basilio, and Philippine Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Manuel Teehankee. After the brief welcome ceremony, the President and her party immediately proceeded to the Baur Au Lac Hotel located in the City Center of Zurich. The President's brief stay in Zurich will be highlighted by her keynote address during the meeting of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday (Swiss time, 5:00 p.m. in Manila) at the Savoy Hot...

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo flew to Switzerland to attend the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos where the Chief Executive will “meet with a number of the world leaders who are partners with the Philippines in bringing peace to Mindanao, aid and assistance to our poor, and greater security in the fight against terrorism.” After her Switzerland events, the President will proceed to the Emirate of Dubai in the Middle East on the way back to Manila to meet top businessmen from the Gulf and overseas Filipino workers in the region. President Arroyo was accompanied by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo who skirted the Philippine Air Force (PAF) honor guards that gave foyer honors for the departing President, passing at the back of the said guards as President Arroyo was escorted by Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr., through the line. With the PAF band playing in the background, the President bid farewell to the military, police and government officials who saw her off, ...

Prospects for Filipinos seeking employment abroad remain rosy, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said today, as he pointed out that job opportunities still abound for Filipinos in many foreign countries. Brion made the statement during the taping this afternoon in Malacanang of “The Cabinet Speaks” hosted by Undersecretary Martin Crisostomo, with co-host Palo Romero of the Philippine Star. “For example in the past two years, we have always topped the one million level of overseas Filipino workers. And I would say that for 2008, we will easily top the one million level,” Brion said. Although it is not a policy of the government to send workers abroad, Brion said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) continue to help the country’s economic growth through their remittances, especially the OFWs belonging to the higher pay levels. “One reason why we have steep remittances now is, in 2007, we had more professional and skilled workers going overseas rather than non-skilled workers,” Brion said. In 2006...

President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo cited today the latest SWS survey showing that self-rated poverty incidence in December went down to 46 percent from 52 percent of three months ago as solid proof that the administration’s anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs are on the right track. The December decline in the poverty incidence was the lowest in 20 years. The President expressed her elation that fewer Filipinos now perceive themselves as poor in her opening statement at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)- National Anti-Poverty Commission-Cabinet Group (NEDA-NAPC-Cabinet) meeting in Malacanang this morning shortly before she left for a seven-day visit to Switzerland and the Middle East. “I am glad that the self-rated poverty incidence has gone down again, the lowest in 20 years. This is the result of the tough economic reforms we implemented, stability, and increased confidence of the international financial community on the country,” the President said in Filipino...

Labor Sec. Arturo Brion has urged the destination countries of overseas Filipino workers to assist in the education and training of the workers to make them fully productive assets. Speaking at the 4th Ministerial Consultations on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labor for Countries of Origin and Destination in Asia held in Abu Dhabi on January 21-22, Brion said the OFWs are contributing to the economic development of their host countries based on the education and training they acquired in the Philippines. He said that under meaningful interdependence, it may only be fair that the countries of destination share with the Philippines part of the burden in the training and education of OFWs to ensure that needed skills are continually replenished. He noted the Philippines ' proposal for destination countries to provide assistance in OFW training and education will boost labor-matching. Brion joined other labor ministers from both countries of origin and destination in Asia such as...

CEBU CITY - Applicants for work abroad must see to it that the recruitment agency they are dealing with is accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration so their rights could be protected. This was the advice of April Liong, in-charge for Assistance of National Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs during a labor forum at the University of Cebu Maritime Education and Training Center (UC-METC) yesterday. Liong discussed matters protecting the rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a forum. She said jobseekers for abroad continue to fall victim to illegal recruiters. Advertising “Illegal recruitment shall mean any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring and procuring workers that include contract promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-licensed or non-holder of authority" Liong said. She said trafficking of OFWs is rampant. Female applicants are ...

The Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur has warned potential recruits to Malaysia against agencies with tempting job offers but end up substituting contracts once they get there. Ambassador Victoriano Lecaros issued the advisory as the embassy is having a hard time providing shelter and assistance to at least 71 Filipinos having problems with their employment in Malaysia. Lecaros reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila that the distressed OFWs came in different groups, asking to be accommodated at the embassy. Almost half of the 71 Filipinos housed at the Workers’ Resource Center are men. Lecaros noted that the stories the OFWs recounted have a common thread: Philippine and Malaysian agencies charged them excessive placement fees and substituted new contracts to supplant those that previously met Philippine government standards. The workers also complained of unexpected salary deductions and having been forced to work on 12-hour shifts but getting paid only for eight hou...

CEBU CITY - Applicants for work abroad must see to it that the recruitment agency they are dealing with is accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration so their rights could be protected. This was the advice of April Liong, in-charge for Assistance of National Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs during a labor forum at the University of Cebu Maritime Education and Training Center (UC-METC) yesterday. Liong discussed matters protecting the rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a forum. She said jobseekers for abroad continue to fall victim to illegal recruiters. Advertising “Illegal recruitment shall mean any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring and procuring workers that include contract promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-licensed or non-holder of authority" Liong said. She said trafficking of OFWs is rampant. Female applicants are ...

The issuance of a new policy on direct hiring will hinder the job opportunities for overseas Filipino workers and place an additional layer of bureaucracy on foreign employment, according to a recruitment industry consultant. Employment consultant Emmanuel Geslani in a statement on Monday said that Memorandum Circular No. 4, series 2007 that took effect last Jan. 15 will also mean additional costs for interested employers. “The new guidelines will reduce the chances of Filipino workers in acquiring their own employers through their own efforts," Geslani said. Under the new rules, direct hiring of OFWs by foreign employers will be allowed upon approval by the Secretary of Labor and subject to screening of employers and employment contract verification by the labor attaché or the Philippine embassy. In addition, direct hiring will also be allowed only for members of the diplomatic corps and of international organizations, government officials of ministerial level, and employers who ...

The midwife who was on duty when a potent anesthetic was wrongfully administered to a Filipino mother in Britain denied committing the fatal medical error, but admitted being unsure about the events that led to the incident. According to a report from UK newspaper The Guardian on Tuesday, Marie To was caring for Mayra Cabrera, a Filipino theater nurse, at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wilshire, Britain in 2004. Mayra, 30, died shortly after giving birth to Zachary on May 11 of that year after an epidural, a local anesthetic administered into the lower spine to relieve labor pains, was wrongly injected into her arm during childbirth. "Not 100%," To replied when asked by Wiltshire coroner David Masters in the inquest proceedings if she was sure about what she did at that time. She claimed that following the delivery at 8:14 a.m., Dr. Gourab Mistra instructed her to put some saline solution up in a drip should Mayra’s blood pressure fall. Meanwhile, To instead suggested...

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Tuesday expressed confidence that dollar remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue to boost Philippine economic growth despite the expected economic slowdown in the United States. The labor group’s spokesman Alex Aguilar told GMANews.TV in a phone interview that while the US remains the largest source of dollar remittances, inflows from other countries have grown considerably over the years. “Definitely, the US remains a huge source of dollar inflows that grow by an average of 15 percent annually. But if we look at the overall remittance trend, money transfer from OFWs in other parts of the world is actually growing even faster," he said. Aguilar brushed aside speculations that the economic slump in the US would result in the decline of OFW remittances. Aguilar noted that remittances from the Middle East grow at an annual rate of 21 percent and those from Europe by 17 percent. He added that remittances of ...

SUSUPE, Saipan – A Filipino worker in Saipan was sentenced to five months in prison for stealing $19,183.26 from his employer out of “desperation" to help his ailing mother with her medical expenses in the Philippines and his sister with her medical bills in Bahrain. Arnel Ruga Del Rosario, 42, could be facing a much longer imprisonment than five months had he not produced documentation of medical bills to show the court that he in fact used the funds for his family members’ medical needs. He entered a guilty plea to one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds. Del Rosario told the Superior Court of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI, that he had no choice because of his mother and sister’s medical needs. According to court documents, Del Rosario said he wanted to repay the money but was unable to do so before his employer, Beijing Wholesale, discovered the theft. When confronted by his employer, Del Rosario admitted his offense ...

The siblings of a Filipino woman found dead on Friday at the back of a Baptist Church in Calgary, Canada are seeking justice for the death of their sister. The Calgary Sun reported Tuesday that the siblings of Arcelie Laoagan, 40, are still in shock after learning about the fate of their sister, who took two jobs to support her family in the Philippines. "It's a nightmare," Oswald Sombrito, Arcelie’s younger brother, told the Calgary Sun. Oswald, along with his sisters Marlyn Hori and Caroline Maximo, flew to Calgary from Toronto on Saturday upon learning that Arcelie was reported missing. "We want justice," said Oswald. Marlyn said she could not believe that her sister could be killed in a country like Canada, a place she deemed a much safer place than the Philippines. “It's so shocking. I thought Canada is a safe place," she said. "If she died in an accident it would be easier to deal with. The way she died, it's horrible," she added. Ac...

A militant group based in Hong Kong on Tuesday criticized a new policy issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) imposing restrictions on direct hiring of overseas Filipino workers (OFW). United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK)) said that the “rigid" policy would expose OFWs to more abuses. “We are being thrown to the wolves, and still the government calls it protection," Dolores Balladares, Unifil’s chairperson, said in a statement. Only members of the diplomatic corps, international organizations, and government officials of ministerial level, and employers who are hiring on a one-time or trial basis are allowed to directly hire OFWs, under the new POEA policy. It also requires employers to pay a performance bond of US$3,000 and posting of repatriation bond of US$5,000 per hired OFW. The performance bond will guarantee payment of the OFW’s salary for the duration of his or her job abroad. The repatriation bond will assure that if the OFW dies, he...

The second Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD), which will be held in the Philippines in October, must be used as an occasion to clinch bilateral labor agreements with countries hosting overseas Filipino workers, a non-government organization said Thursday. The Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc. (Kakammpi) is urging the Philippine government to focus on sealing labor deals as it hosts the GFMD because mere consensus on some migration issues would not immediately translate into workable protection mechanisms for OFWs. “Mere talks and consensus forming on some issues confronting migrant workers would just end up as pieces of nonbinding documents that cannot be expected to address the problems of OFWs," said Ma. Fe Nicodemus, executive director of Kakammpi. Nicodemus was reacting to an earlier statement of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr that by hosting the GFMD the country could expect to reach consensus that might l...

SUSUPE, Saipan – A Filipino worker in Saipan was sentenced to five months in prison for stealing $19,183.26 from his employer out of “desperation" to help his ailing mother with her medical expenses in the Philippines and his sister with her medical bills in Bahrain. Arnel Ruga Del Rosario, 42, could be facing a much longer imprisonment than five months had he not produced documentation of medical bills to show the court that he in fact used the funds for his family members’ medical needs. He entered a guilty plea to one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds. Del Rosario told the Superior Court of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI, that he had no choice because of his mother and sister’s medical needs. According to court documents, Del Rosario said he wanted to repay the money but was unable to do so before his employer, Beijing Wholesale, discovered the theft. When confronted by his employer, Del Rosario admitted his offense ...

SUSUPE, Saipan – A Filipino worker in Saipan was sentenced to five months in prison for stealing $19,183.26 from his employer out of “desperation" to help his ailing mother with her medical expenses in the Philippines and his sister with her medical bills in Bahrain. Arnel Ruga Del Rosario, 42, could be facing a much longer imprisonment than five months had he not produced documentation of medical bills to show the court that he in fact used the funds for his family members’ medical needs. He entered a guilty plea to one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds. Del Rosario told the Superior Court of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI, that he had no choice because of his mother and sister’s medical needs. According to court documents, Del Rosario said he wanted to repay the money but was unable to do so before his employer, Beijing Wholesale, discovered the theft. When confronted by his employer, Del Rosario admitted his offense ...

The US Health Department cleared ten of the Sentoza 27, a group of Pinoy nurses being charged with reckless endangerment of their patients whom they allegedly walked out on in 2006. A spokesman from the state Department of Health said in a report by New York’s Newsday said that in their inquiry, they found that residents at a Smithtown nursing home "were not placed in jeopardy" by the mass resignation of 10 nurses in 2006. The health department's findings were released less than two weeks before the nurses - all immigrants - are scheduled for a January 28 trial in Suffolk County, New York, on charges of conspiracy and endangering patients in a pediatric ventilation unit at Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. The Suffolk County district attorney's office questioned the thoroughness of the inquiry and defended the grand jury probe that led to the nurses' indictment in March. Still, the health department is the second major state government agency t...

Five Filipino women workers are arriving from Jordan with shattered dreams. Maricel Cabarillas, a 34-year-old mother of two from Shariff Kabungsuan in Maguindanao, is suffering from depression. She jumped from the second floor of the Filipino Workers’ Resource Center in Amman and sustained fracture on her left leg on New Year’s Eve in 2007. Mary Celle Biton, also 34 years old, is a teacher from Digos City, Davao del Sur. She is suffering from blurred vision and symptomatic lupus erytopolosis. Emma Alegre is coming home two days after the remains of her mother, Priscilla, was shipped to the Philippines from Jordan. The Philippine embassy in Jordan said it worked out the cancellation of Emma’s overstay penalties and runaway case at the police. The embassy also sent home Sharon Atanacio, who suffering from mental delusion, and Mary Diph Ibagat whose case against her abusive employer had been resolved. The five distressed OFWs left Amman, Jordan via Kuwait Airlines on Thursday. - GMANews.T...

(Updated 2:30 p.m.)The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) temporarily suspended deployment of Filipino workers to Jordan following an increase in number of distressed workers in that country, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said Wednesday. In a press briefing, POEA administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said Labor Secretary Arturo Brion ordered the suspension Monday after noting that some 120 to 150 Filipino workers have sought refuge in workers resource center in Amman, Jordan due to labor problems. She said some of the distressed workers were victims of abuse and maltreatment. Majority of the OFWs that were housed in the FWRC or the resource center are domestic helpers that encountered problems with their employers which ranges from cases of abuse, non-payment of wages, maltreatment to even rape cases. Baldoz said the deployment ban only covers the newly hired OFWs since returning workers which don’t have problems with their employers are allowed to return to Jordan ...

Filipinos planning to travel to Brazil should have anti-yellow fever immunization 10 days prior to their arrival in the South American state, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an advisory on Wednesday. Brazil’s health ministry has advised both residents and foreigners to take the anti-yellow fever vaccination following the death of two persons, one in Brasilia and the other in Goiania. Eight other suspected cases are under investigation. The DFA said the Philippine embassy in the South American country recommends that all Brazil-bound Filipinos above six months of age, including those planning to attend the Carnival festivities in February, get the anti-yellow fever shot prior to their departure. Brazil’s Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao has declared the situation under control and discounted the possibility of the disease spreading into epidemic proportions in heavily populated areas. - GMANews.TV

disaster in the making for the millions of overseas Filipino workers. That was how the militant United Filipinos n Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK) view the Philippines’ hosting on October 27 – 30 of the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development where some 200 delegates from various sectors worldwide are expected to participate. “What benefits can OFWs get from a process that aims to intensify labor export, increase remittances and profit from labor migration, ensure the flow of cheap but skilled migrant labor to receiving countries, and practically substitute forced migration as a development framework instead of genuine development in sending countries?" asked Unifil chairperson Dolores Balladares. The DFA signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Monday with Ayala Foundation that was designated to head the civil society component of the GFMD. Balladares sought to dispute the assurance of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the forum i...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it is already taking the necessary measures to assist the 20 overseas Filipino workers in Sudan who are reportedly being abused by their employer. DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal said in an interview that the government is finding it difficult to coordinate with the OFWs considering that the Philippines does not have an embassy in the African nation. However, Cristobal told GMANews.TV said that they have already asked Filipino diplomats from the nearby Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt to fly to Sudan and come to the aid of the Filipinos. Meantime, Cristobal said they have carried out the initial stage of extending assistance to the 20 Filipinos, whose identities the DFA has yet to verify. "We have taken the first task in assisting them by making contact with an honorary consul in Sudan," Cristobal said. An appointed honorary consul, according to Cristobal, is a native of the host country who is requested to assist the ...

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Fifteen crew members were missing Wednesday and five others had been rescued, after a Philippine fishing vessel sank off the southern Taiwanese coast, a Taiwanese official said. Coast Guard spokesman Hsieh Ching-ching said helicopters and one ship dispatched by the Taiwanese government rescued two of the sailors from the Panama-registered Horng Yun in heavy seas, and nearby cargo vessels saved another three. ''We have asked Hong Kong and the Philippines for extra help as the ship was closer to the Philippines,'' Hsieh said. ''Rescuers are still searching for the missing 15 fishermen.'' Taiwan TV said weather conditions were stormy in the area where the Horng Yun went down. - AP

Inaasahang maapektuhan ang Filipino community sa Estados Unidos ng pinaplanong “Real ID system" na nais ipatupad doon bilang bahagi ng kampanya ng Amerika laban sa terorismo at illegal immigrants. Sa ulat ng GMA News Saksi nitong Martes, sinabi ni US immigrant lawyer Michel Templo na ang mga Filipino na hindi dokumento o TNT (tago-ng-tago) ang siguradong maaapektuhan ng Real ID system. “Not so much impact if they maintain their legal status. If they maintain their visa or legal immigration status, there is no much impact on that. The greater impact will be on TNTs," paliwanag ni Templo. Dahil sa bagong ID system, inaasahan na magiging mahigpit ang US authorities sa paghingi ng mga ipakikitang dokumento ng mag-a-apply ng ID. Sa listahan ng Commission on Filipino Overseas, lumitaw na umabot sa mahigit dalawang milyon ang Filipino na may permanent status sa US; mahigit 100,000 ang may temporary residence; at tinatayang 103,000 ang hindi dokumentado o ilegal. Sa ilalim ng Real ID...

Reno S. Lacerna, a Philippine-born sergeant at the US army, received full military honors on his interment on Wednesday. Lacerna was the latest Filipino-American casualty in the Iraq war. He served with the 226th Quarter Master Company, 87th Corps Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. In recognition of his valor and dedication, Sgt Lacerna received posthumously the Bronze Star Medal, the fourth highest US military award for gallantry in action. Lacerna was interred at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque City on Wednesday. US Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, Brigadier General Xavier P. Lobeto, Commanding General of the 19th Sustainment Command, 8th US army and a funeral honor from US Forces Korea-United Nations Command were present along with military representatives from the US embassy in Manila to honor Sgt Lacerna and his next of kin. Sgt Lacerna was born in Manila on April 25, 1963. He had a Bachelor of Science degree ...

An official of the Bureau of Customs on Wednesday said its 2008 revenue goal of P254.5 billion is unrealistic because of the continuing strength of the peso against the US dollar. Instead, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the collections goal should be set below 2007's P228.2-billion target. “With the continued peso appreciation, it will be next to impossible to meet this current goal," the Customs chief said. The government's collection goals are set by the Development and Budget Coordination Committee, an inter-agency body. Last year, Customs fell short of its P228.2-billion collection target by P17.3 billion after it only managed to collect P210.9 billion. This year’s collection target of P254.5 billion is 20.7 percent or P43.6 billion higher than last year’s actual collections. The government is looking at the possibility of reducing the collection target of the Customs by to P240.2 billion instead of the original goal of P254.5 billion due to lower import gr...

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casino has filed a resolution asking the House committee on economic affairs to review the action taken by the government to help the overseas Filipino workers and other sectors affected by the strong peso exchange against the dollar. Interviewed over the phone on Wednesday, Casino said he expects the House leadership to support his resolution and give importance to it so that public hearings could start immediately. Congress resumes regular sessions on January 28 after more than a month of vacation for the Christmas holidays. “Due to urgency of the matter, I hope Speaker Jose de Venecia will support this resolution and the Rules committee will immediately refer it to the appropriate committee so the committee can start the hearing," Casino said. Aside from the impact of a weak dollar to the OFW sector, Casino said he is also concerned about the situation of the import sector that depend highly on dollar denomination in doing their business. “The...