KAKAMMPI News

(UPDATED: 5:38 pm) CHICAGO, Illinois – The Philippine Consulate General in the Midwest based in Illinois on Wednesday announced where donations could be sent in behalf of the victims of typhoon "Frank" (Fengshen). According to the consulate, the guidelines on donations are based on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s directive to Philippine foreign service posts to open disaster relief accounts for the typhoon victims. (1) Cash or check donations can be deposited in the following bank accounts: NDCC ACCOUNT: PESO Account Bank: DBP Camp Aguinaldo Branch Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines Acct. Name: NDCC Donated Fund Acct. No.: 0-00149-435-3 Swift Code: DBPHPHMM Acct. No.: 36002016 Type: Current Account PNRC ACCOUNTS: PESO Account (1) Bank: Metrobank, Port Area Branch Anda Circle, Port Area, Manila Acct. Name: The Philippine National Red Cross Acct. No.: 151-3-041-63122-8-MBTC Type of Acct.: Savings (2) Bank: Bank of the Philippine Islands Port Area Branch, Port Area, Ma...

MANILA, Philippines - Owing to the global preference for Filipino labor, more than half a million overseas Filipino workers were deployed in more than 190 countries in the first five months of 2008, the Labor department said. This, as it noted that global OFW remittances have reached $5.4 billion (more than P240.89 billion) in the first four months of 2008. In a press statement posted on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) website on Friday, Labor Sec. Marianito Roque said this is more than 12 percent higher than the deployment figures during the same period last year. Roque cited the latest preliminary report of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that some 516,466 documented OFWs have been globally deployed from January to May this year, boosted by an 8.6 percent increment in new hires from 142,618 in the same period last year, to 154,841 from January to May this year. "The 516,466 OFWs deployed from January to May 2008 represents a substantial gro...

MANILA, Philippines - Five Filipino overseas workers (OFW) were rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Rome from their alleged abusive employer in Albania. The OFWs were deployed last December to work in a restaurant at a gas station in Patos City, the center of the oil industry in Albania, which is about about 250 kilometers south of Tirana, the country's capital. According to the embassy, the workers claimed that their employer abused them verbally, made them work day and night without day off, and restricted them from roaming outside their accommodation premises. The embassy acted on the plight of the OFWs after the father of one of the workers appealed for help from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. Philippe J. Lhuillier, Philippine Ambassador to Italy, Albania, and San Marino said that after verifying their plight, he sent Assistance-to-Nationals officer Antonio Villar and Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan to Albania to facilitate the workers' repatriation. The diploma...

TORONTO - The brother of a Canadian teenager who was slain in what friends described as a family dispute over a Muslim head scarf was charged with murder, becoming the second family member accused in her death, police said Friday. Aqsa Parvez, 16, of Pakistani origin, was strangled in December at her Mississauga, Ontario, home. Waqas Parvez, 27, who had faced obstruction allegations in his sister's death, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder. Their father Muhammad Parvez, 57, was charged with first-degree murder earlier this month. He had been a suspect since shortly after her death. Police would not disclose details of any new evidence that prompted the Friday's charges or what impact they would have on the case against the father. But spokeswoman Samantha Nulle said investigators were checking if other people had been involved in the death. Police have refused to confirm the killing was over the scarf, and Muhammed Parvez's lawyer, Joseph Ciraco, has said that mo...

MANILA, Philippines - At least eight of the 30 cases filed against suspected illegal recruiters were dismissed after complainants failed to show interest in pursuing the matter, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said. Data provided by the agency’s Operation and Surveillance Division showed that the cases had a total amount of P4.57 million involving 74 accused persons. After complainants executed affidavits of desistance—indicating that they were no longer interested in pursuing the case—courts cleared the following individuals - Ligaya Rivas Chong, Sherly Pulido De Asis, Randy Moreno Carbonella, Lysander Bugnot Aldea, Dolores Moreno, Toni Dela Cruz, Jennifer Jaguilon of Vacation Travel Inc and Summit Marketing; - Estrellita Valera, Ruth Pentojo and Juvita Ali of Aces V Manpower Corporation; - Lolita B. Trinidad, Terencia Tagsa Acelo, Marlyn M. Sta. Ana, Ronilio L. Argawanon, Vilma A. Blancaflor, Laila F. Eduria, Mercedita F. Gemino, Irma A. Arevalo, Reynaldo B. ...

Male OFWs sent home bigger slices of bacon in past six years Women OFWs many but remit less than men by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO www.ofwjournalism.net KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA–FOR 12 years, Rita’s family in the Philippines was fed through two shoe-box sized containers at her feet. The rectangular matte-black boxes, scuffed with use, contain Rita’s tools of the trade: nail clippers, nippers, two-inch tall bottles of silver, gold, and red nail polishes, blush-on brushes and mascara. For more than a decade, Rita relied on her being a manicurist and pedicurist, enabling her to send money to her family in Bansalan, Davao del Sur. Rita is one of millions of female laborers and unskilled workers who remain the leading number of OFWs in the annual Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF) of the National Statistics Office. But their meager salaries abroad have not made them the top remitters compared to their counterpart male low-skilled workers. While not revealing how much she sends monthly, Rita says s...

by MADELAINE JOY A. GARCIA www.ofwjournalism.net MANILA–FILIPINOS are slowly conquering various countries through sheer numbers. A recently-released report by the World Bank identified Filipinos as among the top 10foreigners in 16 big and small countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. The WB’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008 cited Filipinos lead the number of foreigners in Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, Cyprus, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Oman, Palau, Saudi Arabia, the Solomon Islands, and the US. Five of these countries are members of the bloc Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The World Bank report bared data on the estimated number of migrants –or what it calls “immigrants”– based on the 2005 United Nations Population Division report. The tiny island of Palau, some 800 kilometers east of the Philippines, hosts the most number of Filipinos among 3,036 foreigners. This di...

by RUBEN JEFFREY A. ASUNCION www.ofwjournalism.net QUEZON CITY–TWO government agencies expected to help overseas Filipino workers received increases in funding for this year, budget records showed. The 2008 General Appropriations Act bared that assistance projects for OFWs by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) got the increments the agencies proposed in last year’s budget hearings. The labor department got a P33.3-million increase in allocated funds for its “Social Protection Program,” where the budget item “Workers Protection and Welfare Service to Overseas Filipino Workers” falls under. The program was given P383.3 million this year, up nearly ten percent from its P350 million budget last year. In addition, the labor department’s “Emergency Repatriation Program,” an item absent from its budget last year, was given P50 million. Another P50 million was allocated for the one-year-old National Reintegration Center for OFWs. The cente...

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO www.ofwjournalism.net HANOI, VIETNAM–TRUE to their band’s name, four Filipinos here are carving Melia Hanoi hotel’s watering hole for fellow OFWs craving for a taste of home. They call themselves the D’Sensations, now on their second month here in a years-long tour of gigs across Asia. Hanging out here helps us get over loneliness for being away from our families in the Philippines, Cresliejoy Abiang tells the OFW Journalism Consortium. Abiang, who said she works at a textile firm here as a technician, is a regular at the hotel’s Latino Bar where the D’Sensations play. That night, Abiang and some of her Filipino co-workers tap their feet as the D’Sensation band belted out Gloria Estefan’s Conga. This is where we really hang out, Abiang said as some customers took the floor to sway as D’Sensation’s lead singer Liza asked everybody to “feel the fire of desire.” “Simple unwinding here helps us, especially when we feel we worked too hard this week,” Abiang said. Ab...

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO www.ofwjournalism.net MANDALUYONG CITY–A BID to stomp out illegal recruitment in La Union province within a year got off on a slow start, with the nonprofit group leading this ambitious project bracing itself for “booby traps” along the way. Marge Madiguid of Kanlungan Centre Foundation Inc. said there was no formal launch yet for its “zero illegal recruitment campaign,” planned to start this June. The campaign won for Kanlungan a P0.92-million grant in May from the World Bank-sponsored contest called “Panibagong Paraan”. Madiguid told the OFW Journalism Consortium that while there’s no formal launch for the project, they have met and discussed the campaign with local government and nongovernment groups and agencies. She’s hoping that all committees they plan to organize for the campaign would be formed before July. But the slow start is the least of Kanlungan’s problems as Madiguid said a lot of hurdles await the project. The biggest hurdle, she said, is the a...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Study says high school drop-outs not children of OFWs by LUIS CARLO S. LIBERATO www.ofwjournalism.net MANILA–DISTANCE not only makes the heart grow fonder; it has also kept most children of women overseas Filipino workers from dropping out of school. Thus cites economist Alvin Ang of the University of Santo Tomas in his recently released study titled “Determining the Social Costs of Overseas Filipino Workers’ Remittances: A Check through Education Indicators”. Amid the tide of a nationwide rise of drop-outs and the slump of kids’ school participation and cohort survival, Ang rides against the commonly-held belief that distant parenting strategy doesn’t work. He asserts a contrarian belief that this strategy keeps OFW children in high school. The results for children of OFWs are even more encouraging, says Ang of the UST Social Research Center, if women are the ones abroad. Women’s migration pushes children to stay in school, Ang told the OFW Journalism Consortium. Using mathematical fo...

CHICAGO, Illinois – The American chief executive officer of a Philippine-registered company was sentenced to five years for duping a US government agency of almost $100-million in phony health claims. Thomas Arthur Lutz, 41, president and CEO of Health Visions Corporation (HVC) based in Olongapo City will start doing time on March 18, 2009. Assistant US Attorney Peter M. Jarosz of the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison, said Lutz's sentence was deferred until 2009 to give him time to liquidate the assets of HVC so that he and the firm could pay for the $99-million restitution. Lutz, whose wife is a Filipina, was sentenced for mail fraud by Chief Judge Barbara B. Crabb, also from the US District Court of Western District of Wisconsin. Last April 24, Crabb ordered HVC to liquidate all of its assets and pay $99,915,131 in restitution, $500,000 fine, and forfeit $910,910.60. The corporation was placed on probation and was given ten months to liquidate its assets. HVC was also ord...

Pinoy scientist battles world's top killer disease Filipino scientist Dr. Cymbeline Tancongco Culiat Photo courtesy of Nell One Therapeutics Inc.MANILA, Philippines - In 2005, cardiovascular diseases that include heart attacks and strokes killed about 17.5 million people. This is 30 percent of global deaths, according to the World Health Organization, and the numbers aren't dwindling. But if all things go well, a Filipino scientist may triumph over the world’s top killer. Dr Cymbeline Tancongco Culiat is seeing to it that the trend ends soon so that people around the world suffering from these diseases will be given the chance to lead normal lives. Her groundbreaking research into molecular genetics can potentially change the face of medicine. Dr Tancongco Culiat is the lead researcher of NellOne Therapeutics Inc., a regenerative medicine company launched this month. The firm seeks to develop treatment and restoration of muscles damaged by heart attacks. “The promise of restor...

How to Spot an Illegal Recruiter The following are signs that a job applicant is being recruited illegally: If a recruiter offers long-term work but does not apply the candidate for a 457 Visa, then it may be an indication that the work is not legitimate or that the employment arrangements are not in order; If a recruiter offers long-term work but applies the applicant for a Short-Stay Business Visa (also called the "456 Visa"), then it may be an indication that the work is not legitimate or that the employment arrangements are not in order. • If a recruiter offers long-term work but applies the job applicant only for tourist visa, then it is a definite indication that the work arrangement is not legitimate. If a recruiter makes the applicant pay for Australian administrative fees and/or air travel to Australia, then the recruiter is violating Australian laws require a company to shoulder all costs of fees and the worker's air travel to Australia. The worker mu...

MANILA, Philippines - The mother of the Filipina who was allegedly raped by a US serviceman in Okinawa expressed dismay over the government's lack of support on her daughter's plight. ‘Nanay Nellie’ claimed in a GMA News report Thursday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not followed up on the case after the charges against the US soldier have been dropped due to lack of evidence last May 16. This was the first time that Nanay Nellie has spoken in public after seeking the help of Gabriela, a women’s rights activist group. For her daughter's 22nd birthday on June 5, “Hazel’s" mother paid a visit to the office of Gabriela, to help trumpet her family's call for justice. In its defense, DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs’ executive director Crescente Relacion said that the department has not slept on the case. According to him, DFA’s lawyers in Okinawa have already submitted necessary documents to the US military to conduct court martial proceedings. R...

STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament on Wednesday approved new rules for expelling illegal immigrants from the bloc, overcoming opposition from left-leaning lawmakers and ignoring protests from human rights activists. The move comes amid a tide of anti-immigrant feeling across the wealthy bloc, with Italy blaming foreigners for a spike in violent crime and France grappling with tensions in the immigrant-heavy suburbs ringing urban centers. As economic hard times loom in many EU countries, governments are coming under increased pressure to act tough on immigration. Under the new guidelines, already approved by EU governments, illegals can be held in specialized detention centers for up to 18 months before being expelled. EU countries must provide detained migrants basic rights, including access to free legal advice, and unaccompanied children or families with kids should be held only as a last resort. Once found by authorities, immigrants first will be given the opportunity to l...

By SAW YAN NAINGTuesday, June 17, 2008 Thai and Burmese rights groups are to appeal to Thailand’s government to scrap a controversial new labor law that rewards informers who provide information leading to the apprehension of illegal migrant workers. The law, which took force in March, also requires employers to deduct from the monthly salaries of migrant workers a sum of money to cover repatriation charges if they are deported. The legislation came in for strong criticism at a three-day meeting in Bangkok of about 20 representatives of Thai and Burmese rights groups. The meeting ended on Tuesday after representatives agreed to call on the Thai government to repeal the law. Employers are also addressed by the legislation, which provides for prison sentences of up to two years for illegally employing migrant workers. Migrants found to be working illegally face up to five years’ imprisonment. Informers who provide the authorities with information leading to the apprehension of illegal mi...

The Alien Working Act, which came into force on Feb 22, is prejudiced, unconstitutional and a breach of human rights, activists said yesterday. Laddawan Tamafu, a coordinator of the Mekong Migration Network, said the law focused on national security and the economic benefits for business operators. It was passed without any public hearing. She warned the act would fan divisions. Rewards are offered for the arrest of unlicensed migrant workers and officials can conduct a search without obtaining a court warrant, which she saw as unconstitutional and a violation of human rights. The act is aimed at capping the alien worker quotas through the issuance of work permits. Employers are required by law to deduct money from alien labourers' wages for the extradition fund. ''Most alien workers get paid less than the minimum wage. The fund contribution would take a heavy toll on them,'' Ms Laddawan said. Peng Luemsiaw, a coordinator of the Aids Access Foundation and a Cambodia...

CHICAGO, Illinois– Rosemary Mittenthal, a 68-year-old Filipina nurse in Chicago, Illinois, had complained of having “right shoulder pain" and “left knee pain" in mid-March of 2005. But emergency doctors at the Swedish Covenant Hospital had discharged her as having “gouty arthritis." Because the emergency staff, led by Dr. Paul Newskow, failed to promptly diagnose and treat Rosemary's septic arthritis the Filipina nurse suffered “conscious pain, suffering and permanent disability and injury, which continues to the present day." It turned out that Rosemary had meningitis that was left undiagnosed for three days, according to her lawyer, Mark McNabola. On June 4, the Swedish Covenant agreed to pay Rosemary $7.8 million to settle her negligence lawsuit. Painful ordeal When Rosemary was rushed to the emergency room “for pain management," the “orthopedic surgeon felt this was not consistent with osteoarthritis and alternative medications were given," accordi...

IRVING, Texas - More than 290 people have been arrested in immigration and identity theft raids at Pilgrim's Pride poultry plants in five states. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say Wednesday's raids were part of a long-term investigation. The Texas-based company says it cooperated fully and faces no charges. More than 100 people were arrested on immigration violations in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Moorefield, W.Va. Forty-five people were arrested in Mount Pleasant, Texas, on charges of false use of Social Security numbers. More than 25 people face administrative charges of immigration violations in Live Oak, Fla. They will also face identity theft or document fraud charges. More than 20 were arrested in Batesville, Ark., on federal warrants for alleged document fraud or identity theft. - AP

STRASBOURG, France - Socialists and Greens are leading the opposition in the European Parliament to a new set of common rules for expelling illegal immigrants from the EU, calling for a lower detention period and changes to a proposed re-entry ban. The draft guidelines say illegals in the 27 member countries can be held in specialized detention centers — not jails — for no more than 18 months before being expelled. They grant them basic rights including access to free legal advice, food and shelter, and prohibit the expulsion or detention of unaccompanied children. A cliffhanger vote is expected in the European Parliament on Wednesday. While conservative lawmakers and the Liberal Democrats back the draft rules, center-left groups and the Greens say the proposed detention period is too long. - AP

Lack of immigration personnel makes thousands of departing passengers wait in line at the pre-departure area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. GMANews.TVMANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has remained a haven for human smugglers because of an obsolete law that fails to curb the illegal entry of foreigners into the country, according to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Marcelo Libanan. In a recent interview with radio dzBB, Libanan said the Philippine Immigration Act is too old and inadequate to address the growing incidence of human smuggling in the country. The law, also known as Commonwealth Act No. 613, was signed by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 3, 1940. There is nothing in the law that specifically punishes individuals who commit human smuggling, according to the commissioner. “Ang ating batas ay napakakulang na… ginawa pa po ito noong 1940. Napakaluma na, kaya maraming loopholes…walang definition na nagpi-penalize specifically sa human smuggling...

BEIJING - Chinese tour groups headed to the U.S. on Tuesday under a new agreement that the American travel industry hopes will bring in billions of dollars. An initial group of more than 200 tourists was flying from the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for a 12-day visit that will take them to destinations including New York, Washington and Los Angeles. The trips cost about $4,000 each. Chinese with visas have long been permitted to travel to the U.S. but the agreement signed last December considerably eased the way by conferring China's "approved destination status" on the country. That allowed Chinese travel agencies to market package tours to American destinations and permitting U.S. destinations to advertise directly to the Chinese public. "This is my first visit the United States. We're going to visit Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Hawaii," said a 22-year-old college student who gave her name as Miss Yang. "I'm very happy and e...

SOPHIA ANN TORRES, Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project Members of Migrante International dramatize the plight of jailed and stranded OFWs during a press conference in Quezon City Tuesday. Charlie MagnoMANILA, Philippines - The role of more than eight million Filipino migrant workers often takes center stage when their remittances hit a record high: they reached $14.4 billion in 2007. Despite being called the country's "new heroes," they are subjected to various forms of abuses, exploitation and discrimination. Wide attention is generated when a hapless Filipino worker is sentenced to death in a distant land. Thousands of Filipinos sympathized with and mourned for domestic helper Flor Contemplacion when she was hanged in Singapore in 1995 after being found guilty of killing a fellow Filipino worker and her Singaporean ward. Her death moved the government to pass the Migrant Workers Act which seeks to protect the rights and welfare of Filipino workers abroad. Interna...

Please be informed that text messages are being sent by a certain Ms. Jo-Ann Castilllo to innocent OFWs informing them that they have won a Pangkabuhayan Package for OFWs. Ms. Castillo, who is said to be connected with CF Philippines with office address at Tower I, Room 803, 3264 RCBC Plaza, Makati City, informs the would-be OFW victim that he/she can claim the package at her office. Ms. Castillo’s contact number is 0919-6565968. We wish to inform the public that OWWA is not, in one way or the other, connected to the "Pangkabuhayan Package for OFWs", nor has any knowledge in Ms. Castillo’s offerings or activities. THE OWWA MANAGEMENT 17 January 2008