KAKAMMPI News

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today warned Filipino workers against accepting job offers locally or overseas from any individual or agency through the Internet without checking the legitimacy of the job offers with concerned authorities. Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque issued the warning in view of a South African couple who were duped by unscrupulous individuals offering non-existent jobs in the Philippines through the Internet. Citing a report from the DOLE office in Region 7 (Cebu), Roque said the South Africans, Errol Froman and his wife, were promised jobs as managers for a beach resort by certain Franz Baumann and Alan Gonzaga whom they met through the Internet. The resort named Sunset Garden and Dive Resort was purportedly located in Bgy. Libaong, Panglao Island in Bohol. The DOLE Chief disclosed that Mr. Froman communicated with the Philippine Embassy in South Africa to inquire about the job offer only after sending money to Baumann and Gonzaga...

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque today said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) would vigorously continue to exert more efforts in curbing illegal recruitment and human trafficking in all fronts, locally or overseas. Roque as DOLE chief and Chair of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Board, made this assurance as recent news reports by a non-government organization (NGO) indicated an increase in human trafficking activities in the Philippines. Roque said the government has consolidated all its resources and focal agencies into one Task Force that would directly address the problem of illegal recruitment and human trafficking. Roque said through Executive Order (EO) 548-A issued recently by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the role of the POEA, an attached agency of the DOLE, has been clearly defined and strengthened as mandated by R.A 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. The order has amended and superseded ...

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today advised overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other travelers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to declare upon arrival and departure cash, precious metals or jewelry worth over SR 60,000 (Saudi Riyals) or US$16,000 to avoid confiscation or legal penalties. Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque issued the advisory upon receiving a communication from the Saudi Embassy in Manila on the matter. Roque said the Saudi government has enjoined all travelers to their country to strictly follow Saudi Arabia's Customs Department rule on the declaration of cash, transferable monetary instruments or precious metals and jewelry exceeding SR60,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency to customs officials upon arrival or departure. The labor secretary, quoting a statement from the communication, said the main purpose of the declaration was to prevent "money laundering and some forms of terrorist funding." The Kingdom of Saudi A...

Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR - A Filipino crew member died in an "accident" while the Malaysian palm oil tanker he was working on was seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia last week, the ship's owner said. The Bunga Melati Dua, owned by Malaysian shipping company MISC, was seized last Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden with 39 crew, including 29 Malaysians and 10 Filipinos, and remains in the hands of the pirates. The tanker, fully laden with 32,025 tons of palm oil, was heading towards the Dutch port of Rotterdam from Sumatra in Indonesia at the time of the attack. "We have been able to establish more communication with the crew of Bunga Melati Dua and are now able to confirm that the fatality on board involving a Filipino crew member was an accident during the time of boarding of the vessel by the hijackers," MISC said in a statement issued late Monday. "All remaining crew members are safe and are taken care of. Negotiations are ongoing to secure the s...

MANILA, Philippines - The family of a deceased Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking justice for what they feel is a cover-up of the real cause of death of the migrant worker. OFW Evelyn Milo’s family does not believe that she committed suicide by jumping off a building in Abu Dhabi in the UAE on August 10. Her remains arrived in the Philippines on August 19. According to an exclusive report from Ian Cruz of GMA’s Unang Balita, the OFW’s family said that she hasn’t been buried yet because of the lack of support from placement agency that sent Evelyn abroad and the Philippine government. She has been in her wake in Singalong, Manila for almost a week now. Evelyn’s mother, Thelma, told Cruz that she saw signs of foul play on her daughter’s body. She said that there were bruises on her legs and what looked like strangle and stab marks on her chest. Thelma is asking for justice for her daughter’s allegedly suspicious death. "Sa kutob ko po bilan...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Filipino sailor died aboard a Malaysian vessel hijacked last week off the coast of Somalia as negotiations continued on Tuesday to free other crew members. The seaman died in an accident when pirates boarded the palm-oil tanker Bunga Melati Dua in the Gulf of Aden last Tuesday, Malaysian shipping line MISC Berhad said in a statement. It did not explain what kind of accident resulted in his death. "We have been able to establish more communication with the crew," the statement said. "All remaining crew members are safe and are taken care of. Negotiations are ongoing to secure the safe release" of the remaining 29 Malaysian and nine Filipino crew members. A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing negotiations. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted by The Star daily Tuesday as saying the Malaysian government was following the negotiations, "but for now nothing has been achieved." His aide, who declined t...

JOSEPH G. LARIOSA, GMANews.TV SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – Some Filipino-Americans who openly supported Sen. Hillary Clinton during the Democratic presidential primary are now warming up to the choice of Sen. Joe Biden as Sen. Barack Obama’s vice presidential Democratic nominee. Among those now seeking support for the Obama-Biden tandem is businesswoman Loida Nicolas Lewis, who was a campaign leader among the Filipino-Americans for Hillary Clinton for president during the primary. “Sen. Biden is the wrong choice. But Democrats should support the ticket of Senators Obama and Biden in the general elections," Lewis told this reporter in an interview before she delivered her keynote speech at the Gintong Pamana Awards Foundation, Inc. ceremonies at Chicago’s suburbs of Oak Brook, Illinois last Aug. 23. Twelve outstanding were honored during the occasion. Another pro-Clinton supporter, Ting Joven, also a Filipino American community leader in Chicago, appealed to Democrats who are saying tha...

CAPITAL HILL, Saipan - Thousands of overseas Filipinos workers (OFW) in the US territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) encountered another roadblock in their attempt at having a better immigration status and job security in the CNMI. The CNMI House of Representatives on Friday rejected House Bill 16-86 that seeks to allow long-time nonresident workers in the Marianas to apply for a more permanent immigration status. Voting 13-2, the House adopted the Judiciary and Government Operations (JGO) Committee report recommending the shelving of the bill. Though the measure does not offer permanent residency, resident status, citizenship, or nationality to Filipinos and other foreign nationals who have been in the CNMI for at least five years, it would enable them to live and work “at will" in the Marianas like permanent residents. The bill also gives preference to long-term nonresident workers over other foreign workers. The Human Dignity Movement, which has t...

MANILA, Philippines - Members of Migrante International on Tuesday said they would file a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) mandatory implementation of the psychiatric tests for all Filipinos seeking work abroad. The group said its members would troop to the DFA national headquarters to warn the chairman of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Esteban Conejos Jr against implementing the tests. “The tests are discriminatory against departing domestic workers," said Migrante International spokesperson Garry Martinez. “The psychiatric tests are additional burden to the OFWs and another reason for government to exact unreasonable fees from us." Recently, OFWs repatriated from Jordan said that they were asked by embassy officials to admit crimes they did not commit just so they could escape detention abroad. “Isn’t it the height of lunacy that not one of the three officials have done anything about...

MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines - Seamen passing through pirate-prone areas need not become vulnerable to sea bandits if they undergo proper training in dealing with piracy, a group of Filipino seamen said. According to Engineer Nelson Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers, robberies in high seas are common, and thus seafarers should know how to defend themselves from pirate attacks. “Dadaan at dadaan sila d’yan (Most of them will undergo this ordeal eventually)," said Ramirez in a recent interview with GMANews.TV. He said all ship officials are required to take the ship security officer training, while crew members should undergo the ship security awareness program to avoid being taken over by pirates, who are often equipped with faster boats. Ramirez said that because international law prohibits the carrying of guns in commercial vessels, ship captains are trained to shoot pirates with a fire hose. Last July, the Associated Press (AP) cited a...

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday said the oil-rich state of Kuwait would be ready to hire a large number of overseas Filipino workers (OFW). During the inauguration of the Global Gateway Logistics City (GGLC) here, Mrs Arroyo said the OFWs’ skills “are known and acknowledged in Kuwait," which hosts about 100,000 OFWs, the third largest Filipino community in the Middle East. “According to His Highnesss the Prime Minister (Nasser Al-Mohammad A- Ahmad Al-Sabah) they would welcome even a million...There is no quota to limit the number of Filipino workers in Kuwait," she said. During the event, the President reiterated her gratitude to Kuwait for the commutation of the death sentences of Filipino workers May Vecina and Marilou Ranario. She also thanked Kuwait for its commitment to help upgrade the Davao Regional Hospital and the Cotabato Regional Medical Center into a national cancer center and regional cancer center respectively, and mod...

FIDEL JIMENEZ AND MARK JOSEPH UBALDE, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said nine more Filipino seafarers have been seized by sea pirates in the Gulf of Aden. DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the figure raises the total number Filipino seafarers being held captive off the Horn of Africa to 54. In a text message coursed through DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal, Conejos said the additional nine captive Pinoy seamen were part of 13-man crew of the German-owned, Antigua and Barbuda-flagged freighter M/T BBC Trinidad. The said freighter ship was hijacked by suspected Somali pirates on August 21, the same day when chemical tanker MT Irene, a Panama-flagged and operated by Japan’s Koyo Company, was hijacked with 19 crewmen including 15 Filipino seamen, not 16 as earlier reported. On Aug. 19, suspected Somali pirates also seized MT Bunga Melati 2 with 10 Filipino seamen, while 20 other Filipino seafarers were hel...

MANILA, Philippines - A party-list representative is seeking a congressional inquiry into the alarming increase in the reported cases of human smuggling in Singapore that is being linked to cheaper air tickets. In a statement on Monday, Alliance for Rural Concerns Rep. Narciso Santiago III, said Congress should investigate reports claiming that Filipino trafficking in Singapore had reached record high last year due to the introduction of budget air fares. Santiago said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) cited a report by Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule Anota revealing that there were 212 cases of human trafficking in 2007, a 70 percent increase from the 125 cases reported in 2006. Singapore is among the top destinations in Asia among unskilled and low-skilled Filipino workers. Illegal recruiters often lure Filipinas into working as food servers in Singapore only to be duped later on as prostitutes in the Lion City's red light district or in neighboring Malaysia. ...

KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines - The top post at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is still vacant after all, and that nomination is still open, according to an association of overseas Filipino organizations. The Global Filipino Nation (GFN) said it learned from Patricia Sto. Tomas, head of the executive search for OWWA administrator, on Wednesday that the committee has already ranked and rated a number of people and submitted seven names to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo about two or three weeks ago. GFN convenor Victor Barrios would not divulge any of the seven top nominees, but hinted that former Surigao del Sur congressman Prospero Pichay Jr. is not one of them. Pichay’s nomination to the post elicited criticisms from overseas Filipinos, who expressed concern about Malacańang’s intentiopns. “It was comforting to hear her confirm that the name that the global Filipino community was fearful might be appointed is out of the running," he sai...

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipinos were arrested in Kuwait City for stealing iron from a construction site near Abdali motorway in Kuwait City, an online news site reported Thursday. Arab Times Online reported that a night patrol team made the arrest but did not immediately name the two. Sketchy initial details showed the two Filipinos took a large quantity of stolen goods and tried to run away on seeing police, but they were caught and referred to authorities. In a separate incident, police arrested a 20-year-old Filipino woman and a 40-year Egyptian man for "committing immoral acts." The report cited a security source as saying some families at a beach in Shuwaikh called police when the couple was seen embracing and kissing in public. - GMANews.TV

MANILA, Philippines - The Malaysian government has given undocumented Filipinos in Sabah until the end of October to regularize their stay and avoid deportation, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday. Esteban Conejos Jr, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, said Filipinos can stay longer in Sabah if their employers will agree to sponsor them. Conejos explained that the employers would have to write to the Sabah immigration authorities and register the Filipino worker. Sabah’s Department of Immigration will then send an acknowledgment receipt approving the employer’s application so that the Filipino worker can legally stay and work in the island. “With the receipt of acknowledgment from the Department of Immigration, our embassy will now issue a passport to each of them because they have already been regularized," Conejos said. A seven-man Philippine consular team in Sabah is processing the travel documents of the workers and providing a...

KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines - Philippine recruitment agencies called on the Filipino community in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to oppose the "unified contract" which will be implemented by the Saudi National Recruitment Committee (Sanarcom) starting September 1. Victor Fernandez, president of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (Pasei), the largest group of Philippine service exporters with 700 member organizations, said that it was important that Filipino workers know that the provisions in the “unified contract" are unfair. The industry leader met with the Kongreso ng Kapulungan ng mga Samahang Pilipino (KASAPI) congress and Filipino communities in Jeddah. The people present in the meeting were enraged when Fernandez explained to them the implications of the provisions in the contract to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). A part of the "unified contract" states that the deal between Saudi employers and the Overseas Filipino Worke...

FIDEL JIMENEZ, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday night said at least 26 Filipino seamen have been seized by gunmen in the Gulf of Aden off north Somalia in a series of attacks as an international maritime body urged the United Nations to restore law and order to the notorious African waters. In a text message to GMANews.TV, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr, citing the reports from Philippine Embassy in Nairobi and local manning agencies, said the Filipinos are among the crewmen of two ships recently hijacked by suspected Somali pirates. The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Conejos said that palm oil-laden tanker MT Bunga Melati 2, owned and operated by MISC Berhad of Malaysia, has 39 crewmen, including 10 Filipino seamen. The DFA official said MT Bunga Melati 2 was hijacked on August 19. Meanwhile, the chemical tanker MT Irene, a Pan...

MANILA, Philippines — Direct-hiring of Filipino workers by Taiwanese employers is now possible with the signing of the implementing guidelines of a memorandum of understanding that Philippine and Taiwanese officials have earlier forged. Officials of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) signed the implementing guidelines during the recent Philippines-Taiwan Third Joint Labor Conference in Cebu. The Special Hiring Program for Taiwan (SHPT), as the scheme is called, allows Taiwanese employers to directly hire Filipinos without the intermediation of labor brokers and recruiters in the Philippines or Taiwan. The setup allows local employers to hire Filipinos through the Philippine government rather than private agencies. MECO officials earlier estimated that workers could save up to NT$100,000 (P144,991) in brokerage expenses through the SHPT and that the program would loosen the grip of brokers on Taiwan’s foreign labor market. S...

D’JAY LAZARO, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines — A migrant advocacy group on Friday said those pushing for a mandatory psychiatric test for Filipinos seeking work abroad should have their heads examined. Migrante International said the proposed mandatory test only betrays the Arroyo government’s low regard for workers. “For the Arroyo government, those they have hailed as “bagong bayanis" (new heroes) are lunatics," Migrante chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado said in a statement. “It is the (officials of the) Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and, definitely, not the OFWs who should have their heads examined if they really believe mandatory psychiatric tests could help prevent OFWs from snapping in the workplace," she added. Regalado said the DFA should realize that deplorable working conditions overseas; verbal, physical, emotional and sexual abuse; torture and non-payment of wages are major factors that drive OFWs to the brink of insanity. “By refusing to acknowledge t...

MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Photo from WikipediaMANILA, Philippines - Coming on the heels of the abduction of 26 Filipino seafarers in Somalia, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warned all ships crossing the Gulf of Aden to look out for two suspicious vessels believed to be used in piracy. The IMB, a non-profit making organization, which fights against all types of maritime crime and malpractice, advised ship officers to "maintain a strict visual and radar watch" when passing through the Gulf of Aden. "The description of the suspected trawlers - long white, Russian made stern trawlers with names 'BURUM OCEAN or ARENA or ATHENA'," posted the IMB in its website. It added: "One of the trawlers is believed to be operating at approximately 60 NM NE of Bossasso, Somalia in the Gulf of Aden." The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA...

LOS ANGELES — A total of 49 Filipinos were deported back to their home countries by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week. Forty-six of those removed had been convicted of criminal offenses that include felony drug trafficking and possession, child abuse, sex crimes, aggravated assault, weapons possession, identity theft, stalking and burglary. The ICE did not name the 106 immigration violators - including the 57 other Southeast Asian nationals - or specify which criminal offense the Filipinos were convicted of. The repatriated Southeast Asians also include 44 Indonesians and 13 Cambodians. The group included 98 males and eight females. These individuals came into ICE custody from locations throughout the United States and were housed at various detention facilities across the country before being transported to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., shortly before the flight last Tuesday, Aug 14. ICE officers and medical staff with the Division of Immigr...

HAIDEE V. EUGENIO, GMANews.TV MARPI, Saipan – A Filipino drafter remains missing for 21 days in the US territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) but the pickup truck he was last seen driving on July 29 was found abandoned on Aug. 16 near a cave in the northern part of Saipan. Alex Matubis, 47, is from Camarines Sur province in the eastern region of Bicol. He is a husband and a father to two children now living in Laguna province, south of Manila. This is the fist time in recent years that a Filipino contract worker has been reported missing for weeks in the CNMI where about 10,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans currently work and live. The blue Toyota pickup truck he had been driving until the day of his disappearance is owned by the son of his employer for almost 23 years, Castro & Associates, one of the oldest existing surveying firms on Saipan. Filipinos who were part of a trekking group saw the pickup truck on Saturday morning near the Kalabera Cav...

KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines - Speculations about President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s real intention in forging a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has inspired an overseas Filipino worker to express his dismay in a poem. It all boils down to lust and greed for wealth and power, the OFW using the pen name Kabalyero said in the poem written in Filipino, in answer to questions raised by other migrant Pinoys in an exchange of e-mails on Monday. One e-mail participant echoed claims by opposition politicians and other critics of the government that the President was using the peace talks with the MILF as an excuse to amend the Philippine Constitution to perpetuate herself to power. Malacańang officials have repeatedly denied charges of a sinister motive, saying that the government’s sole intention is to bring about peace in Mindanao and the country as a whole. But Kabalyero, who is probably based in Australia, said...

MANILA, Philippines - The US economic downturn should not raise fears that the country will see less remittance inflows as more Filipinos are also seeking opportunities in other regions where growth remains intact, the Philippine Equity Partners, Inc. (PEP) said in a research note released Tuesday. PEP said the US economic slump appeared not to have an impact on the remittance inflows to the country. The US economy, although fraught with subprime mortgage crisis problems that eventually resulted in banks’ hesitance to lend funds and growing unemployment rate, still managed to grow beyond expectations. "The sustained growth in remittance should ease fears that slowing economic growth in the US may impact the remittance flow," PEP said. Recent data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that money coursed through banks by Filipinos living and working abroad grew by 17% year-on-year to $8.2 billion in the first half, compared to $7.03 billion in the same period last year. T...

MANILA, Philippines - A composite team of law enforcement agencies on Tuesday raided a dormitory in Valenzuela to “rescue" several would-be domestic helpers who were promised jobs abroad, according to a television report. GMA News reporter Jiggy Manicad said the raiding team were composed of operatives from the Central Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police, anti-illegal task force of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Office of the Vice President. The four-story dormitory building where the applicants were herded is owned by Thelma Kwe of the Phil. Quest International Management and Service Contractor, Karuhatan, Valenzuela City. The report said Noria Salik, an applicant from Cotabato province had sought police assistance after the agency allegedly prevented her to leave the area unless she pays P10,000 fee. It took two hours before the Kwe allowed the raiding team to enter the building and allowed the applicants to leave the...

HONG KONG - It is a scene reminiscent of the days when the overseas employment certificates were issued only at the Consulate. Dozens of people cram the service area and lift lobby of the Consulate, while 14 floors below, many more patiently wait to be allowed to take the lift up. This time around, the rush is for work contracts to be renewed ahead of time so employers could avail of a government offer to allow them to skip paying the $400 monthly levy for hiring foreign domestic helpers. According to Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente, the number of work contracts submitted to the Consulate for verification has more than tripled since the two-year levy suspension was announced on Aug. 1 Before this, the Consulate processed an average of 300 contracts daily, with the number reaching a high of between 700 and 800 during the peak season. But since the start of the month, the number of contracts submitted on any given day has averaged around 1,000. To manage the deluge, the Consulate h...

MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV Three overseas Filipino workers from Jordan were briefly interviewed by the doctor from the Philippine Senate's office upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Wednesday afternoon. - MJU, GMANews.TV(UPDATED 5:08 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Thirty-seven overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Jordan, including two who are said to be mentally ill, arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday afternoon. The two mentally ill workers, both in their mid-20s, were flown via Etihad Airways under the sponsorship of Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. According to Vice Consul Mark Francis Hamoy of the Philippine Embassy in Amman, Jordan, the two ill OFWs are from the provinces of Bulacan and Basilan. Hamoy said the two are possibly suffering from delusions. However, Dr. Cristeta Cocjin of the Senate Medical Clinic told GMANews.TV that she found the two OFWs showing no signs of mental illness. "They were able to answer all my questions correc...

MANILA, Philippines - A migrant workers advocacy group on Wednesday said that the exorbitant fees being collected from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) will not go to the national budget but to the pockets of corrupt politicians. Migrante International chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado told GMANews.TV in an interview that the government is intensifying its collection tactics to earn more from our workers overseas. Private cash transfer firm Western Union Co. has already begun collecting documentary stamp tax from money sent home by OFWs. Patricia Riingen, regional vice president for Western Union, said in a recent briefing that this is not part of their company’s remittance charges and that the revenue will actually be remitted to the national government. Section 181 of the Tax Reform Act of 1997 says that a documentary stamp tax of thirty centavos for every P200 shall be collected from money coming from a foreign country. Regalado said that revenue from the stamp tax is supposed to go...

MANILA, Philippines - A freeze in deployment of Filipino nurses to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) looms after the termination of several Filipino nurses there. Online news site Khaleej Times reported Thursday that Philippine Ambassador Libran Cabactulan hinted at this as he started investigating the matter. "This is the first time Filipino nurses are said to have failed to qualify in the clinical assessment test. Indeed, this is very surprising," he stressed. The terminated Filipino nurses were working at the Al Mafraq hospital. Cabactulan held a dialogue at the Philippine embassy Wednesday with 17 of 100 Filipino nurses whose employment contracts were not renewed. He expressed alarm over the matter, adding it was very unusual as all nursing institutions in the Philippines are well known worldwide. Also, he said the Philippines has been deploying nurses to the UAE, the UK and other European countries. Cabactulan said he is planning to take up the matter with the UAE's Min...

MANILA, Philippines - A composite team of law enforcement agencies on Tuesday raided a dormitory in Valenzuela to “rescue" several would-be domestic helpers who were promised jobs abroad, according to a television report. GMA News reporter Jiggy Manicad said the raiding team were composed of operatives from the Central Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police, anti-illegal task force of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Office of the Vice President. The four-story dormitory building where the applicants were herded is owned by Thelma Kwe of the Phil. Quest International Management and Service Contractor, Karuhatan, Valenzuela City. The report said Noria Salik, an applicant from Cotabato province had sought police assistance after the agency allegedly prevented her to leave the area unless she pays P10,000 fee. It took two hours before the Kwe allowed the raiding team to enter the building and allowed the applicants to leave the...

Daisy C.L. Mandap and Smiley D. Julve, THE SUN HONG KONG - It is a scene reminiscent of the days when the overseas employment certificates were issued only at the Consulate. Dozens of people cram the service area and lift lobby of the Consulate, while 14 floors below, many more patiently wait to be allowed to take the lift up. This time around, the rush is for work contracts to be renewed ahead of time so employers could avail of a government offer to allow them to skip paying the $400 monthly levy for hiring foreign domestic helpers. According to Consul General Alejandrino A. Vicente, the number of work contracts submitted to the Consulate for verification has more than tripled since the two-year levy suspension was announced on Aug. 1 Before this, the Consulate processed an average of 300 contracts daily, with the number reaching a high of between 700 and 800 during the peak season. But since the start of the month, the number of contracts submitted on any given day has averaged arou...

President Arroyo on Friday took the opportunity to discuss with Kuwait's prime minister the possible commutation of sentences of two Filipino workers on death row in the emirate. Esteban Conejos Jr., foreign affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, confirmed that the President had met with Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Conejos said Mrs. Arroyo first expressed her gratitude to the prime minister for the commutation earlier this year of the death sentences of OFWs Mae Vecina and Marilou Ranario. Mrs. Arroyo then mentioned the cases of Bienvenido Espino and Jakatia Pawa who were convicted in April and May this year. Espino was convicted for killing a fellow Filipino. Pawa was sentenced to death for killing the 22-year-old daughter of her employer. According to Conejos, the prime minister said that they should first wait for the result of the Kuwaiti legal process before talking about the commutation. The cases are both on appeal before...