KAKAMMPI News

MANILA, Philippines – The number of Filipino nurses confirmed to have been infected with A(H1N1) flu in Saudi Arabia has risen to seven, with reports saying two more tested positive for the virus. A report in the Arab News (www.arabnews.com) on Saturday said the latest victims of the virus were described by health officials as aged 25 and 26, and were part of a batch of three new cases that included a 10-year-old Saudi boy. The Arab News report said the A(H1N1) virus entered the kingdom via inbound passengers on flights from the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Bahrain, and India. Coming in contact with these travelers exposed others, mainly relatives and Filipino nursing staff, it added. The first swine flu case in Saudi Arabia was also a Filipino nurse employed by a major hospital in the capital city of Riyadh. Except for one who is working in the eastern region, all the other infected Filipino nurses were based in Riyadh. All the...

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was among four foreign destinations tagged as A(H1N1) "hotspots" for Malaysian students who traveled abroad recently, the Department of Foreign Affairs said late Friday. In an update on its website, the DFA cited a report from the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur that students returning from these countries should quarantine themselves for seven days. "The Ministry of Health of Malaysia announced that students returning to Malaysia from their travels to the United States, Britain, Australia and the Philippines are obliged to quarantine themselves for seven days, following the confirmed cases of students at the Klang Valley," the DFA said in its report (http://dfa.gov.ph/?p=6467). Earlier this week, Philippine health authorities confirmed that a 49-year-old woman as the first A(H1N1)-related death in the country. The fatality turned out to be an employee at the House of Representatives, which shut down for one week after learni...

DONKEY WORK. Despite the name, a drug mule is actually a person who smuggles something with him or her across a national border in exchange for money. AP photoMANILA, Philippines - Just as the world celebrated the United Nation’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Vice President Noli De Castro on Friday revealed that the number of Filipino drug “mules" is increasing. Citing a report from Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Sonia Brady, De Castro said that a total of 158 Filipinos – most of whom were women – have been arrested for drug trafficking in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau as of June 7. Drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of highly dangerous drugs like heroin is punishable by death in China and its territories. But the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier reported that in 2008 alone, 111 Filipinos were arrested for drug-related offenses in the same Chinese territories. This, the DFA said, was a 594-percent increase from the 16 arrested ...

FREE AT LAST. Filipino domestic helper May Vecina has escaped certain death after she was granted a full pardon by the Kuwaiti Emir. – GMANews.TVMANILA, Philippines - The overseas Filipino worker on death row who was pardoned by the Kuwaiti emir is expected to return to the Philippines on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The DFA said May Vecina’s repatriation has been moved to June 30 at 8:45 a.m. The Overseas Worker Welfare Administration (OWWA) had earlier announced Vecina was to arrive last Wednesday (June 24). Vecina, the 30-year-old mother of two from North Cotabato province, was found guilty of killing her employer’s seven-year-old son Salem Sulaiman al-Otaib on Jan. 6, 2007. She was also accused of attempting to kill the victim’s 13-year-old brother Abdulla by slitting the boy’s throat, and his 17-year-old sister Hajer by stabbing her. During her trial, Vecina said she suffered physical and mental abuse from her employer that resulted in "temporary in...

MANILA, Philippines - Sixteen would-be overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) were stopped from leaving the country on Thursday for failing to present the required documents for legal deployment, Vice President Noli De Castro said. Citing reports from the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (Tfair), De Castro said the workers were supposed to board a Cathay Pacific flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) but immigration officials barred them from leaving. He said the workers failed to present required documents such as work visas from the country where they are supposed to work and overseas employment certificates from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The 16 were supposed to go to Mali in western Africa to work as miners. They were just the latest batch of workers to be barred by the Tfair and Bureau of Immigration from leaving the country. More than a hundred workers have been stopped from departing this year at the NAIA and at Clark Field for la...

The arrest in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) of 67 Filipinos and several others for dressing like women was a clear violation of a person’s right to privacy and freedom of expression, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. A human rights group has criticized the recent arrest of 67 Filipinos and other party goers for dressing up as women in Saudi Arabia as a violation of a person’s right to privacy and freedom of expression. Rasha Moumneh, the Middle East and North Africa division researcher of the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said: "If the police in Saudi Arabia can arrest people simply because they don't like their clothes, no one is safe." At the same time, Filipino gay rights activist Danton Remoto urged Filipinos in the conservative Muslim country to be "more discreet." “You went to Saudi Arabia, you were told the rules, you have to follow them," said Remoto, who heads the advocacy group Ladlad. Vice Consul Roussel...

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines formally established diplomatic relations this week with the Caribbean island-state of Barbados, following ceremonies held in New York. A Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of the Philippines and Barbados was signed last June 22, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday. Ambassador Hilario Davide Jr., RP permanent representative to the United Nations, and his Barbados counterpart Ambassador Christopher Fitzherbert Hackett, signed the document, the DFA said on its website (www.dfa.gov.ph), citing a report from the Philippine Mission to the UN. Barbados is the easternmost island-state in the Caribbean with a total land area of 430 square kilometers and a population of 282,000. Its closest neighbors are Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia. The island state made local headlines recently with the approval by the Commission on Election of the bid of the Smartmatic – Total Information Net...

MANILA, Philippines - Instead of blacklisting runaway overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), abusive employers in Saudi Arabia should be barred under the new employment policy there, a migrants’ advocacy group said. In a letter to Philippine officials in Saudi Arabia, Migrante’s Middle East chapter said the new policy puts the blame wrongly on foreign workers instead of employers who are subjecting these workers to various forms of maltreatment and labor malpractices. "It should be erring and abusive employers that need to be blacklisted in hiring our workers, not the other way around," said Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona. Based on Migrante Saudi Arabia’s records, there were 1,793 cases of OFWs requesting repatriation as of December 31, 2008. Of the total, 566 ran away from their employers, while 1,019 were in various “distress" situations. "We believe running away from abusive employers is the only way out for our distressed OFWs to save their live...

WHERE'S MA'AM? Filipino students are said to be the real casualties in the migration of highly-qualified Filipino teachers to more career-rewarding offers abroad. JHUMANILA, Philippines - Poor working conditions, a dim chance at career advancement and low salaries have continued to push thousands of experienced Filipino teachers to greener pastures abroad, leaving behind a generation of students hungry for quality education. This was the concern of Annie Geron, secretary-general of Public Service Labor Independent Confederation (PS-LINK) at a forum on the mass migration of Filipino teachers amid the global economic crisis. In less than a decade, PS-LINK said more than 4,000 Filipino educators, including school principals who demoted themselves to teaching jobs, have moved to the US, Middle East, and other Asian countries like China, Japan and Indonesia to teach. In the US, Gerona said a Filipino teacher with at least three years of teaching experience could receive between $4,0...

MANILA, Philippines — Two Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates have been sentenced to two months in jail for drinking liquor, a news report said Wednesday. Philippine Consul General Benito Valeriano was quoted by online news site Khaleej Times (www.khaleejtimes.com) saying the duo were caught drinking outside their accommodation in the UAE state of Sharjah. Valeriano took the opportunity to warn other Filipinos in the UAE to avoid excessive drinking sprees so as not to get in trouble. “I know that it is your way of enjoyment, but it is difficult for you to go against UAE laws against drunkenness. If arrested for such a crime, there are dire consequences not only on the person but on his employment as he can be deported after serving jail," he said. Such a habit of going into drinking sprees, especially on birthdays and other special occasions must be cut as it is considered a crime in the UAE, he warned. Alcohol-related violations are also one of the biggest causes of trouble for...

MANILA, Philippines — Two more Filipino nurses were among the latest batch of people confirmed with A(H1N1) virus in Saudi Arabia, a Jeddah-based online news site reported Wednesday. Arab News said the two nurses, aged 51 and 52, were part of the six new cases identified in the kingdom in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of reported cases there to 45. Health officials in Saudi Arabia said five of the six new cases are people who contracted the virus from patients in various hospitals in Riyadh, while the sixth case is a 25-year-old Saudi man who arrived from New Delhi Tuesday. "The new cases in Riyadh include two Filipino nurses aged 51 and 52, a 21-year-old Saudi man, and two Saudi girls aged six months and one year," the report said. The two nurses became the 4th and 5th Filipino nurses tested positive for the flu virus in the oil-rich kingdom. The kingdom’s first swine flu case was also a Filipino nurse who works at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Resea...

MANILA, Philippines - Amid the continued tension over alleged electoral fraud in Iran, Philippine authorities advised Filipinos based there to take precautionary measures at home and at work. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday the Philippine Embassy in Tehran issued the advisory to Filipinos through Filipino community leaders there. "The Embassy has issued an advisory to Filipinos in Iran, through the network of Filipino community organizations in the area, for them to take the necessary precautionary measures at home and at work to ensure that no harm will come their way. They were also advised to make themselves accessible at all times and to constantly coordinate with the Embassy to facilitate the exchange of information," the DFA said in a statement posted on its website. It added the Philippine government is actively monitoring the ongoing political developments in Tehran. Manila hopes that concerned parties would be able to explore ways toward a peac...

MANILA, Philippines — Citing limited machines and technical adjustments, the Department of Foreign Affairs will limit the number of passport applications it will process on July 6 and 7. The DFA Office of Consular Affairs said applicants who cannot be accommodated on those days will be given appointments starting July 8. "Due to limited machines for use and some technical adjustments, the Office of Consular Affairs wishes to inform the public that only 1,500 passport applications from walk-in applicants will be accepted for processing on 06-07 July 2009 (Monday & Tuesday)," it said. It did not elaborate on the limited machines and technical adjustments. - GMANews.TV

ILL-FATED PLANE. The high-tech Air France jet flight 447 was last heard encountering turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean after flying into bad weather. AP file photoMANILA, Philippines - The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has released P220,000 in benefits to the family of the Filipino seafarer who was on board the ill-fated Air France flight 447. In a statement, OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said that she personally gave the money to the family of Filipino seaman Arden Jugueta, one of the passengers of the Air France 447 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean last May 31. Jugueta was on a 12-hour flight on board the French aircraft when it was on its way to Paris, the point where he was supposed to take a connecting flight to the Philippines. And although his remains have yet to be recovered, Dimzon said OWWA opted to release the financial benefits to his family since Air France had already declared that no one survived the accident. In a separate AP report, the French air a...

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia have been warned of a new immigration rule blacklisting foreign workers that are reported by their employers to have run away. Welfare Officer Romualdo Exmundo of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah said the new policy makes runaway workers more vulnerable to deportation, which means they no longer have any chance of returning to Saudi Arabia to work. In the past, an abscondment report could be canceled if a runaway worker paid the penalty with the Immigration department. A worker could then transfer to another employer or apply for an exit visa in order to leave the country legally, and still have the option to return. “This policy is really disappointing. It doesn’t seem advantageous on the part of the worker," Exmundo said. On the other hand, he noted that some foreign workers who want to leave the Kingdom are “encouraged" to run away from their employers so that they could go home immediately. “...

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - After waking up from an eight-month long coma, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Ruben de Leon finally returned to the Philippines on Monday afternoon. De Leon, 25, was working as a helper in Jeddah for two years when a car driven by a 16-year-old Saudi boy knocked him unconscious in September last year. He left for the country past midnight on Sunday on board Saudi Airlines flight SV 860 and arrived in Manila at 5:45 p.m. on Monday. He was escorted by Dr. Ashraf Abdelaziz Abdulrauf Ibrahim and Filipino nurse Edwin Homillano of the Dr. Sulayman Fakkeh Hospital until they reached the OFW’s home in Taytay, Rizal. Tess Fogata, charge nurse of de Leon, said that the vehicular accident caused great damage to the patient’s mental condition. But Dr. Hazem Abdelkarim Mohamed, assistant director of the hospital, said that de Leon is already in a stable condition and just needs to continue his medication. He recommended that the OFW undergo physiotherapy in the Philippines. W...

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government has called on Lebanon to send representatives for the second round of talks between the two countries and finally decide on the labor deployment ban imposed in the Middle East state in 2007. Lebanon, which has consistently lobbied for the Philippines to lift its two-year deployment ban, is expected to submit its counter proposal to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Labor Cooperation in July, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Gilberto Asuque said. The Philippines has stopped sending Filipino workers to Lebanon in mid-2006 at the height of fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) then blocked the deployment of household service workers in Lebanon following reports of maltreatment and non-payment of wages. The signing of the MOA is one of the conditions in order to lift the ban. “Both countries are also negotiating the Protocol on Household Service Workers as part of their talks," the DFA ...

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government has called on Lebanon to send representatives for the second round of talks between the two countries and finally decide on the labor deployment ban imposed in the Middle East state in 2007. Lebanon, which has consistently lobbied for the Philippines to lift its two-year deployment ban, is expected to submit its counter proposal to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Labor Cooperation in July, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Gilberto Asuque said. The Philippines has stopped sending Filipino workers to Lebanon in mid-2006 at the height of fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) then blocked the deployment of household service workers in Lebanon following reports of maltreatment and non-payment of wages. The signing of the MOA is one of the conditions in order to lift the ban. “Both countries are also negotiating the Protocol on Household Service Workers as part of their talks," the DFA ...

MANILA, Philippines - The process of speeding up the departure of outbound Filipino workers has in turn helped in the surge of human trafficking cases in Philippine airports, a recruitment consultant said. Emmanuel Geslani, the consultant, urged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to re-impose the validation system, which was scrapped last year to expedite the processing of OFWs. The POEA on March 2008 dropped the validation of documents of OFWs leaving through the Labor Assistance Center (LAC) to further streamline processes in overseas deployment. This resulted in an increase in OFW deployment in the following quarter. Geslani said the function of validating exit or e-receipt is a key process that keeps syndicates from trafficking overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). He said without such measures at LAC, efforts to curb human trafficking would be “feeble" if not “useless." “The POEA has no direct way of accurately validating and recording genuine-POEA-proc...

Presidential Decree No. 442 Articles 38 of the Philippine Labor Code "Art. 38. Illegal Recruitment. — (a) Any recruitment activities, including the prohibited practices enumerated under Article 34 of this Code, to be undertaken by non-licensees or non-holders of authority shall be deemed illegal and punishable under Article 39 of this Code. The Ministry of Labor and Employment or any law enforcement officers may initiate complaints under this Article. Republic Act No. 9208 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 "...the State shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures and development of programs that will...eliminate trafficking in persons, and mitigate pressures for involuntary migration and servitude of persons, not only to support trafficked persons but more importantly, to ensure their recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration into the mainstream of society." Supreme Court Decisions “There is illegal recruitment when one purports to have the ability to...

In an interview with reporters in Tokyo, Mrs. Arroyo said there are many Filipinos at risk in the Gulf of Aden, and Japan’s patrol craft will be a “very, very big source of comfort." “(It is a) very, very big source of comfort for our Filipino seafarers and our government in behalf of our seafarers," she said, adding she was “very gratified" about the gesture. The Japanese Diet passed an act that empowers the Japanese government to send patrol craft from its Self Defense Force to protect ships in the Gulf of Aden. Japanese patrol ships are to protect ships not only carrying the Japanese flag but the flag of any national, Mrs. Arroyo noted. Mrs. Arroyo noted the protection will benefit at least 30,000 Filipino seafarers manning Japanese vessels. She said the 30,000 Filipino seamen account for some 70 percent of the total member of sailors manning Japanese vessels, who are at times victims of kidnappings by pirates. “As a major supplier of the world’s seafarers, we greatly...

After the arrest of Filipinos in drag at a private Independence Day party in Riyadh, Vice President Noli De Castro reminded overseas Filipino workers (OFW) on Saturday to abide by the laws of host countries to avoid getting into trouble. De Castro, who is also presidential adviser for OFWs, issued the statement after 69 Filipinos were arrested in Saudi Arabia last June 12 for engaging in gay behavior. [See: Arrested Filipinos dressed in drag freed in KSA] “I just want to reiterate to our OFWs to observe the laws and rules of the country where they work so as not to get into trouble," he said on his radio program “Para Sa Iyo, Bayan." Vice Consul Roussel Reyes of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh earlier told GMANews.TV that the Filipino men were arrested in an Independence Day “gay pageant" at a private villa in the Saudi capital. Reyes said arresting officers, who were tipped off by someone who complained of the noise from the villa, saw the Filipinos wearing wigs and wo...

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has approved a $25,000 fund to be used in appealing the case of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Kuwait whose death sentence was recently affirmed by an appellate court. In a statement released Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that it will use the fund of almost P1.2 million to appeal the case of OFW Jakatia Pawa with Kuwait’s Court of Cassation, which is equivalent to the Philippine Supreme Court. Pawa, 33, of Zamboanga Del Norte province in the southern Philippines, was sentenced to death on April 13, 2008 for killing her employer’s 22-year-old daughter. She has denied the allegation and said one of the family members might have committed the crime. After the Kuwait Court of Appeals upheld the death sentence earlier this week, DFA Secretary Alberto G. Romulo immediately directed Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya to facilitate the filing of an appeal within 30 days. The appeal will be done in ...

CHICAGO – A US court has denied a motion by former Philippine ambassador Lauro Baja to dismiss forced labor and human trafficking charges filed against him, saying the diplomatic immunity that came with his job did not extend to his personal household needs. Baja and his wife, Norma, are facing charges before the US District Court of Southern New York for wage violation, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation, among others. The charges stemmed from the complaint of Marichu Suarez Baoanan, who alleged that the Bajas recruited her from the Philippines to work in the United States in January 2006. She said they forced her to work 16 hours daily and paid her only $100 for three months, plus another $100 for taking care of the son of Baja’s daughter Elizabeth Baja-Facundo. She complained of verbal abuse from Mrs. Baja and said she was made to sleep on the basement of the Philippine Consular residence in New York with only a thin blanket on the cold floor. In seeking to dismiss the case, Baj...

MANILA, Philippines - The only group of medical clinics accredited by Persian Gulf countries said Friday it plans to give flu shots to departing overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as a precaution against the A(H1N1) virus. Gamca, which stands for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Accredited Medical Clinics Association, said it has proposed the inoculation of workers selected by local recruitment agencies for medical exam with H3 vaccine, as there is no vaccine for A(H1N1) yet. “The advantage here is that the H3 vaccine is meant for regular influenza, and regular influenza is worse than the A(H1N1)," Gamca president Dr. Rodolfo Punzalan told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. He said the proposal was made to allay the apprehension expressed by Saudi Arabian Ambassador Mohammad Ameen Wali, following the case of two Filipino nurses who tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus in his country. Aside from Saudi Arabia, other GCC members are the states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the Unite...

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino man has been tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus in Macau, making him the first such case in the former Portuguese colony. Consul General Jaime Victor Ledda, told GMANews.TV that the Filipino was intercepted at the Macau International Airport on Wednesday after arriving from the Philippines, which already has 344 confirmed cases as of Thursday afternoon. "He is now being attended to. He is quite alright," Ledda said. The Filipino worker in Macau is the 12th reported case abroad that contracted the case from the Philippines, which includes a mother and daughter in Taiwan who visited the Philippines, two Filipino nurses in Saudi Arabia, two tourists and two workers in Hong Kong; Filipino-Japanese siblings in Japan; and one in Singapore. One of the Filipino nurses who had been confirmed to have infected the flu was also the first such case in Saudi Arabia. Ledda said the Filipino worker in Macau is recovering from the flu and will be released s...

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino woman in Singapore has tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Friday. The DFA cited a report from the Philippine Embassy in the island-city state that the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed the case. In an update posted Friday morning on its Web site, the DFA also said at least 10 Filipinos were quarantined in Singapore until June 15 after having had "close contact" with a confirmed A(H1N1) case. A separate account on the site Barangay Singapore said the Filipino woman was the 18th A(H1N1) case in Singapore. In an entry dated June 10, the site described the Filipino woman as 36 years old working in Singapore. "She returned to Singapore from Manila on Philippine Airlines PR501 at 1835 hours on June 8. She was seated in row 6," it said. On the other hand, the DFA said three more Filipinos were to be quarantined until June 19. "The total number of Filipinos in Singap...

MANILA, Philippines - Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona has filed a measure seeking to speed up the processing of work and travel documents for Filipino seafarers. Under House Bill No. 6376 the Philippine Seafarers’ One-Stop Hub would be established to “centralize and expedite" the processing of documentary requirements for seafarers and their principals. “Regulation is the first step to making things right. Policies and requirements must both be centralized to ensure uniformity and predictability. Better regulation by the government will also lead towards comprehensive exhaustion of the industry’s job-generating potentials," Guingona said in a statement. The bill, he said, proposes that the hub have the services of different government offices, namely the Overseas Welfare Workers Association (OWWA), Commission on Higher Education, Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Maritime Industry Authority (MIA), National Telecom...

DEATH NO MORE. Filipino domestic helper May Vecina is given a new life after Kuwait's emir commuted her death sentence. GMANews.TVNORTH COTABATO, Philippines - The family of May Vecina, the Filipina domestic helper recently spared from death row in Kuwait, has nothing but gratitude to the Philippine government. May’s husband Leo sent a letter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last April 2008 asking for her immediate intervention to save her wife from death sentence. Written in a whole sheet of yellow paper and sent via courier, Leo appealed to President Arroyo to help her wife, who was that time imprisoned after a Kuwaiti court found her guilty of killing her employer's seven-year-old son, Salem Sulaiman Al-Otaib, on January 6, 2007. She was also alleged of attempting to kill the victim's 13-year-old brother Abdulla by slitting the boy's throat, and his 17-year-old sister Hajer by stabbing her. Request granted “I am happy that the government and President Arroyo list...

MANILA, Philippines - Just as the Philippines celebrated its independence, more than 150 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFW) also broke free from their horrible experiences in the Middle East. “Sabi nga, it is Independence Day, so paglaya ito sa kanilang pinanggalingan, at nandito na sila sa kanilang inang bayan," said Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Carmelita Dimzon in a report aired over Q’s Balitanghali. [As they say, it is Independence Day, so it’s like they became free from where they came from and now they’re here in their motherland] Dimzon said in a previous report that these OFWs were victims of exploitation and abuse who opted to run away from their employers. [See: 150 distressed OFWs to return home Friday] "They are mostly household service workers who found themselves in situations of hardship and exploitation," she said, adding that most of them complained about non-payment of wages as well as excessive work hours. Elizabeth Baya...

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipinos who were among 24 doctors and nurses abducted by tribesmen in Yemen have been released, reports said on Saturday. An Associated Press report said that the health workers – one Egyptian, two Indians, two Filipinos, and 19 Yemenis – of the Saudi-funded Salam Hospital in Saada were freed early Friday after kidnappers were assured that their demands would be met. But a separate report by the Yemen News Agency quoted the governor of Amran, where the medics were seized, as saying that they were released “without any condition." The tribesmen held their hostages for 24 hours. Amran Governor Kahlan Abu Shawarib also said that the victims are all in good health and are currently staying at the Saada governorate. Tribesmen in Yemen frequently take foreigners hostage to pressure the government on a range of demands, but generally release them unharmed. The report did not specify any of the tribesmen’s demand in the latest kidnapping. Abu Shawarib said that...

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government should also give attention to other OFWs on death row or those facing potential death sentences, just like they did with May Vecina, a lawmaker has said. Senator Manuel Villar issued the statement after Vecina, the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, was fully pardoned by Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah on June 1. [See: Kuwaiti ruler grants full pardon to OFW Vecina] Vecina was found guilty of killing her employer’s seven-year-old son on January 6, 2007. She was also accused of attempting to kill the victim’s 13-year-old brother Abdulla by slitting the boy’s throat, and his 17-year-old sister Hajer by stabbing her. At her trial, the 30-year-old mother of two from North Cotabato province said she suffered physical and mental abuse from her employer that resulted in "temporary insanity." But the Kuwait Supreme Court upheld her sentence of death penalty by hanging. Se...

MANILA, Philippines- As flags are waved to commemorate the country’s 111th year of freedom, Norie Gonzales will be waiting for her brothers to call from their jail cell in Saudi Arabia. Norie’s brothers, Rolando and Edison, along with Eduardo Arcilla, were accused on April 2006 of killing and chopping into pieces three fellow Filipinos in Jeddah. The victims were said to be their rivals in an illegal gambling business, and in their appeals, the detainees claimed they were framed up. But sometimes, Norie dreads the ringing of the phone. “I’m not sure if it’s good news or bad news," she told GMANews.TV in a phone interview from her hometown in Pampanga. She fears the next call will be from the morgue. Saudi Arabia never informs relatives of prisoners on death row when the order of execution will be carried out. Last October, Jenifer Bidoya, a Filipino worker convicted in Jeddah, was beheaded to the surprise even of the Philippine post there, and of media, who had not even heard of h...

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino family ended up spending their four-day vacation in Hongkong in a hospital after an unknown attacker splashed them with acid, a television report said. In a report aired over Q’s Balitanghali, the Asistio family recounted that they were walking around the streets of Hong Kong at around 8 p.m. on Monday looking for a place to eat when someone threw a plastic bag at them. “Para siyang alam mo yung inalog na soda, parang soft drinks na nag-bubbles talaga, tumalsik sa amin tapos biglang parang umulan sa amin ng muriatic acid," Anna Dionnie Asistio told GMA reporter Marvin Tumandao. [It was like shaken soda, like soft drinks with bubbles, that splashed on us. The next thing we knew, we were bathed in muriatic acid] In just a few seconds, their skin started to peel off. Daniel Asistio, patriarch of the family of ten, suffered the most while protecting his four-year-old granddaughter Mishka from the attacker. “Inano ko ‘yung apo ko kaya marami akong tama ...

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos traveling to Italy this July should expect a temporary suspension of the Schengen visa agreement from June 18 to July 15 for the upcoming Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Italy, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday. "This means that there will be police control in the borders that Italy shares with Schengen countries," a DFA advisory said, citing an announcement by Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni. Italy is hosting the Group of Eight meeting in L’Aquila from July 8 to July 10. The Schengen accord permits passport-free travel between nationals of 25 European countries. The DFA quoted Maroni as saying the suspension of the agreement is “not to prevent demonstrations, but to block the arrival of those violent people who would like to come to Italy to hit policemen and crack people’s (skulls)." He said the Italian government had warned European Union member countries of its plans to suspend the accord. "Minister Mar...

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos traveling to Italy this July should expect a temporary suspension of the Schengen visa agreement from June 18 to July 15 for the upcoming Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Italy, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday. "This means that there will be police control in the borders that Italy shares with Schengen countries," a DFA advisory said, citing an announcement by Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni. Italy is hosting the Group of Eight meeting in L’Aquila from July 8 to July 10. The Schengen accord permits passport-free travel between nationals of 25 European countries. The DFA quoted Maroni as saying the suspension of the agreement is “not to prevent demonstrations, but to block the arrival of those violent people who would like to come to Italy to hit policemen and crack people’s (skulls)." He said the Italian government had warned European Union member countries of its plans to suspend the accord. "Minister Mar...

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipina received an award from the World Cocoa Foundation in Washington, D.C. for promoting development opportunities for Filipino cocoa farmers. Josephine Ramos, founding member and Operations Manager of Cocoa Foundation Philippines, Inc. (CocoaPhil), was cited for her “commitment and passion" for the small cocoa farmer. "CocoaPhil (www.cocoaphil.org), a member of the WCF, is the umbrella organization for the Philippine cocoa industry actively promoting integrated and sustainable development practices by providing assistance on cocoa production, post-harvest processing, pest and disease management and marketing," the Department of Foreign Affairs said. It said Ramos was given the award during WCF’s 15th Partnership Meeting reception in Washington, DC. CocoaPhil’s Success Alliance program, aimed at assisting at least 15,000 smallholder cocoa farmers, received funding from USAID (2002-2005) and the US Department of Agriculture (2006-present). It a...

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino militants in Canada have joined protests against the House of Representatives' passage of a resolution to amend the Philippine Constitution via constituent assembly. Jonathan Canchela, chairman of Filipino Migrant Workers' Movement, called on Filipinos in other parts of the globe to march in the streets and protest this kind of oppression. “Let the people’s voice be heard in the halls of Congress and in the parliament of the streets. We will not tolerate this arrogance of power and the political self-interest of the Arroyo regime," he said in an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com). The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Canada chapter called the “Aye!" vote by lawmakers a show of arrogance by those who are in the seat of power. "The passage of HR 1109 is but a show of force by the majority in the House of Representatives. The House cannot convene itself as a Constituent Assem...