KAKAMMPI News

Cristeta Comerford holds the distinction of being the only Filipino chef to have served three US Presidents in the White House. - Philippine NewsTwo overseas-based Filipino professionals awarded for their world-class skills urged Pinoys to choose their leaders wisely in next year’s elections. All Filipinos must put a lot of thought on who would they vote for next year, White House executive chef Cristeta Pasia-Comerford and Eli Remalona, chief representative for the Asia and the Pacific of the Bank for International Settlements, said. Both Comerford and Remalona, along with renowned painter Anita Magsaysay-Ho, were chosen by the Bank of the Philippine Islands as this year's 4th BPInoy Awardees. The recognition is given to outstanding Filipinos all over the world who have served as excellent examples of how to “Be Pinoy" even when one is working outside the Philippines. The BPInoy Awards is an annual initiative of BPI to encourage nationalism among Filipinos abroad and to commu...

Authorities had arrested three women for allegedly duping aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW). Vice President Noli de Castro, who heads the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (Tfair), identified the suspects as Roselyn A. Lopez, Agnes A. Haduca, and Luz Alipio Carthy. “The arrests are part of the government's intensified campaign against illegal recruitment," said De Castro, who is also the presidential adviser on OFWs. He said Tfair agents nabbed Lopez last August 18 at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao in Quezon City where she was about to collect payment from her four victims. The task force’s investigation showed that the suspect recruited the four through a direct hiring scheme to work in Cyprus as domestic helpers with salaries of P25,000 each per month. De Castro alleged that Lopez told the victims they could be “deployed" if they shell out P150,000 each for “processing fee" and an additional P5,000 for “escort service fee" when they are already at the ...

Authorities had arrested three women for allegedly duping aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW). Vice President Noli de Castro, who heads the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (Tfair), identified the suspects as Roselyn A. Lopez, Agnes A. Haduca, and Luz Alipio Carthy. “The arrests are part of the government's intensified campaign against illegal recruitment," said De Castro, who is also the presidential adviser on OFWs. He said Tfair agents nabbed Lopez last August 18 at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao in Quezon City where she was about to collect payment from her four victims. The task force’s investigation showed that the suspect recruited the four through a direct hiring scheme to work in Cyprus as domestic helpers with salaries of P25,000 each per month. De Castro alleged that Lopez told the victims they could be “deployed" if they shell out P150,000 each for “processing fee" and an additional P5,000 for “escort service fee" when they are already at the ...

The charges against 18 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrested for participating in a "mixed gathering" have been dropped by the Saudi police, an advocacy group said Monday. The 18 OFWs, including runaways and officials of the group Migrante-Riyadh, were arrested last August 14 at an apartment at the Badea district in the Saudi Arabian capital city for mixing unrelated men and women in the same room. [See: 18 OFWs held in Riyadh over 'mixed gathering'] Under Saudi Arabia’s laws, men and women who are not married or related are not allowed to come together in private or public gatherings. If caught, they are charged with immorality or prostitution. But Eric Jocson, chairperson of Migrante-Riyadh, has told Migrante Middle East that the Saudi police dropped the charges after case officers of the Philippine Embassy convinced them that there was no "prostitution" as those apprehended were members of a legitimate migrant organization providing assistance to OFWs...

SAN ANTONIO, Saipan – At least 65 overseas Filipino workers are listed as “overstayers" or “illegal stayers" in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a new report released by the CNMI Department of Labor shows. These OFWs represent 59 percent of the 110 total “overstayers" or those who have overstayed the immigration permission granted to them upon their entry into the CNMI for employment purposes. Persons in an overstayer status are required to leave the commonwealth immediately. “Persons who depart the Commonwealth voluntarily are eligible to return. Those who are deported are not eligible to return," Labor said. There are some 10,000 OFWs and Filipino-Americans in the 14-island CNMI, whose capital — Saipan — is only about three hours away from Manila via direct flight. The rest of the overstayers are from China, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh and other Asian countries. Permissions granted upon entry into the CNMI may be extended or the entry status ma...

After noticing a spike in fraudulent visa applications in the Philippines, the United Kingdom will intensify its drive against such applications, especially in the '–ber' months. The UK Border Agency, which will also improve coordination on the matter with Philippine authorities, warned Filipinos caught with fraudulent applications of up to 10 years in jail. "We are intercepting increasing numbers of fraudulent applications, from 584 in 2007 to 657 last year, and we will continue our efforts, focusing especially on the peak periods of August and Christmas," said Ed Mackie, The UK Border Agency’s Regional Manager for Northeast Asia/Australasia. According to Mackie, all applications are checked thoroughly with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) - Interpol Division to verify the documents. The UK Embassy said the UK Border Agency and Philippine law enforcement agencies will seek to identify those providing and those seeking such false documentation. Its website n...

At least 40,000 Filipino seafarers stand to benefit from a new Japanese anti-piracy law protecting ships and its crew off Somalia, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Saturday. The DOLE said this new law dovetails with the wider efforts of the United Nations (UN) to ensure safe passage in maritime trading areas. "(The Japanese anti-piracy law), while aimed at protecting Japan-flagged vessels, would reinforce the safety and well-being of the more than 40,000 overseas Filipino seafarers currently manning the majority of Japan’s global merchant marine fleet," the DOLE said. Before the law was passed, DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque visited Tokyo earlier this year to represent the Philippines at the Philippine-Japan Seafarer Policy Forum. He pushed for the preservation of the jobs of the numerous overseas Filipino seafarers employed in Japanese vessels. The Philippines supplies a third of the world's seafarers and has been tagged as one of the most vulnerable na...

Filipino migrant groups in Hong Kong are demanding the recall of the appointment of OFW Joselito Sapio as land-based sector representative to the Board of Trustees of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). In a petition being distributed to other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide, the groups headed by the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK) said the appointment was “biased" and “politically motivated." Sapio was given the board seat only because of his personal relationship with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said the statement. “We are aware of the controversies surrounding many appointments of (Arroyo) – from Supreme Court justices to National Artist awardees. We are alarmed that this trend of rewarding trusted allies has now been extended to an OFW post," it said. The groups said Sapio headed the campaign of Mrs. Arroyo in Hong Kong during the 2004 presidential elections. He was also reportedly known to have organized events in...

by DFA-PISU 3 July 2009 – The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has imposed a new regulation on travel safety procedures. Under the new regulation, travelers departing from airports of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah are now prohibited from carrying liquids, gelatinous and compressed materials exceeding 100 milliliters in glass, plastic or metallic containers in their hand luggage. Drinks, juices, perfumes, oils cosmetics and toothpaste are also prohibited in travelers’ hand luggage. The new regulation is being imposed in compliance with international civil aviation safety conditions. Security personnel at the airports will only allow essential items such as baby milk and medicines for patients and other humanitarian needs. In this regard, the Department wishes to advise the public as well as Filipino expatriates in Saudi Arabia to observe these regulations so as to avoid unnecessary inconven...

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has set in place a mechanism to facilitate the settlement of all labor disputes and subsequently the delivery of labor justice and assistance to needy workers. Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said a committee in charge of the DOLE speedy and efficient delivery of labor justice (DOLE SpeED) has been constituted to hasten the resolution of labor and employment disputes lodged at concerned DOLE regional offices, bureaus, and attached agencies. Roque said the "DOLE SpeED Committee" is tasked to monitor case dispositions and make necessary interventions to ensure the speedy and efficient dispensation of labor justice and assistance to workers involved in these cases. He said the committee would observe the Single Team approach and the use of conciliation-mediation as the first and preferential mode in the settlement of all labor and employment disputes to ensure speedy disposition of the cases. The committee, he said,...

The Gulf Cooperation Council-(GCC) Accredited Medical Clinics Association (Gamca) recently released the list of diseases that would render overseas Filipino workers (OFW) unfit to work in GCC countries Under the hiring policies of GCC states – Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia foreign workers from the Philippines and other Asian countries are required to pass the medical tests conducted only by Gamca clinics. These include: Infectious category • HIV/AIDS reactive • Hepatitis B surface antifgen, HCV reactive • Microfilaria positive and malaria blood film positive, known leprosy patients • Tuberculosis – any type, X-ray showing active PTB, past evidence of PTB or healed • Pulmonary scar, including minimum fibrosis, calcification (granuloma) pleural thickening, pleural effusion, tuberculosis lymphadenitis • VDRL/TPHA reactive Non-infectious category • Chronic renal failure • Chronic hepatitis failure • Congestive heart failure • Hypertension • Diabetes mellitus • Known case of cancer ...

The provincial government of Toronto, Canada has set up a toll-free hotline for caregivers. The hotline, 1-866-372-3247, is will be used by caregivers to seek advise on their rights under Ontario's provincial labor laws, or to report cases of abuse and exploitation.

Filipino seafarers with transit visas not allowed to work in UK The United Kingdom’s Border Agency recently announced that Filipino seafarers who have been issued transit visas are not allowed to work in the UK fishing industry. The UK transit visas are basically temporary visas for non-European Union seafarers, including Filipinos joining vessels in the UK which are bound for foreign ports or traveling international waters for a longer period.

Philippine officials in China sought the media's help Friday in warning China-bound Filipino workers to be wary of "delivery assignments" lest they unwittingly act as drug mules. Ambassador to China Sonia Brady relayed her request to a delegation from the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) now touring China. "I ask our fellow Filipinos not to agree to bring parcels to China, lest they find themselves in trouble," she said in Filipino in an article on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines website. KBP president Herman Basbaño and legal counsel Rudolf Steve Jularbal agreed to discuss the request during the next general assembly meeting scheduled next week. They agreed to help disseminate the needed information to the general public possibly to advocacy spots among KBP member stations. Brady said that in China, at least 180 Filipinos, mostly women, are languishing in various jails in China due to drug trafficking. Under China’s laws, anybo...

The bodies of the eight remaining Filipino fatalities in July 19’s helicopter crash in Afghanistan will be home soon, Vice President Noli De Castro said Thursday. De Castro, who is also presidential adviser for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), said forensic experts have already taken DNA samples from the bodies to be matched with blood samples of their relatives in the Philippines. “We received report from Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya that representatives of the employer, AIM Group, together, with two British technicians, arrived in Kuwait and took blood samples from the bodies of the victims for DNA testing in London," De Castro said in a press statement. The results of DNA testing are expected within 15 to 20 days and once the results are known, the remains of the victims could be flown to their respective families. At present, the remains of the victims are at a United States military facility in Kuwait, he said. Last Tuesday, the remains of the two other Fil...

Malaysia assured the Philippines it will get to the bottom of the death of a Philippine welfare officer in Kuala Lumpur last Aug. 7. Foreign Minister Anifah Aman gave the assurance to Philippine Ambassador Victoriano Lecaros, who discussed the matter in a courtesy call, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. "During the meeting, the Malaysian Foreign Minister expressed his government’s assurances that they will 'leave no stone unturned' in pursuing the ends of justice for Mr. Cabilao," the DFA said on its website (www.dfa.gov.ph) Thursday. Philippine social welfare attaché Finardo Cabilao, who has been based in Malaysia since 2008, was found dead at his residence last August 7. With Lecaros at the call were Vice Consul Shirlene Mananquil and Police/Immigration Attaché Bernardo Diaz, the lead Embassy officials on the case. Embassy personnel discovered Cabilao dead in his apartment after he failed to report to work for two straight days. Malaysian police authorities ar...

Families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stand to benefit from a new savers' program launched by the Catholic Church and a life insurance firm. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and Pioneer Life Inc. launched the Pamilyang OFW Savers and Wellness Club with a memorandum of agreement last July 29. "Pamilyang OFW Savers and Wellness Club is a program for the families of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) that aims to address their financial wellness. It intends to help them bank the remittances they receive through a savings program such as a saver’s ID bundled with a saving and investing account," the CBCP said in an article on its website (www.cbcpnews.com). According to the CBCP Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CBCP-ECMI), the program gives OFWs' families tips on savings and investment. Under the program is a “financial wellness workshop" where the diocesan migrant’s desk and the some related...

The family of a Filipina who is currently on death row in China for drug smuggling charges is appealing to the Philippine government for help. "Mahal naming presidente, kung maaari po, tulungan mo po ang anak ko na walang kamalay-malay nalalagay sa alanganin, nakikusap po ako sa inyo (To our dear president, please help my daughter who is innocent but was put in a undesirable situation, I am begging you)," Soledad Sarmienta said in an interview with GMA News. Sarmienta made the appeal for her 43-year-old daughter, Gemma Sagido, who is in danger of being executed in China. Sagido was arrested in July 2007 at the Shenzhen International Airport for smuggling one kilogram of heroin. Drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of highly prohibited drugs like heroin is punishable by death in China and its territories. But Sarmienta said her daughter was only recruited to transport gold from Malaysia to China for P20,000. “Wala hong kasalanan ang anak ko kung hindi itong mga taong nasa pali...

A Filipino has been unanimously elected vice president of the United Nations Human Rights Council's advisory committee. The Department of Foreign Affairs said the official, Purificacion Valera-Quisumbing, presidential envoy for human rights and humanitarian law, was elected unanimously on August 6. “It is an honor for me to accept this important position. I feel it is fitting for the Philippines to be acknowledged as an advocate for human rights in the global arena. Tita Cory was a symbol of our national quest for justice and freedom, and we must remain true to her spirit and reverence for human rights," Quisumbing said in an article on the DFA website (www.dfa.gov.ph). The HRC advisory committee is the expert think-tank body of the UN Human Rights Council, of which the Philippines is a founding member. Some 17 independent human rights experts comprise the advisory committee, which conducts studies and accomplishes tasks given to it by member states. Ambassador Erlinda Basilio...

abs-cbnNEWS.com KUWAIT – Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya and other embassy officials went to the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Airbase to check on the bodies of 10 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who died in a chopper crash in Afghanistan last July 19. Endaya told ABS-CBN News, “So far, nasabi sa akin ng mga American authorities na sa sampung Pilipino, dalawa lang ang identified at ‘yung walo ay hindi pa na-a-identify.” Ten Filipinos were among the 16 passengers who died when the civilian MI8 chopper they rode crashed a few minutes after take off in Kandahar, Aghanistan. According to the US military, they were only able to identify two victims as the bodies were completely charred. They are Manolito C. Hornilla of Taysan, Batangas and Leopoldo G. Jimenez, Jr. of Lubao, Pampanga. Hornilla was identified after finding his burnt passport with him. While Jimenez was identified when authorities found his identification card and burnt wallet. “I am recommending therefore na ipa-D...

Reuters | 08/07/2009 1:40 AM A German ship, the Hansa Stavanger, freed by Somali pirates earlier this week, was escorted by European Union (EU) vessels towards Mombassa port in Kenya on Wednesday (August 5). The 20,000-ton German container vessel was captured about 400 miles off the southern Somali port of Kismayu on April 4 with 14 Filipinos, five Germans, three Russians and two Ukrainians on board. However, the pirates said on Monday that they had received a 2.7 million U.S. dollar ransom for the release of the ship. The European Union Naval Force patrolling the perilous shipping lanes off Somalia said its ships were escorting the Hansa Stavanger. The EU agreed last month to extend its anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia - codenamed Atalanta - until the end of next year and to expand its area of operations. The mission, which was launched last December and was originally planned to last 12 months, will now run until the end of 2010. It has involved more than a dozen vessel...

Countries that have been declared off-limits to OFWs Afghanistan A total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in Afghanistan took effect in 2007. Iraq OFWs were prohibited from going to Iraq in 2004 after a series of suicide bomb attacks and the abduction of Filipino truck driver Angelo Dela Cruz. Jordan Reports of widespread abuses against Filipino workers prompted the government to stop sending OFWs there in January 2008. Lebanon Following the war between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in 2006, Filipino workers were barred from entering Lebanon in June 2007. Nigeria Deployment ban in this African country was implemented in December 2007 due to kidnappings and civil unrest in the Niger Delta. * Due to desperation for work or good pay being offered, thousands of workers sneak into these countries using fake documents.- GMANews.TVEight of the 10 Filipinos who were killed in a recent helicopter crash in Afghanistan will have to undergo DNA testing so that they can be properly identif...

A Filipino national tested positive for A(H1N1) in Bahrain this week, Saudi-based online news site Arab News (www.arabnews.com) reported Thursday. The report said the Filipino was among at least four foreign nationals who tested positive for A(H1N1) there this week. "Since Monday, a Filipino, a Japanese and a Canadian citizen have tested positive for swine flu. All were coming to Bahrain from high-risk countries. All the patients have been kept in isolation at the Ebrahim Kanoo Health Center," the report said. Dozens of A(H1N1) cases involving Filipinos, mostly contract workers, have earlier been reported in other countries, notably in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Two Filipinos, so far, have succumbed to A(H1N1) or swine flu last month, while the number of deaths related to the influenza strain have been reported in the Philippines. Swine flu cases in the Philippines were last counted by the Department of Health on July 9 at 3,207, of which 2,975 of the patie...

HAJ IN THE TIME OF SWINE FLU. Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah to mark the zenith of the annual Haj. AP file photoFilipino Muslims who want to take part in the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will have to take flu shots at least two weeks before departure. Saudi-based Arab News reported Thursday that this is one of the conditions sought by the Saudi government to minimize the risk of visitors getting A(H1N1) during the pilgrimage. For this year, Ramadan is expected to start in the second half of August and will continue for 30 days. "These conditions have been approved after consultations with top international experts in the field. No one will be able to get a visa without fulfilling these new rules," Saudi Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said, adding that the conditions are "balanced, fair and scientific." Al-Rabeeah said the Saudi government will also restrict Haj pilgrims to those between the ages of 12 and 65 - a condition p...

At least two Filipino workers were killed in a blaze that engulfed a makeshift camp near a gas plant in Saudi Arabia last weekend, an online news site reported Wednesday. Jeddah-based Arab News said the unidentified Filipinos were among six foreign nationals who have been recovered in the camp about 7 kilometers from the Khurasaniyah Gas Plant in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The 50-square-kilometer camp belongs to the Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) that has been tasked by Bechtel and Technip to construct the massive gas processing plant for Saudi Aramco. CCC employees and supervisors who spoke on condition of anonymity said the fire broke out at 8:30 a.m. Sunday in one of the sections of the residential camp. According to the CCC supervisor, the fire broke out because of a leaking cooking gas cylinder in a kitchen in that particular quarter of the camp. Of the fatalities, three were from Bangladesh, two from the Philippines and one from India,...

Two Filipino crew of a German container vessel were freed Monday night by Somali pirates after 121 days in captivity, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday. The DFA confirmed that the two seafarers on board the MV Hansa Stavanger were "well and in good condition." "The vessel is now on its way to Dubai, United Arab Emirates," said the DFA, quoting a report by the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which has jurisdiction over Somalia. The number of Filipino seafarers still in the custody of Somali pirates is down to 42, in three vessels, following the release of Hansa Stavanger, the DFA added. Hansa Stavanger and its crew of two Filipinos, one German, three Russians and two Ukrainians were captured 400 miles (670 kilometers) off the southern Somali port of Kismayu on April 4. Morten Gramberg, a European Union naval spokesperson, told the Associated Press that the pirates have pocketed money in exchange for the release of the vessel. Gramb...

Encouraged by the increase in registration of overseas absentee voters (OAV) in Jeddah last month, Philippine authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) expect a surge in last-minute registrants before the Aug. 31 deadline. The Philippine Consulate noted that OAV registrants "markedly swelled" during the weekends in July. With three more local field registrations scheduled to be held in Philippine curriculum schools in Jeddah on July 30 (Al Hekma International School), August 7 (International Philippine School in Jeddah) and August 14 (Pearl of the Orient International School), Philippine officials are becoming more optimistic. "The Consulate expects a further increase in the number registrants in the final stretch of the registration period," the Department of Foreign Affairs said on its website. Last July 23 and 24, throngs of Filipinos enlisted for the 2010 elections in Khamis Mushayt, bringing the number of new OAV voters in the Abha-Khamis Mushayt region ...

The Life of Cory January 25, 1933: Corazon Cojuangco Aquino was born in Manila, the sixth among eight children of former congressman Jose Cojuangco and pharmacist Demetria Sumulong. 1946 to 1953: Cory finished high school and college in the United States; she majored in French and mathematics at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York City. 1954: She married Benigno Servillano “Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. who would later become mayor of Concepcion in Tarlac, senator of the Philippines, and main political opponent of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. 1972 to 1980: Her husband Ninoy was imprisoned by Marcos during Martial Law. Across the globe, Filipinos are mourning the death of former President Corazon Aquino and Philippine mission offices in several countries have opened books of condolences for the Aquino family. In the United States, deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said Filipino communities visited by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during the weekend were saddened at...

Some 40,000 Filipinos working in Bahrain will be among the main beneficiaries of a decision by the Bahrain government to ease sponsorship rules for them, a report said Saturday. To help make the 40,000 Filipino workers in Bahrain aware of the new policy, yhe Philippine Embassy is preparing an awareness campaign, said online news site Khaleej Times (www.khaleejtimes.com). Charge d'áffaires Jose Dela Rosa Burgos said that with the Bahrain government's decision, foreign workers can change jobs without no-objection certificates (NoC) from their employers. The Bahraini government, which announced the decision in May, will stick to its August 1 schedule for the implementation of the new labor rule, despite objections from the business community. Bahrain Labor Undersecretary Jameel Humadan said decision did not mean completely abolishing sponsorship, but expatriate workers would now have rights to change employers without much ado. Humadan said implementing the clause in the Labor Mar...

Veronica Lascano, 24, jumped from the first floor of the building in Jeddah where she was working at around 6 a.m. last July 3, a welfare officer at the Philippine Consulate General said. She suffered injuries at the back and other parts of her body from the incident. She is currently confined at the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah. In an interview, Lascano said her employer was very kind but that she really couldn’t cope with the though of being separated from her family. "Hindi ko po alam ang gulu-gulo ng isip ko noon. Kahit po ako iniisip ko kung bakit ko nagawa ‘yun (I don’t know what I was thinking, my mind was a mess. Even I don’t know why I did that)," she said. “Wala naman akong problema sa amo ko. May mga kasama naman ako pero ‘di ko po alam kung bakit ko nagawa ‘yun, lagi nga po akong umiiyak at laging naiisip ang aking pamilya," she added. (I have no problem with my employer. I also have some companions there, but I was still lonely. I always cry and think about ...

8,726,520 (Total number of Filipinos abroad in 2007) 4,133,970 (Number of temporary Filipino workers in 2007) 900,023 (Number of irregular Filipino workers in 2007) 1,376,823 (OFWs deployed in 2008) 283,348 (OFWs deployed in the first two months of 2009) US$16.43 billion (Total OFW remittances in 2008) - Data from the POEA, DOLE, BSP, and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas If the current trend in remittances of overseas Filipinos continue, the total for this year could reach, if not surpass, a record $17 billion in 2009, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has said. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the projection is based on a report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that showed remittances by Filipinos abroad through banks reached $6.98 billion in the first five months of 2009. Roque said the five-month figure, averaging almost $1.4 billion per month, represents a growth rate of almost 2.8 percent compared to the same period in 2008. In 2008, remittances hit $16...

8,726,520 (Total number of Filipinos abroad in 2007) 4,133,970 (Number of temporary Filipino workers in 2007) 900,023 (Number of irregular Filipino workers in 2007) 1,376,823 (OFWs deployed in 2008) 283,348 (OFWs deployed in the first two months of 2009) US$16.43 billion (Total OFW remittances in 2008) - Data from the POEA, DOLE, BSP, and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas If the current trend in remittances of overseas Filipinos continue, the total for this year could reach, if not surpass, a record $17 billion in 2009, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has said. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the projection is based on a report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that showed remittances by Filipinos abroad through banks reached $6.98 billion in the first five months of 2009. Roque said the five-month figure, averaging almost $1.4 billion per month, represents a growth rate of almost 2.8 percent compared to the same period in 2008. In 2008, remittances hit $16...