KAKAMMPI News

by Maria Aleta Nieva Nishimori, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/24/2010 8:41 PM Printer-friendly version | Send to friend | Share your views 3-day training for foreign service corps starts MANILA, Philippines – A high voter turnout among the 600,000 Filipino registered voters overseas is expected in the May 10 elections. Comelec-Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting (Comelec-COAV) Commissioner Armando Velasco said Filipinos abroad “have interest in the political affairs in our country.” “They, too, have the right to choose their leaders,” Velasco said, adding the need for overseas absentee votes to be “counted, protected, and respected”. Based on the latest records, the total number of Filipino overseas absentee voters for the 2010 elections is at 589,830. Of the total, 568,733 are land-based OFWs while 21,097 are sea-based. The Middle East and Africas have the most number of registered voters with 225,148, followed by Asia Pacific at 215,546, North and South America with 66,745 and Europe at 61,...

abs-cbnNEWS.com MANILA, Philippines – No Filipino was reportedly affected by the flashfloods and mudslides that recently hit Madeira Island in Portugal, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. In her report to the DFA, Philippine Ambassador to Lisbon Teresa Barsana said there is no record of Filipinos residing in the Madeira area. Philippine Honorary Consul Manuel Pinhiero was also not aware of any Filipino who sought assistance due to the calamity last February 20. "Nevertheless, if there are Filipinos who are in need of assistance, the Embassy is ready to help them," she said. Floods claimed the lives of 42 people in Madeira Island while 8 villages remain out of reach as of February 21. Portuguese authorities began rushing aid to the tourist island off the African coast Saturday night, dispatching a Navy frigate and preparing a Hercules C-130 transport plane loaded with rescue teams, divers, and equipment to clear blocked roads, replace destroyed bridges, and repa...

by Henni SAN FRANCISCO, California - A new company is looking to green energy as the future of the American economy. Solar Tech Solutions Group is the first Filipino-owned company in the US to sell and install solar panels. Owner Thai Poblete partnered with Sunflower, one of the biggest solar panel manufacturers in the world. Poblete says going into the green movement is crucial, especially during the recession. “This is one of the industries that actually help the infrastructure of the America and open doors on environmental and economical issues in the country,” Poblete said. The US government launched the Green Jobs Initiative in 2007 and funded up to US$125 million to provide job training programs all over the country. The green industry provides jobs that protect the environment, such as energy efficient buildings and construction, renewable electric power, energy-efficient vehicles, and biofuels development. The Obama administration gives billions of dollars in tax breaks to the...

ITALY- The Philippine embassy in Rome is now busy informing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) based in Italy that the country is not included in the poll automation system for the coming presidential elections. Aside from Italy, Filipino voters living in countries in Europe won’t be able to get a taste of the poll automation system, said Minister and Consul General Danilo Ibayan. The embassy in Rome picked the postal voting system for its overseas absentee voters. "Ang gagawin ninyo isusulat po ninyo ang mga kandidato na gusto ninyong iboto sa inyong balota at kung tapos na kayo na ay ipapadala ninyo dito sa embahada," said Ibayan. Singapore and Hong Kong are the only 2 countries approved by the Comelec to use the automated election system. Ibayan reminded, voters especially those in South Italy, to supply the Comelec with their complete and permanent address. "Paalala sa mga kababayan natin na importante na ang inyong address na ibibigay sa Comelec na pang matagalan na a...

Forty-four Filipino seafarers from a beleaguered casino ship temporarily docked in a United States port have been repatriated and will arrive in Manila on the morning of Thursday. According to a release posted on the website of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the 44 will arrive via Philippine Airlines flight PR 103, five months after MV Palm Beach Princess declared bankruptcy and was kept docked in Miami, Florida. Reports said the shipowner had fallen behind payment of salaries and had refused to obtain plane tickets for its foreign crew members. In September last year, the company claimed bankruptcy and threatened to divert its crew to Haiti where the ship would be furloughed. OWWA Administrator Carmelita S. Dimzon said the 44 sought the assistance of the Philippine government after the ship’s crew went on strike in December 2009 over deteriorating working conditions and salary issues. The shipowner denied the allegations, according to the agency. “The Philippine g...

Philippine officials in China and Mongolia warned prospective job-seekers Wednesday not to fall for job offers as domestic helpers in the two countries, saying such a job is unlawful there. In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Ambassador to China Francisco Benedicto added that Chinese and Mongolian authorities are stepping up their crackdown on illegal workers. “Filipinos who are promised jobs as domestic helpers in China and Mongolia are always in danger of being arrested because foreign nationals are not allowed to work as domestic helpers in China and Mongolia," Benedicto said in his report, excerpts of which were posted on the DFA website. He said foreigners in China who overstay or who do not have proper visas face hefty fines of up to 5,000 yuan (P33,000), detention and deportation. In Mongolia, foreigners who overstay are fined up to US$30 (P1,384) per day. Benedicto said officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Security Bureau h...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have started finalizing preparations for some 589,830 overseas Filipino workers to cast their votes in this year's automated elections, as absentee voting starts April 10. In line with this, personnel from the DFA Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) and the Comelec Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting will hold a training at Heritage Hotel in Pasay City from Feb. 24 to 26, according to a release posted on the DFA Website. DFA-OAVS Chairman and DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said the training is the first and the biggest to be conducted before the start of the OAV component of the May elections. Expected to attend are over 100 representatives from the foreign service, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, which have recommended the adoption of personal voting. Also attending are Philippine ambassadors-designate to six countries who will be assuming their posts soon, and two incoming heads o...

The Middle East chapter of a migrants’ rights group on Monday warned returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) against accepting padala or care packages. The term padala literally means consignment, in the form of money or goods. In the context of Filipino migration, it has become a tradition among OFWs to send packages of goods to relatives here in the Philippines. At times, the OFWs’ relatives here ask other OFWs returning to the host countries to carry a package to a family member working there, to save on shipping costs. Similarly, workers ask their fellow OFWs returning here to bring items to the families they left behind. More recently, however, OFWs have become unsuspecting drug couriers falling prey to syndicates, mostly from West African countries, which ask them to bring packages to their destination countries, unaware that these contain contraband or other illegal items. Migrante-Middle East thus reminded OFWs to refuse padala from strangers or even friends without checking ...

Applicants for overseas work have been warned against promises of employment in South Korea through the issuance of a religious visa. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued the warning in an advisory dated February 19 following a complaint against supposed Korean nationals who offered jobs but disappeared after collecting over P7 million from Filipino applicants. In the advisory posted on the agency’s Website, POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili said they are currently investigating a complaint letter filed by victim Lorie Humaynon against two people identified as Cho Chang Kuy and Oh Gyuk Su. The complaint alleged that Cho, who introduced himself as a pastor of the Kor World International Ministries supposedly located here in the Philippines, and Oh, who claimed to be the owner of the KI-S factory in Seoul in Korea, promised Humaynon and 33 other applicants employment in the factory. Based on the complaint, Oh came to Manila to brief applicants on the work to expect...

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has released the list of 150 students across the Philippines who qualified for its Education for Development Scholarship Program (EDSP) for school year 2010-2011. The EDSP is a scholarship grant offered to graduating high school students who intend to enroll in any four or five-year baccalaureate courses and who are qualified beneficiaries or dependents of OWWA members. The scholarship comes in the form of a financial assistance amounting to P60,000 per school year. OWWA will pay the school directly for the students’ tuition and will release the remaining amount upon the scholars’ submission of grades for the semester. Scholars are allowed to choose their desired program or course offered by any college or university accredited by the Commission on Higher Education. The scholarship shall also continue until completion of the course regardless of the status of membership of the overseas Filipino worker member, provided that the terms of the sc...

Catholic churches around the country on Sunday paid tribute to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with an appeal to the government to reverse more than 40 years of poor economic development that force Filipinos to seek employment abroad. With the theme “Sustainable Economic Development: Key to an Effective Migrant Family Reunification," the 24th National Migrants' Sunday also called for more assistance for OFWs. Priests also asked the faithful during the regular Sunday mass to offer prayers for OFWs and their families The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines likewise called for good governance especially from the incoming administration to improve economic conditions to give Filipinos job opportunities at home. “Many Filipinos, especially the poor, are quick to consider migration as the only option to combat economic poverty and social injustice. But the government, even after four decades of labor migration, has shown insufficient economic development for its own peo...

Due to some glitches, the repatriation of a Filipino woman killed in last month’s magnitude-7 quake in Haiti was delayed by at least one day. Radio dzBB’s Manny Vargas reported on Friday that the body of Mary Grace Fabian was not loaded on the Philippine Airlines PR-103 flight from Los Angeles that arrived in Manila before 6 a.m. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration head Carmelita Dimzon tried to console the family of Fabian, who went to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to welcome Mary Grace’s remains. Dimzon said the remains of Fabian may be brought home Saturday, but did not elaborate on the schedule. The Department of Foreign Affairs said earlier this week that Fabian’s remains were to be shipped to Manila from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Fabian’s body was pulled out of the collapsed Caribbean Supermarket at 11 a.m. of February 7 in Haiti, or midnight of Feb. 7 in Manila. Lowel Lalican, the husband of Geraldine Lalican, another OFW still trapped under the rubble of t...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued an assurance Thursday that it is doing its best to save the Filipina worker whose death sentence was upheld by Kuwait’s high court. The death sentence on Jakatia Pawa, a 33-year-old domestic service worker, was affirmed by Kuwait’s Court of Cassation on January 19 for the alleged murder of the 22-year-old daughter of her employer. (See: Kuwaiti high court: It’s death for Pinay OFW) “Low-key negotiations are ongoing with the victim’s family for the settlement of the private rights aspect of the case," DFA spokesperson Eduardo Malaya said in a text message sent to GMANews.TV. Malaya said this amid demands by a migrants’ rights group for updates on the case of Pawa. “Do not leave us in the dark. The people who are committed to saving her life deserve to know the present status of her case. We need to know so that we can think of appropriate actions," said Garry Martinez, convenor of the Save Jakatia Pawa Movement and also the chairp...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued an assurance Thursday that it is doing its best to save the Filipina worker whose death sentence was upheld by Kuwait’s high court. The death sentence on Jakatia Pawa, a 33-year-old domestic service worker, was affirmed by Kuwait’s Court of Cassation on January 19 for the alleged murder of the 22-year-old daughter of her employer. (See: Kuwaiti high court: It’s death for Pinay OFW) “Low-key negotiations are ongoing with the victim’s family for the settlement of the private rights aspect of the case," DFA spokesperson Eduardo Malaya said in a text message sent to GMANews.TV. Malaya said this amid demands by a migrants’ rights group for updates on the case of Pawa. “Do not leave us in the dark. The people who are committed to saving her life deserve to know the present status of her case. We need to know so that we can think of appropriate actions," said Garry Martinez, convenor of the Save Jakatia Pawa Movement and also the chairp...

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has created a task force that seeks to stop to the rampant recruitment of overseas Filipinos as drug couriers by international drug syndicates. "There is a need to conduct an intensive and unrelenting campaign against drug syndicates responsible for victimizing the Filipino as drug courier," President Arroyo said in issuing Administrative Order 279 mandating the creation of Drug Couriers Task Force. The task force’s main function is to develop and implement strategies to counter the recruitment of Filipinos as drug mules by international drug trafficking syndicates. It is also tasked to conduct a sustained media campaign to deter the recruitment, and to aggressively prosecute the drug syndicate members operating in the Philippines. The task group will also coordinate with counterpart agencies in other countries to undertake bilateral or regional actions against the use of Filipinos as drug mules. President Arroyo created the task force as she...

Philippine officials in Spain warned prospective jobseekers against a recruitment scam using Spain as a destination for Filipino workers. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) cited a report from the Philippine Embassy in Spain identifying the dubious firm as Previsto Ferrocariel Guiscoanagin. “The syndicate is using the email address espanolconsulate@europe.com to communicate with Filipino workers and lead them to believe that this is the email address of the Philippine Embassy in Madrid," the DFA said in article on its website Tuesday. It said the firm gave its address at Calle Placentinos 18B, 32005, Barcelona, Spain, but the Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona verified that there is no such address in Barcelona. “There is a Calle de los Placentinos in the province of Salamanca, while the zip code 32005 corresponds to the province of Ourense, not Catalonia," the DFA said. The DFA advised the public to be wary of job offers from this company and to first check the v...

With the United Kingdom set to implement more stringent student visa guidelines to prevent “abuse by economic migrants," a recruitment consultant expressed fears that the thousands of Filipino student nurses in the British isles may be negatively affected. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday the UK will effect the changes to Tier 4 (Student Visa) Regulations in March under its new Points-Based System of Migration, based on earlier announcement by UK Home Affairs Minister Alan Johnson. "The Philippine Embassy in London reiterates its advice for all prospective applicants under Tier 4 to secure updated information on new regulations, procedures, and requirements from the UK Embassy in Manila," the DFA said in a release on its website. The DFA said the initial announcement outlines broad measures resulting from a comprehensive review of the Tier 4 scheme as initially relayed by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown in November 2009. In the Ministerial Statement/No...

The last batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who went on strike in Saudi Arabia last year were repatriated on Monday, according to the Philippine post in Riyadh. Cesar Chavez Jr., Philippine welfare officer in Riyadh, said in an interview with GMANews.TV that 13 workers of the operation and construction firm Annasban Group were repatriated. This last batch completes the 43 OFWs who went on strike and were promised repatriation until February 15 after staging a few days of hunger strike. (See: Protesting OFWs in Saudi ask RP to repatriate them) The 43 were part of the three groups of OFWs who staged a work stoppage on October 12 last year due to alleged unfair labor practices by their company. Chavez also clarified that neither the Philippine Overseas Labor Office nor the workers shouldered the repatriation costs, and that the company agreed to waive fees, such as reimbursement of deployment costs, which it earlier demanded. "'Yung recruitment agency nila sa Pilipinas ang ...

The remains of a Filipino worker who died in the magnitude-7 quake in Haiti last January 12 will arrive in the Philippines Friday morning. Philippine Vice-Consul to Cuba Jason Anasarias said the remains of Mary Grace Fabian were shipped to Manila from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Tuesday. "Upon the instructions of her sister Rosalyn Fabian, who is based in Haiti, the remains of Mary Grace Fabian was initially interred at the National Cemetary in Port-au-Prince. But her family in the Philippines requested the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to have her remains repatriated," the DFA said on its Web site Wednesday. Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Cuba, the DFA said Philippine officials cleared all Dominican documentary requirements to have Fabian's remains brought home. Fabian's remains were pulled out of the collapsed Carribean Supermarket at 11 a.m. of February 7 in Haiti, or midnight of Feb. 7 in Manila. Lowel Lalican, the husband of Geraldine ...

A Muslim leader and a militant migrants’ rights group have joined the clamor to spare overseas 34-year-old Filipino worker (OFW) Jakatia Pawa, who is now on death row in Kuwait. Shari’a Court Judge Abu Ali Cali, president of the Ulama League of the Philippines (ULP), wrote to fellow ulama (Islamic scholars) in Kuwait to plead for Pawa's life. “Muslims here have code of working so justice can be shown to all Filipinos, especially Muslims, working overseas," Cali said in an article on the Union of Catholic Asian (UCA) News website. He undertook efforts to get help from fellow ulamas “so Jakatia can receive the required letter of forgiveness from the family." This week, the Kuwaiti Court of Cassation upheld the verdict on Pawa, a native of Zamboanga Sibugay province. As a result, he will be hanged for killing the 22-year-old daughter of her employer, for whom she has worked for over five years. [See: Kuwaiti high court: It’s death for Pinay overseas worker] Pawa has maintain...

Kuwait’s high court affirmed the death sentence on a Filipina housemaid who pleaded innocent to the charge of murdering her employer’s daughter, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. The Kuwaiti Court of Cassation upheld this week the verdict on Jakatia Pawa, 34 years old and a native of Zamboanga Sibugay province, to die by hanging for killing the 22-year-old daughter of her employer, for whom she has worked for over five years. Foreign Affairs undersecretary for migrant workers’ affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the Philippine government is working for the issuance of tanazul or forgiveness from the victim’s family to save Pawa from the death penalty. “After achieving this, Vice President Noli De Castro will go to Kuwait to hand over a written letter from President Arroyo to the Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to ask for commutation of her sentence from death to life imprisonment," Conejos said in a press briefing. Conejos expressed hopes that Pawa will be spared th...

Fourteen out of the 28 examinees of the the first Midwives Licensure Examinations in Hong Kong passed the exams conducted by the Board of Midwifery of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in Hong Kong on December 12-13, 2009. Based on an announcement posted on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the new midwives are the following: 1. Dacumos, Ryda Acosta 2. Espiritu, Fe Landicho 3. Polido, Marivic Febreo 4. Ramos, Cherry Cepeda 5. Ronquillo, Aziel Anne Fabella 6. Rosas, Alilie Gonzales 7. Segundo, Zenaida Encarnacion 8. Subia, Mae Belle Edu 9. Tabucol, Cherry Cruz 10. Talco, Jovelyn Ladip 11. Toledo, Nezil Dante 12. Untalasco, Glenda Escobar 13. Vallejo, Dona Bumal-o Ms. Jonalyn Amparo Zubiaga also passed the exams, but her registration in the roster of new midwives will be deferred, pending the submission of some requirements. The members of the Board of Midwifery who gave the licensure examination were Dr. Alejandro R. San Pedro (chairman); Dr. Remy B. Dequiña, ...

More than 200 runaway Filipino women and children risk being left behind in Saudi Arabia, with repatriation efforts going at a snail's pace. Over 150 women and at least 40 children, the youngest of whom is a month-old baby, were stranded in Jeddah for still unknown reasons. The women and children are among the hundreds of Filipino workers who escaped from their employers for reasons such as alleged nonpayment of salary or overtime pay, overwork and physical abuse. "They (Saudi Immigration officials) always tell us that the deportation area is full every time we follow up on the case of our fellow Filipinos. But we are not losing hope; we will do our best to send them home at the earliest time," Labor Attaché Vicente Cabe said. However, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) reported that a hundred male Filipino workers had been sent home on Monday. Cabe said they were still trying to find out why the women and children had not been sent home ahead of the men, admitti...

Fifty-seven Filipino overseas performing artists (OPAs) have been deported by the South Korean government as of December last year over fake AIDS test certificates, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). In a release posted on its web site, DOLE said investigations are now ongoing on an unidentified international recruitment agency which issued the fake certificates and should be held responsible for the deportation of the OPAs. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the most recent deportations were 18 OPAs on Dec. 4 and 11 OPAs on Dec. 7, which followed an earlier batch of 28 OPAs from July 12 to 16 last year, all from Seoul. DOLE also said that according to one of the deported OPAs, their recruitment agency in the Philippines prepared and submitted all the documents, including their AIDS test certificates. The unnamed OPA added that they were not made to undergo the AIDS test here in the country, because the agency and the promoter advised them that the test would...

Relatives of a jailed and allegedly maltreated overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday appealed to the government for help. The OFW, identified only as Mirasol, has been in jail since 2008 and is now suffering from erratic blood pressure and may go insane due to allegedly inhumane treatment by the UAE prison authorities, an article on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site quoted the relatives as saying. Militant migrant workers advocacy group Migrante said that while Mirasol had served her first sentence, her employer filed two more cases, pressuring her to pay AED684,200 (US$186,236.47 or P8,682,101.12) she allegedly stole by forging company checks. “With the new civil cases filed against her, the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, this time, should provide legal assistance to Mirasol so that she could be properly represented and defended in court. Besides, it is clearly stated in RA 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overse...

The government has assured overseas Filipino workers (OFW) that their welfare funds are intact and will not be used to fund the campaign of administration candidates in the coming May elections. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Carmelita Dimzon on Thursday said the $25 membership fee that OFWs pay upon departure would be used solely for the benefit of the workers. The compulsory membership fee entitles OFWs to such benefits as repatriation, financial assistance, counseling, and livelihood loans and training. “The internal control policies adopted and implemented by the board of trustees and the pre-audit procedures of the Commission on Audit (COA) ensure that the trust fund of the OWWA will only be used for the benefit of its members and will not be diverted for election purposes," Dimzon said in an interview. The agency issued the assurance after a migrants’ rights group raised fears that the workers’ welfare fund, amounting to P12 billion according to...

The government has assured overseas Filipino workers (OFW) that their welfare funds are intact and will not be used to fund the campaign of administration candidates in the coming May elections. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Carmelita Dimzon on Thursday said the $25 membership fee that OFWs pay upon departure would be used solely for the benefit of the workers. The compulsory membership fee entitles OFWs to such benefits as repatriation, financial assistance, counseling, and livelihood loans and training. “The internal control policies adopted and implemented by the board of trustees and the pre-audit procedures of the Commission on Audit (COA) ensure that the trust fund of the OWWA will only be used for the benefit of its members and will not be diverted for election purposes," Dimzon said in an interview. The agency issued the assurance after a migrants’ rights group raised fears that the workers’ welfare fund, amounting to P12 billion according to...

A battered Filipino maid in the United Arab Emirates finally got some measure of justice after three long years when her Egyptian employer paid her some Dh45,000 (P565,639) in damages. The amount included the Dh22,000 (P276,534) salary of Filipino Baina Mokalam for three years, the UAE-based news site Khaleej Times reported on Thursday. [See story here] Police in Ras Al Khaimah rescued Mokalam from her employer, who allegedly hurt her physically for three years. The amicable settlement, which included a plane ticket home for Mokalam, was made before the Court in Ras Al Khaimah. According to the court, the Dh22,000 represented the salary of Mokalam from January 24, 2007 up to the time she was rescued by police on January 27, 2010. The Philippine Consulate represented Baina in the final settlement as she wanted to return to her hometown in Maguindanao province, Consul General Benito Valeriano said. She will depart from Dubai to Manila on Sunday aboard Emirates Airlines with a connecting ...

Contrary to earlier reports, the mandatory Pag-IBIG fund coverage for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) will still be implemented as provided in a newly implemented law, the government’s savings and shelter financing agency clarified Thursday. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Pag-IBIG Fund Vice President for Public Relations and Information Services Group Margie Jorillo said they have no choice but to implement the mandatory coverage for OFWs, which involves a P100 monthly contribution, as it is mandated by the law. “We are legally bound to implement mandatory Pag-IBIG membership coverage," Jorillo said, citing Republic Act (RA) 9679 or the Home Development Mutual Fund Law, which took effect in January. RA 9679 mandates a monthly P100-contribution from members for such benefits as savings, short-term loans and housing loans. The law’s coverage was expanded to include, among others, Filipino workers employed abroad and here in the country by foreign employers. Women’s rights group Ga...

The government’s savings and shelter financing agency has withdrawn its original plan to impose mandatory membership for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as a requirement to process their employment papers, a Hong Kong-based group said Wednesday. In a statement, the Hong Kong chapter of a women’s rights group said Pag-IBIG chief executive officer Jaime Fabiaña declared that they would not force OFWs to become members of Pag-IBIG, nor will it be made a requirement to process their documents. Gabriela-HK chairperson Cynthia Abdon-Tellez said Fabiaña announced this in a forum with leaders of OFW organizations on February 1 at the Philippine Consulate General in the Chinese territory. "It is a victory for the vigilant OFWs resisting schemes of government exaction. While the Arroyo government is bent on squeezing more income from our labor, we shall always be there to fight its schemes every step of the way," Tellez said. Republic Act (RA) 9679 or the Home Development Mutual Fund L...

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is hoping that at least half of the almost 590,000 Filipino registrants abroad would vote in the May 10 automated elections. "Based on history, [voter turnout is] very, very low. We hope makakakuha tayo ng (that we would be able to get) 50 percent, at least," Comelec Commissioner Armando Velasco, head of the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) committee, told reporters in an interview. In the 2004 national elections, only 360,000 of the more than four million qualified overseas Filipinos registered. Of this figure, only 233,092 or 65 percent cast their votes. In the 2007 midterm elections, at least 145,000 more overseas Filipinos registered to vote, but only 16 percent or 81,732 cast their ballots. There are almost 589,830 overseas voters registered for the 2010 polls, with 138,113 postal voting by mail and 451,717 voting personally. The commission was earlier planning on automating the elections in Hong Kong and Singapore, but these plans has...