KAKAMMPI News

04/22/2010 | 07:37 PM At least 651 Filipinos repatriated from the Middle East will arrive in Manila Friday afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. The DFA said President Arroyo will personally welcome the repatriates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. "Majority of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are from Jeddah, with 302 repatriates; followed by Riyadh, with 150; and Abu Dhabi, with 60. The other repatriates will come from Dubai (50), Jordan (49), Al Khobar (26), and Bahrain (14)," the DFA said in its website (www.dfa.gov.ph). It said the repatriates include distressed OFWs sheltered at the Filipino Workers Resource Centers. Also expected to meet them are DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) Executive Director Enrico Fos, DFA-OUMWA Principal Assistant Maurice Tiempo and representatives from the DFA-OUMWA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). The DFA said the mass repatriation project was conce...

04/24/2010 | 06:01 AM President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to meet on Friday with almost 500 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were repatriated back to Manila from various Middle East countries where they encountered problems and became stranded, according to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) director Eduardo Bellido. Due to arrive Friday afternoon in three batches were 574 OFWs—465 women and 52 men—with Mrs. Arroyo leading the welcoming ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Bellido said in a Malacanang briefing. The first batch is composed of 454 workers from Saudi Arabia. The second batch has 37 from Syria and Bahrain. The third batch of 83 came from the United Arab Emirates, mostly from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Also included are 57 children, mostly OFW kids. According to Bellido, said the repatriation was a goodwill gesture offered by different Middle East countries following the recent visits made by the President. The repatriated OFWs from Metro Manila...

A 43-year-old Filipino is now being held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the killing of his Filipina girlfriend in Dubai one month ago. UAE news site Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday the Filipino confessed to killing the woman, with whom he had a love affair for three years. The incident occurred in the Al Twar area of Dubai, prompting police to question some 421 Asians in a span of one month to get to the suspect. But Dubai police, with help from the victim’s relatives in the Philippines, managed to identify and track down the suspect. Investigation showed the Filipino killed the woman after they had a fight in a parking lot of a residential area, with the man losing his temper when the woman threw sand in his face. The man held her by her neck and pushed her into his car. He returned to the car after washing his face. When the woman continued to argue with the man, he caught her again by the neck and strangled her with his belt. The woman lost consciousness soon and the boyf...

The Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia eased fears that Filipinos might have been hurt in the 7.7-magnitude quake that jolted the northwest island of Sumatra early Wednesday morning. Ambassador Vidal Querol said no Filipino was injured in the quake that struck at 5:15 a.m. He said the information came from his "focal person" in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital and the largest city of Aceh that is located in Sumatra. "Ang ulat po sa atin, wala pong Pinoy na nasaktan. Pero wala lang pong power doon. Ang pagkawala ng power ay resulta ng lindol (We received a report that no Filipino was hurt but there is still no power in the area)," Querol, a former Philippine police general, said in an interview on dzBB radio. According to the December 2008 records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority, there are more than 11,600 overseas Filipino workers in Indonesia. An Associated Press report said state meteorologists in Indonesia have issued a tsunami warning after the...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday opened its new multi-million consular and passport services building along Macapagal Boulevard in Parañaque City. In a release posted on the agency’s web site, DFA officials held a blessing for the new office of its Office of Consular Affairs (OCA), a 7,000-square-meter, four-storey building. The building is currently on lease to the DFA by its owner, Development Bank of the Philippines, for P530 million. Consular clients will now have the comfort of waiting their turn while seated on ergonomically-designed, stainless steel benches, the DFA said. Instead of long queues, clients can shorten their wait by accessing the DFA's online appointment system and would to move from ground to second floor only for their consular applications. The facade of the new Department of Foreign Affairs building along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City awaits finishing touches and landscaping. The new facility will provide better and efficient servi...

A Filipino doctor was killed while evacuating to safer grounds when a town and airport in Mbandaka, Congo (DR Congo) was attacked by rebels. The Department of Foreign Affairs cited a report from the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi identifying the fatality as Dr. Jay Basilio-Bool. It said Bool worked with the United Nations contractor PAE Group, and died due to cardiac arrest during the evacuation. A report from Charges d'Affaires Donna Celeste Feliciano-Gatmaytan cited a report from a representative of the doctor's employer, Willem Ackerman. "The PAE Group is a contractor providing airport support services to the United Nations Organization Mission in DR Congo (MONUC). His family has been informed of the incident," the DFA said. On the other hand, the DFA said four other Filipinos from the same company are reported as safe and accounted for. It identified them as Fire Officer Juanito Sape, Firefighter/Equipment Operators Noel Lee and Laborce Hilario, and EMT Lead Roland...

A Filipina was victimized in a payroll robbery staged by at least two men, one of whom was her co-worker, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week. But Sharjah police arrested two suspects shortly after the crime, after noting some booboos committed by the co-worker, UAE-based Khaleej Times said in a report on Monday. Police investigators indicated the crime was amateurish, with the suspects seeming to take cues from police television shows. Brigadier Yousef Musa al Naqbi, head of the Sharjah Police Criminal Investigation Division, said the crime was motivated by a series of police drama series on television as the two criminals were not experienced in whatever they were doing. “The robber threatened the driver verbally and the Filipina with a knife, the robber tied the driver with a rope and the driver made no resistance at all. Even after the robber fled, the driver stayed in his seat. It was the Filipina that moved out to seek assistance," he said. The incident occurred last...

A Filipina was victimized in a payroll robbery staged by at least two men, one of whom was her co-worker, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week. But Sharjah police arrested two suspects shortly after the crime, after noting some booboos committed by the co-worker, UAE-based Khaleej Times said in a report on Monday. Police investigators indicated the crime was amateurish, with the suspects seeming to take cues from police television shows. Brigadier Yousef Musa al Naqbi, head of the Sharjah Police Criminal Investigation Division, said the crime was motivated by a series of police drama series on television as the two criminals were not experienced in whatever they were doing. “The robber threatened the driver verbally and the Filipina with a knife, the robber tied the driver with a rope and the driver made no resistance at all. Even after the robber fled, the driver stayed in his seat. It was the Filipina that moved out to seek assistance," he said. The incident occurred last...

04/06/2010 | 03:02 PM Fifteen Filipino crew members of a Barbados-registered cargo vessel that sank off Spain will arrive in Manila Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday. Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, the DFA said the 15 are to arrive in the afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) via Thai Airways. Expected to welcome them are DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Executive Director Enrico Fos and officers of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the DFA said in its Web site. Fos said representatives of the local manning agency and indemnity insurance company would assist and assure the rescued Filipino seafarers of insurance and other benefits. He said the manning agencies also assured the seafarers of employment when they are able and ready. On the other hand, benefits for the families of the two Filipino seafarers still missing - Leonilo Rosales and Jimmy Gabayoyo – have been readied as well. The v...

Nineteen Filipinos were among the crew members of the South Korean ship hijacked by Somali pirates on Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Monday. “The Philippine Embassy in Nairobi [in Kenya] sent an initial report to the [DFA] today that another ship with 19 Filipino crew members were seized by Somali pirates," the department said in a statement. Five South Koreans were believed to be on board the M/V Samho Dream when it was hijacked northeast of the Somali Basin on Sunday. The ship had reportedly come from Iraq and was heading for Louisiana in the United States when it was hijacked, the DFA said. The DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs is coordinating with the “vessel’s principal, the local manning agency" and the Philippine embassies in Nairobi and Seoul regarding the incident, according to the statement. The latest hijacking brings to 24 the number of Filipino seafarers on board four vessels held captive by Somali pirates. – SD/...

03/31/2010 | 10:40 AM More Share11 At least 19 Filipino seafarers who were aboard a cargo vessel that sank off Spain are safe, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. Radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported that DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya cited initial reports indicating that the Filipinos, who he did not name, were rescued. Initial reports indicated the cargo vessel "Kea" sank off Cape Vilano in Galicia, Spain, due to bad weather. The vessel was carrying ammonium nitrate. The vessel's crew included 19 Filipinos, two Croatians and seafarers from Ghana, Russia and Latvia. Kea was heading for Colombia from St. Petersburg, Russia, when it sank. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV

03/27/2010 | 12:11 PM The remains of a Filipino woman who was slain in Singapore last March 15 arrived in Manila Friday night and was received by her sister at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport's cargo section. A report on dzXL radio on Saturday said the body of Roselyn Reyes Pascua was brought to Manila on a Cebu Pacific flight at 9:05 p.m. Pascua’s sister Jenny Leda said they plan to bury the remains this coming Tuesday at the Garden of East Memorial Park in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Pascua, 30, was found with stab wounds in her rented room at Bencoolen Street before dawn last March 15. The Philippine Embassy in Singapore said Pascua entered Singapore on February 3 as a tourist and extended her social visit pass until April 4. She was staying alone in a rented room at the Peony Mansion when the incident occurred. Police arrested an Indian suspected to be behind the killing of Pascua. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) did not identify the suspect but said he was 34 years old. “Murder...

RP post in Riyadh denies neglect in repatriation of pardoned OFWs JERRIE ABELLA, GMANews.TV 03/24/2010 | 04:47 PM More Share3 The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has denied it had "overlooked" the repatriation schedule of 11 pardoned overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Kingdom, which resulted in the workers missing their flight. In a statement posted on the Embassy’s Web site Tuesday, it said the workers are in the custody of Saudi jail personnel, who in turn have the sole authority to make arrangements for the OFWs’ repatriation. "From their detention cells, the (OFWs) are directly brought to the tarmac and board the plane without going through the normal immigration procedure; they are not subjected to the departure protocols at the airport. It has to be emphasized that only Saudi authorities can bring the detainees to the airport and this Embassy does not have any authority to do so," the Embassy stated. The 11 pardoned Filipinos were originally scheduled for r...

A Filipino restaurant supervisor, as well as a Nepali cook and Iraqi general practitioner, are on trial in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the fatal food poisoning of two children last year. UAE-based news site Khaleej Times has reported that the Court of Misdemeanors deferred until April 5 the hearing of the case to facilitate the recording of a forensic doctor’s statement. The case also involved alleged negligence from the local hospital that attended to siblings Nathan, 5, and his sister Chelsea, 7. Initial investigation showed the children were rushed to the hospital a few hours after consuming the meal but were eventually discharged. The children’s father, Patrick D’Souza, held doctors and the hospital responsible for the death of his children, believing that they would have been alive had they been given proper medical care. “I had left it up to the Dubai authorities and I hope they will make sure that it doesn’t happen again to any child or family. I think hospitals here have...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai prepared to inaugurate the world's tallest skyscraper on Monday, hoping to shift international attention away from the Gulf emirate's deep financial crisis and rekindle the optimism that fueled its turbocharged growth. Crews rushed to complete preparations for the official opening of the tower, which stands at least 160 stories high. The exact height will only be revealed at the evening inauguration. The developer's chairman said it cost about $1.5 billion to build the tapering metal-and-glass spire billed as a "vertical city" of luxury apartments and offices. It boasts four swimming pools, a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani. Dubai's ruler will open the skyscraper with a fireworks display and light show in a celebration that also marks four years since his ascension to power. Security is expected to be tight with more than 1,000 security personnel including plainclothes police and sharpshooters, local m...

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday reiterated its commitment to provide a proper working environment for workers, particularly domestic helpers, in the country. In a report by UAE-based news site Khaleej Times, Major-General Nasser Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Exits Affairs at the Interior Ministry, said the ministry is committed to provide a working environment conducive to the welfare and interests primarily of domestic helpers deployed there. Al Menhali urged embassies of foreign countries in the UAE to fulfill their roles in addressing complaints by housemaids, by raising their awareness and helping them to pursue channels set up by the Ministry of Interior for protecting their rights under a "humanitarian and legal framework." The report also quoted the top ministry official as saying that all departments of naturalization and residency across the country have units to settle disputes of housemaids. In case of a dispute ...

Filipinos who allow themselves to be used as “drug mules" by foreign drug syndicates do not deserve the help of the government, the head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said. “We will recommend that the Philippine government will no longer intervene in their cases. A number of those caught transporting illegal drugs were proven to be knowledgeable of their acts," said PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago in a statement. He noted that the government is not remiss in its duty to warn Filipinos, especially those who are seeking employment abroad, of the dangers of allowing themselves to be used as drug couriers by international syndicates. (Read: Number of Filipino drug mules increasing) A number of Filipinos had been arrested in other countries for drug trafficking, the latest of whom was Maria Elenita Rivera. She was arrested Bangkok last March 22 for attempting to smuggle 3.2 kilograms of cocaine. Santiago said these Filipinos are usually employed by West ...

With a recently-concluded training held in Los Angeles on how Filipinos abroad can vote for the May 10 elections back home, Philippine diplomatic posts in the Americas have hiked up preparations for overseas absentee voting (OAV) which is set to start in just over a week. In a release posted Thursday on the Department of Foreign Affairs website, the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa reported that its office and Consulates General in Canada and the Americas conducted a training for OAV last March 11 to 13. Embassy and Consulate officials and staff in Canada, the U.S. and other posts in Central and South America participated in the training which was held at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Attending the training from Canada were Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose S. Brillantes as Head of the Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC), Minister and Consul General Joseph Gerard B. Angeles as Head of the Special Ballot Election Inspectors (SBEI) and Alvar E. Rosales as Head of the...

Filipinos in Portugal are clamoring for a diplomatic office there, a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) official said. CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) executive secretary Fr. Edwin Corros said he learned of this during a recent visit to the European country. “They lamented too of having to take a plane to Paris or catch a long trip to Madrid in order to transact business for consular needs," Corros said in an article posted on the CBCP news site. He added that Filipinos in Portugal are hoping that the Philippine government would understand their plight despite their small number in the country. Records of the Commission on Filipinos overseas indicate there are about 4,306 Filipinos in the westernmost European country. Of these, only about 399 are considered permanent residents. However, the figure may be as high as 20,000 considering many enter Portugal illegally by taking advantage of the free movement of persons within the EU...

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday reiterated its commitment to provide a proper working environment for workers, particularly domestic helpers, in the country. In a report by UAE-based news site Khaleej Times, Major-General Nasser Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Exits Affairs at the Interior Ministry, said the ministry is committed to provide a working environment conducive to the welfare and interests primarily of domestic helpers deployed there. Al Menhali urged embassies of foreign countries in the UAE to fulfill their roles in addressing complaints by housemaids, by raising their awareness and helping them to pursue channels set up by the Ministry of Interior for protecting their rights under a "humanitarian and legal framework." The report also quoted the top ministry official as saying that all departments of naturalization and residency across the country have units to settle disputes of housemaids. In case of a dispute ...

The job market in Gulf countries are improving despite the global economic slowdown, a survey undertaken by an online recruitment portal in the Middle East that was cited by the Philippine government said. The GulfTalent.com survey, cited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, covered Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates for the period 2009-2010. The survey showed that despite the salary growth slump in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the average pay rises have for the first time exceeded the increase in the cost of living. As a result, many residents, including foreign workers, have seen an improvement in their quality of life and saving potential, particularly in Dubai and Doha where rents have fallen by over 30 percent. There has also been a gradual move in the region towards greater legal rights and protection for employees, as more countries made it easier for employees to switch jobs, and new labor laws have been pas...

A Filipino restaurant supervisor, as well as a Nepali cook and Iraqi general practitioner, are on trial in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the fatal food poisoning of two children last year. UAE-based news site Khaleej Times has reported that the Court of Misdemeanors deferred until April 5 the hearing of the case to facilitate the recording of a forensic doctor’s statement. The case also involved alleged negligence from the local hospital that attended to siblings Nathan, 5, and his sister Chelsea, 7. Initial investigation showed the children were rushed to the hospital a few hours after consuming the meal but were eventually discharged. The children’s father, Patrick D’Souza, held doctors and the hospital responsible for the death of his children, believing that they would have been alive had they been given proper medical care. “I had left it up to the Dubai authorities and I hope they will make sure that it doesn’t happen again to any child or family. I think hospitals here have...

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday reiterated its commitment to provide a proper working environment for workers, particularly domestic helpers, in the country. In a report by UAE-based news site Khaleej Times, Major-General Nasser Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Exits Affairs at the Interior Ministry, said the ministry is committed to provide a working environment conducive to the welfare and interests primarily of domestic helpers deployed there. Al Menhali urged embassies of foreign countries in the UAE to fulfill their roles in addressing complaints by housemaids, by raising their awareness and helping them to pursue channels set up by the Ministry of Interior for protecting their rights under a "humanitarian and legal framework." The report also quoted the top ministry official as saying that all departments of naturalization and residency across the country have units to settle disputes of housemaids. In case of a dispute ...

Filipinos who allow themselves to be used as “drug mules" by foreign drug syndicates do not deserve the help of the government, the head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said. “We will recommend that the Philippine government will no longer intervene in their cases. A number of those caught transporting illegal drugs were proven to be knowledgeable of their acts," said PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago in a statement. He noted that the government is not remiss in its duty to warn Filipinos, especially those who are seeking employment abroad, of the dangers of allowing themselves to be used as drug couriers by international syndicates. (Read: Number of Filipino drug mules increasing) A number of Filipinos had been arrested in other countries for drug trafficking, the latest of whom was Maria Elenita Rivera. She was arrested Bangkok last March 22 for attempting to smuggle 3.2 kilograms of cocaine. Santiago said these Filipinos are usually employed by West ...

As Filipinos abroad gear up for the start of the overseas absentee voting (OAV) on April 10, a migrants' rights group based in the Middle East urged their overseas compatriots Thursday to remain vigilant and help guard their votes. John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said Filipino overseas communities and organizations should actively participate in periodic elections “through overseas absentee voting" and make sure to “elect principled and responsible" candidates who can effect the “desired change in governance and in society in general." Monterona said OFW communities and groups can play a vital role in making OAV successful. “For one, OFWs organizations could very well remind and urge their members who are registered absentee voters to cast their votes during the 1-month absentee voting," he added. Monterona explained that Migrante chapters in the Middle East will officially call on their members and urge fellow OFWs to cast the...

Two Filipino seafarers were reported missing after a cargo vessel sank off the coast of Spain last Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday. The DFA had clarified its earlier statement that all Filipinos aboard the MV Kea had been rescued. "Rescue operations for two missing Filipino seafarers are ongoing. Their identities are being withheld until their families have been informed," the DFA said in a statement. The MV Kea, en route to Colombia from St. Petersburg, Russia, sank in Galicia, Spain, on Tuesday. The DFA statement did not cite the reason for the sinking. Among the crew members were 19 Filipinos, two Croatians, and one Russian, Latvian, and Ghanaian. The DFA earlier reported that 22 of the seafarers were already rescued, including all the Filipinos. The department also announced on Thursday the repatriation of the 15 Filipino seafarers first rescued. They are expected to be released from San Rafael Hospital in Coruna, Spain, on April 2, Frida...

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that a Filipino seafarer was among those seized in the March 29 hijacking of MV Iceberg 1, some 10 nautical miles from Aden Port in the Gulf of Aden. The Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, through the DFA reported this on Wednesday. The DFA said that its Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs (OUMWA) is coordinating with the vessel's principal and local manning agency. "OUMWA will continue to coordinate with the manning agency of the vessel and the Philippine Embassies concerned for the resolution of the case," DFA Undersecretary Esteban B. Conejos, Jr. said in a statement. The Panamanian-flagged vessel was carrying 24 crew members from Yemen, Pakistan, Ghana, India, Sudan, and the Philippines. It was not immediately clear, however, how many Filipinos were onboard. The DFA reported that there are now five Filipino seafarers, on board three vessels, held captive by Somali pirates. [See: Somali pirates hijac...