KAKAMMPI News

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO OFW Journalism Consortium PASIG CITY—CRISIS not only brings out the best in people; in the Philippines’s case, it brought out the best people and in droves. So claims Maruja M.B. Asis of the Scalabrini Migration Center. At a policy conference organized by the SMC here, Asis said there’s a visible volume of OFWs across all occupational groupings, including production workers, service workers (including domestic workers) and professional and technical workers (the top three occupational groupings of OFWs in 2008). Hence, she said the year-long increase of migrant worker deployment in 2009 “isn’t surprising”. Last year, economists chewed on their nails as a financial fiasco in the United States housing industry in 2008 cascaded over the real sector and burned markets trading with the world’s largest economy. Some economists like Alvin Ang of the University of Santo Tomas said remittances from overseas Filipino workers in host countries like the US would either dro...

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO OFW Journalism Consortium PASIG CITY–ANALYSTS claim the movement of workers from home countries in Asia already reached a level wherein their economies are now “structurally dependent” on migration. Labor migration for Asia is “not a mom-and-pop story anymore,” Ma. Alcestis Mangahas of the International Labor Organization (ILO) told migration analysts and stakeholders at a recent forum here. Mangahas, ILO senior migration specialist, said the advancement of labor migration to such level occurred independent of the recent global financial crisis, natural disasters, and political strife that hit Asia in the past three years. “Migration is no longer ad hoc.” Hence, Mangahas challenged policy forum participants to face migration squarely, something that an Asian Development Bank paper says is the correct attitude. This is important since the ADB paper authors noted an “Asian advantage” when migration for work is liberalized —whether within Asia or to other regions ...

by RUBEN JEFFREY G. ASUNCION OFW Journalism Consortium QUEZON CITY—NINE groups claiming to represent overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the House of Representatives failed again in the recently held party-list elections, initial results show. Analysts say this is expected as voters were overwhelmed by the number of groups with the apparent lack of viable political platforms. “(Running for the party-list elections) seems to be an exercise in futility for these groups. This has been happening in past elections before,” Francisco Aguilar Jr. of the Partidong Pandaigdigang Pilipino said. The OFW Journalism Consortium spoke to Aguilar four days after an estimated 45 million voters trooped to polling precincts to elect groups under the party-list system aside from other candidates for the presidential, vice-presidential, senatorial, and local seats of government. The groups that ran include the Alyansa ng OFW, Ahon Pinoy, Action Brotherhood for Active Dreamers (ABROAD), Akbay Pinoy National...

05/15/2010 | 02:25 PM Starting May 24, the United States Embassy in Manila will shift to an environment-friendly way of handling non-immigrant visa applications using an electronic online form. The Embassy said the online form, known as DS-160, replaces three paper forms to make the completion of applications easier and faster. "With demand for US visas continuing to increase worldwide, the US State Department is committed to using new technologies to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the visa application process. The web-based nonimmigrant visa application uses new technologies and replaces existing forms to better serve our visa applicants," it said. "The new form has two key changes. The DS-160 form is submitted electronically, through the Internet, replacing paper forms. Also, the on-line form requires applicants to upload a digital photograph from the computers they use to complete the application," it added. It added the new form is a “greener," user...

05/13/2010 | 01:06 PM Filipinos and Indian nationals dominate the nursing workforce in the United Arab Emirates, according to a study conducted by the association of nurses in the Emirates. The association intends to use results of the study to seek higher wages for nurses and to encourage Emiratis, particularly men, to enter the profession. Emirati nurses constitute only a small percentage of the total nursing workforce in the UAE, the Emirates Nursing Association said. "According to the study, of the total 23,433 nurses from different nationalities working in the country, only 759 were Emiratis. Of this total, only 12 were male [Emiratis]. Indians and Filipinos continued to dominate the workforce," UAE news site Khaleej Times said, citing excerpts from the report. “The salary issues are also preventing Emiratis from working in the private sector and that’s why we don’t have a single local nurse in this sector," said Obaid Al Jenaidi, president of the association. Al Je...

05/12/2010 | 08:05 AM A Filipino plumber and his friend were charged before a court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this month over an attempt to “cheat" in a blood test at a health center last November. UAE-based news site Khaleej Times reported the plumber tried to take the place of his friend in taking the medical test required by the Dubai Health Department. While the report did not name the two Filipinos, it said one of them was a plumber and the other was a clerk. The two were aged 25 and 32, the report added. The plumber was charged with forgery last Sunday before the Court of First Instance, while the clerk was charged with abetting to a bid to commit forgery. Court records showed the clerk, who was suffering from a disease, asked the plumber to take the blood test for him. The report did not specify the disease. Investigation showed the clerk, accompanied by the plumber, visited a health center in Muhaisna 2 last Nov. 2. “After receiving his documents, I told hi...

Liberal Party standard bearer Benigno Aqunio III kept his lead in the presidential race, according to unofficial results of the overseas absentee voting (OAV) in Hong Kong and Singapore. The results of the OAV came in Monday night, showing a voter turnout of 40 percent for the Chinese territory and 30 percent for the island nation. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday only 39,833, out of 95,355 registered overseas Filipinos, voted in 96 clustered precincts in the former British colony. Its numbers were based on a report relayed by the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong. In Singapore, 9,588 out of 31,851 Filipinos cast their ballots in 32 clustered precincts, the DFA said. The DFA expected to receive all OAV results by May 15. DFA-OAVS Vice Chairperson Nestor Padalhin said the results are still unofficial, as the official canvassing results would come from the Commission on Elections and the National Board of Canvassers. (See: 24% of OAV ballots cast as election d...