KAKAMMPI News

By Kristine Alave Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, Philippines – More Filipino mothers are dying during childbirth, underscoring their “unmet need” for modern family planning services, the Department of Health said Monday. Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the mortality rate for Filipino mothers has increased to 221 in 2011 from 162 in 2009. Ona lamented that poor delivery of health services for the poor was one of the main causes of death. He noted that maternal deaths were highly preventable through effective family planning services, antenatal care, and access to health facilities. “Reducing maternal deaths and meeting our MDG requires critical legislation to address structural barriers to universal health care,” Ona said. “Hence we need to pass the Reproductive Health Bill now, amend the midwifery and other health professions law, as well as consolidate local health systems at provincial level,” he added. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214653/maternal-death-rate-rose-in-2011-s...

The Social Security System (SSS) invites members of media and stakeholders to the ffth raffe of winners of the SSS Member-Get-Member (MGM) for OFWs promo on June 29, at the Executive Lounge, 2nd foor SSS Building, East Avenue Diliman, Quezon City, 9:30 am. The SSS identifed last month the fourth batch of winners who were Merlinda Damaso, Aileen Barbosa and Diana Aniban (Hong Kong); Estela Ala (Oman); Aminola Kadil (Kuwait); Jennylyn Misa (Abu Dhabi); Roberto Mendoza, Maria Michaela Tan and Ma. Arvic Quisaot (London). Overseas Filipino workers have until June 30, 2012 to participate in the MGM promo. The last raffe of monthly winners of P10,000 each will be in July 2012. Nominators and nominees who complete six monthly contributions for January to June 2012 automatically qualify for the Grand Draw in September 2012

Filipinos in Northern Israel have asked Philippine officials to hold a registration for overseas absentee voting (OAV) in the Haifa area for the May 2013 elections. During the Philippine Embassy’s first field activity there last February 25, leaders of the Filipino community suggested that registration must be conducted in the area “in order to cater to those Filipinos who have difficulties in accessing the services provided by the Embassy in view of their work schedules and distance of travel,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a news release. Some 1,651 overseas Filipinos in Israel have registered since the opening of the OAV registration three months ago, the DFA noted, with around 90 to 100 new registrants per week. Philippine officials have launched a number of activities to encourage more Israel-based Filipinos to register. The campaign program includes field registration, which—according to Vice Consul and OAV focal person Ferdinand Flores—“will be implemented a...

By Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star MANILA, Philippines - Health Secretary Enrique Ona disclosed that the latest survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed an alarming increase in the number of deaths caused by pregnancy or childbirth complications. Based on the 2011 Family Health Survey, maternal mortality rate in the country went up to 221 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010, from 162 deaths in 2006. Ona said that in 1993, the NSO recorded 209 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. “This is now a challenge for us in the government because we are working to reduce maternal mortality rate in the country to 54 by year 2016,” Ona noted. He stressed the need for the passage of critical legislation and implementation of other appropriate measures to reduce maternal mortality in the country. “Reducing maternal mortality to 54 and meeting our Millennium Development Goal requires critical legislation to address structural barriers to universal health ca...

ORI LEWIS AND NAAMA SHILONY, REUTERS JERUSALEM - Attired in traditional dress, Bedouin women gather in a desert mosque in Israel. They find their seats in a room near the prayer hall and then, speaking confidently in Hebrew, take calls from customers seeking help with phone problems. The mosque also doubles as a call centre and is a joint venture between Israel's largest telecoms group Bezeq Israel Telecom and Rayan, an organization working to promote employment among the Bedouin community. It is an indicator of the slow changes taking place in staunchly traditional Bedouin society in the Middle East, as women begin to venture to work outside the home. For years, most Bedouin women who do work have been limited to child care and teaching, close to home and out of contact with strangers. The impetus comes also from government, seeking to combat high poverty and low education levels in the Bedouin community. "Most Bedouin women would like to work in order to contribut...

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) received a report from the Welfare Officers assigned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding two (2) Filipino seafarers hurt in the sea vessel explosion incident involving a gas tanker on 18 June 2012. The explosion incident happened when the Filipinos’ sea vessel was sailing the waters within the territorial jurisdiction of Fujairah, UAE. One of the two Filipino seafarers, Marianito Aguilon, 41 years old, from Pallocan, Batangas suffered a 44% burn while his colleague, Guillermo Enriquez, Jr., 29 years old, from Mabini, Batangas sustained 38% burn. They were immediately rushed to Fujairah Hospital to undergo treatment. According to the victims who were conscious at the time of the visit of the OWWA Welfare Officers in the UAE, their families have already been informed of the unfortunate incident. “We will continue to monitor the progress of the two Filipino seafarers through our officials assigned in the Post ...

MARIIN naming tinutuligsa ang kahibangan ng pamahalaang Aquino na magpautang ng isang bilyong dolyar sa International Monetary Fund samantalang kinukuripot ang serbisyo para sa mga overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Nararapat na sa mga OFWs ibuhos ang serbisyong katumbas ng US$1 bilyon dahil malaking bahagi rin ng dollar reserves ng bansa ay galing sa remittances ng milyon-milyong Pilipino na nagtatrabaho sa 190 bansa. Malaking tulong ang ganitong halaga upang maipagpatuloy ang pagpapatakbo ng sampung embahada at konsulado na balak ipasara ng pamahalaang Aquino. Malaking tulong ang pagkakaroon ng mga tanggapang ito upang kahit paano’y may matatakbuhan ang mga kababayan nating nangangailangan ng tulong. Malaki rin ang katumbas na halagang ito sa pagpapauwi ng mga OFWs na stranded sa Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, at Saudi Arabia, dahil wala silang pamasahe pabalik sa Pilipinas. Malaking katumbas na halaga rin ang US$1 bilyon upang matugunan ang reintegration ng mga OFWs na naging biktima...

(Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times, in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line.) http://www.preda.org/en/news/fr-shays-articles/coal-and-mining-the-killing-industries/ Death came swiftly suddenly but not it was not unexpected. One day in October 2011the motor bike pulled into the open entrance in front of the church rectory of Italian missionary, environmentalist and human rights defender Father Fausto Tentorio. When he came out of the rectory the killer pulled out his gun and shot the priest dead and drove away. Another shocking murder of a man who gave his life defending the ancestral lands of the indigenous people wanted by the mining company. Crime solved, the trigger was most likely pulled by a unknown mining tycoon. Hundreds of environmentalists defending the rights of the people to their ancestral homelands forests and agricultural lands that are being stolen by the rich and the powerful, have been killed according to Global Witness, a no...

In solidarity with the Paraguayan women and people, the World March of Women joins the international condemnation of the latest attack on their country’s democratic construction process. On the 22nd June Fernando Lugo – legitimately elected President in 2008 – was impeached following a political trial recognised as a parliamentary coup d’état, a process widely supported by the press linked to the local oligarchy. In the Americas continent, we experienced a very similar situation in Honduras, exactly three years ago. We call on the WMW National Coordinating Bodies to express our solidarity and support towards the pacific resistance of the Paraguayan people, especially our sisters. We invite you to organise street actions in front of our parliaments, national governments, and the Paraguayan diplomatic representations in our countries, in order to demand: The NON recognition of Federico Franco as President of the Republic, due to his seizure of power through the manipulation of the Pa...

Two Filipino seafarers are now in a hospital after suffering burns aboard a ship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on June 18, the news site Khaleej Times reported on Thursday. The report said the two Filipinoos are are now confined at Fujairah Hospital with burns but are expected to arrive in Batangas in the Philippines this month to be with their families. Marianito Aguilon, 41, suffered burns on 44 percent of his body while Guillermo Enriquez Jr., 29, suffered burns on 38 percent of his body, the report said. Both suffered burns in the face, hand, back and lower limbs, after a spark in the electrical blower caused a fire in their Motor Tanker Aris (M/T Aris) anchored a few miles off Fujairah. Both men were brought to the hospital by Oil Marketing Trading Industry (OMTI), the UAE agent of the Greek company, Coral Shipping, which owns M/T Aris. The Khaleej Times report said Vice President Jejomar Binay visited them at the hospital on June 23 before departing for Manila the ne...

Most airport experiences don't end up as traumatic as Claudine Barretto's, but they're getting worse nearly everywhere in this age of security paranoia and traffic-snarled skies. According to the BBC, airports were once an "exciting window to the world," but now entire blogs are "dedicated to a whole array of airport gripes." BBC asked: "Has going through an airport really become so terrible it has taken the thrill out of travelling - and if so how did it happen?" "Common complaints include confusing signs, chaotic carousel crowding, rampant profiteering, having to remove shoes at security, lack of free wi-fi and lack of information on delays and cancellations," BBC said. In January this year, the travel site Frommer's cited the Philippines' Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 as one of the world's 10 worst airports. Recently, the newest and biggest NAIA complex — Terminal 3 — became the arena for a ...

AMANDA FERNANDEZ, GMA NEWS Pinabulaanan ng Manila International Airport Authority ang balitang nagdudulot umano ng traffic congestion ang pagsasara ng maikling bahagi ng runway ng Ninoy Aquino International Airport para sa repair work na isinasagawa doon. Ayon kay MIAA Control Tower Acting Supervisor Carlos Mundo, wala pang apektado na flight sa pagsasara ng pinakadulong bahagi ng NAIA Runway 06 sapagkat ang Runway 24 ang kadalasang ginagamit ngayon ng mga eroplano para sa landing at takeoff mula pa noong Mayo 25. "From May 25, we have been using Runway 24 dahil na rin sa kasalukuyang direksyon ng hangin," ayon sa kanya. Protocol na ng paliparan na gamitin lamang ang runway kung saan salungat ang hangin sa direksyon na pinupuntahan ng eroplano, paliwanag niya. Simula nitong Sabado, isinara ang dulong bahagi ng NAIA Runway 06 para sa kanilang isinasagawang rehabilitasyon ng lightning system ng runway. Magtatagal ang repairs ng isang buwan. Napaulat na may ilang pasahero ...

Now in the custody of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency are a suspected illegal drugs courier and 3.7 kilograms of white powdery substance suspected to be methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, the Philippine National Police said Sunday. PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Generoso Cerbo, Jr. said routine inspection at the Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport led to the discovery and seizure of the white substance from the suspect, Indonesian national Jovian Francisca. The suspected shabu has an estimated value of P15 million, Cerbo said. He said Francisca entered the country via a Cebu Pacific flight from Hongkong at around 1:15 p.m. — ELR, GMA News

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Arsenio Balisacan said Thursday that President Benigno Aquino III has approved the second phase of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Project. “It has been approved by the NEDA Board so they (the Department of Public Works and Highways or DPWH) can now proceed with the bidding,” Balisacan told reporters on the sidelines of the National Income Accounts press briefing. Balisacan said the NEDA Board, chaired by President Aquino, approved the project in a meeting late Wednesday. According to the DPWH website, the NAIA road project “is a 4-lane elevated expressway with a total length of 5.2 kms. Starting from Sales St. going to Andrews Ave., Domestic Road, MIA Rd., and ends at Roxas Blvd. It includes the construction of a toll plaza and five on and off ramps.” Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the expressway would provide connectivity from Metro Manila's main arteries to airport termina...

DOHA - On the outskirts of Doha, capital of one of the world's richest countries, migrant workers who have helped build the city's glittering skyscrapers and luxury shopping malls live in conditions akin to a shantytown. Clothes hang along a wall at a camp for migrant workers in the Doha Industrial Area next to piles of garbage and abandoned car parts, while petrol from an overflowing tank drips onto the ground and the air reeks of the stench from an open sewer. Indoors, a single rusty hob covered in grime suffices as kitchen equipment. Bhanu, a Nepalese worker living in the camp, says he puts up with such conditions because he can earn more than he ever could in his own country. "I'm here so that I can send money home," he said. But as Qatar prepares to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament, and is pouring billions of dollars into an infrastructure program that will require vast numbers of foreign workers, its treatment of migrant labour is coming un...

Traffic near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was snarled on Monday noon after a business's sport utility vehicle caught fire while leaving the NAIA Terminal 1 area in Pasay City. No one was reported hurt in the incident, which caused traffic along a major part of the road near NAIA, radio dzBB's Sam Nielsen reported. A fire truck from the Manila International Airport Authority spread foam over the affected area to keep the fire from spreading. The vehicle, a Serena-type sport utility vehicle (XEA-383) belonging to businessman Alberto Sta. Ana, was gutted in the fire. A separate dzBB report quoted Sta. Ana as saying the vehicle's battery may have shorted and sparked the fire. Sta. Ana said seven people were aboard the vehicle when it caught fire. He said he bought the vehicle secondhand. - VVP, GMA News

BEIJING—Malaysia Airports Holdings is looking to bid for new airport projects in Indonesia, China, and the Philippines, its chief executive said on Monday. "We are in initial discussion with them... (to bid for) maybe one airport in each country," Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad told Reuters on the sidelines of an IATA airline conference. Ahmad said the company was not looking to exit a consortium led by India's GMR Infrastructure that operates New Delhi airport, even after Germany's Fraport, another partner in the group, said last week it was shutting down its Indian operations as a result of a lack of opportunities. —Reuters

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday reported that 19 Filipino suspected "tourist-workers," who had insufficient travel documents were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as they were about to leave for Italy and South Korea last month. The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) is now investigating the case of the 19 Filipinos who were barred from leaving the country on two separate occasions (May 16 and May 28). Benito Se, BI-Airport Operations Division head supervisor, said the Filipinos, who were not identified, pretended to be tourists but actually intended to work abroad. “It was evident from the results of secondary inspection conducted by our immigration officers that the passengers were victims of human trafficking. We had no choice but to disallow their departure,” BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said in a statement. The May 16 incident involved 13 passengers disguised as members of a religious group. They claimed tha...

From Announcements - 8 June 2011 06:02 AM Please be informed that the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, Germany received several queries regarding job offers from Maksim Power International reportedly based in Dortmund, Germany. The public is hereby warned that “Maksim Power International” with address in Dortmunder Str. 417, 58743 Schwetzingen is NOT registered with the Chamber of Commerce in Dortmund (IHK Dortmund) nor with the Dortmund’s Amstgericht Registry. Also, the postal code (58743) used by Maksim Power International is not the postal code for Dortmund or Schwetzingen. Those who received job offers to work in Germany for the said company are hereby advised to disregard the invitation, and not to communicate nor transact with the said firm. Furthermore, prospective applicants are also advised not to deal nor transact with Barkev Network Inc. with address in Garmischer Str. 135, 51477 Munich which has been tasked by Maksim Power International to facilitate all the documentary r...

ADVISORY: Italy Passes Law Against Illegal Migration All Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are advised of the passage of the Italian Parliament of Law No. 92 (Law 92) titled Security Package’, and sub-titled ‘Measures for a More Secure Life for the Citizens’. The new law aims to stem illegal migration by making it more difficult for foreigners to enter Italy if they do not have the proper documentation. Law 92, which effectively makes illegal entry a crime in Italian jurisdiction, has the following provisions/features, among others: a) Imprisonment from six (6) months to four (4) years and the obligatory arrest of the illegal entrant who will be subjected to a quick trial; b) Phenomenon of the so-called ‘marriage for convenience’ with the sole purpose of acquiring Italian citizenship; c) Establishment of a national data bank to ascertain paternity of a person and blood relationships of foreign citizens; d) Easier expulsions/deportations; e) Arrest and confiscation of properties tra...

POEA warns recruiters and workers on restricted OFW destinations POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac yesterday warned placement agencies to stop recruiting workers, and job applicants not to accept job offers, for Syria and other countries declared by the government as dangerous to OFWs. Cacdac said the POEA is filing charges motu propio against licensed recruitment agencies found to have deployed workers to countries with existing restrictions. “These recruiters are heartless, sending their recruits to actual war zones and other destinations with hostile and hazardous working conditions,” he added. Cacdac said the deployment of OFWs to prohibited destinations cannot proceed without those illegal recruiters who continue to circumvent the ban by sending Filipino workers to their destinations through a third country. The POEA has already filed charges against nine recruitment agencies for deploying household service workers to Syria early this year. The government issued...

Two US employment agencies in POEA blacklist POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac yesterday ordered the exclusion of two US-based companies from participating in the government’s overseas employment program for contractual violation under the POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-based Overseas Workers. Cacdac said the order resolved with finality the recruitment violation case filed against US Opportunities and Royal Hospitality Services, LLC, both employment services company, for their failure to provide several OFWs the jobs specified in their contracts. The POEA initiated the complaint motu propio after the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Washington reported to Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz in 2010 regarding the plight of 24 OFWs who were alleged victims of human trafficking for forced labor. To prevent them from recruiting other OFWs, the POEA immediately suspended the license of ZDrive, Inc, the U.S. companies’ accredit...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has suspended the license of FMJ International Manpower and Allied Services Inc. for using visas issued to sales and restaurant workers to deploy domestic workers to other employers in Jordan. Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said the POEA has stopped processing of contracts of newly-hired Filipino household service workers for Jordan since January 2008. Cacdac said the POEA, on its own, initiated a complaint against FMJ International for violation of the POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-based Overseas Workers based on a letter-complaint of Mr. Semean Dahdal, human resource manager of Aqaba Grand Stores in Amman, Jordan. Mr. Dahdal alleged that “FMJ International, Aqaba’s recruitment agent in the Philippines, has abused the job orders issued to it”. “Upon verification through Aseza of Aqaba and the Ministry of Labor in Amman, the names on the list are all entered as housemaids i...

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) warned citizens and expatriates against fake job advertisements circulating on smart devices. UAE police said many of the messages spread via direct BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messages, Khaleej Times reported on Sunday night. "The Police Al Ameen Service warns that mischievous people use personal e-mail to receive applications and CVs from applicants, but the main purpose behind this conduct is to identify the girls and exploit their needs for any job or humanitarian aid," the report said. One way to tell the ads are fake is that they do not refer to the official source of the ads, Khaleej Times said. The Al Ameen service advised the public not to disclose their personal files and CVs to phony advertisers. It urged them instead to apply directly to the public institutions or private companies or head directly to the office of charity organization. - VVP, GMA News

ELTON LUGAY, THE FILAM June 25, 2012 9:30am Dozens of Filipinos and Vietnamese Americans joined forces as they called for a boycott of Chinese products and urged Beijing to stop its creeping aggression toward countries around the South China Sea. “Boycott Made-in-China,” said Eric Lachica of the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance, which organized the rally held June 22 in front of the United Nations headquarters. China’s claims over the West Philippines’ Sea in the Panatag Shoal (or Scarborough) and over Vietnam’s Sea are a recurring dispute. Both countries maintain China has been violating international laws of the sea. Dr. Hoi Van Do, president of the Vietnamese community in Florida said his country and the Philippines are on the same side of the issue. “Communist China dominates and takes over our islands and Scarborough Shoal of the Philippines,” he told The FilAm. “We are against them and we support you against them.” Filipinos and Vietnamese leaders are slated to meet w...

20-22 June 2012 Riocentro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Honorable Arsenio M. Balisacan Minister of Socioeconomic Planning Republic of the Philippines Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: a pleasant good morning. The Philippines believes that the Outcome Document is the minimum that can be agreed upon by consensus among all the world’s stakeholders. The document serves as a framework for individual actions and collective efforts to achieve sustainable development toward the creation of a better future for the next generations. The country aligns itself with G77 and China, as well as other member states in striving for inclusive growth to reduce poverty and create a world that is just and equitable. Along this line, the Philippines reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development and recognizes that people are at the center of development. Twenty years since the adoption of Agenda 21, the country has initiated efforts to mainstream sustainable development in planning, policy formulat...

Fight for Our Future! No Price on Nature! We are movements and organizations from Asia, waging struggles on various fronts and arenas to defend our rights, resist policies and projects that cause harm and destruction, and to fight for immediate priorities and demands, as well as profound transformation of our societies. We envision a social and economic system: • that is aimed at providing for the needs of people and aspirations for a humane, empowering and liberating life in a manner that respects the earth’s capacity to regenerate, and to sustain life based on the integrity of natural systems; • that is based on and promotes equity, parity, solidarity and mutual respect among people and nations regardless of gender, race and ethnicity, culture, capabilities and class; • that promotes sharing of land, water, forests, atmosphere, eco-systems and territories based on the principles of stewardship and not private ownership, and the rights of all people to equitable and responsible a...

(Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times, in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line.) http://www.preda.org/en/news/fr-shays-articles/the-greatest-freedom/ Independence Day celebrates political and economic freedom from the domination and exploitation of foreign powers and the establishment of a sovereign nation. It ought to be the freedom to build a country filled with patriotic fervor that cherishes its independence and sovereignty. A most exciting and joyous day of the year but in the Philippines it is not greatly so. Filipinos openly acknowledge the political realities. They are free from the tyranny of a dictator yet true independence is an illusion. The greatest freedom eludes them. They are not free from poverty, hardship, injustice and the fear of hunger and even assassination when they speak out for justice and against the corrupt politicians. Retaliation with an assassin's bullet to the brain is swift and deadly. Priests, pastors, socia...

ABS-CBNnews.com SHARJA, UAE – The owner of a cargo company has apologized to three Filipina overseas workers for the delay in the shipment of their packages to the Philippines. “Humihingi po ako sa kanila ng pasensya sa delay ng kargamento namin pero ang ma-assure ko sa kanila na yung bagahe nila is intact, 100 percent mare-receive nila yun,” said Al Rodah Marine Cargo owner Rodah Bugante. Earlier, Catherine Infante, Daisy Balili and Ruby Sunga brought their concerns to Balitang Middle East. “Sila pa nga yung matapang. Sabi ‘Sige, walang problema magreklamo kayo’. So, heto ako ngayon,” said Infante. Balili said she sent her package way ahead of the scheduled graduation of her sibling. “Dapat March 10. Anong petsa na? Graduate na yung kapatid ko hindi nagamit yung gamit dapat ng nanay ko saka kapatid ko. Hindi nila natanggap. Nasaan na?” she said. Like Balili, Infante’s package was her gift to her child who graduated with honors. “Ang pinaka-importante lang sa akin yung r...

ABS-CBNnews.com MANILA, Philippines – New guidelines on travel agency accreditation will be released next week as the Department of Foreign Affairs seeks to improve the delivery of passport and other consular services to the public. “We in the Department of Foreign Affairs have been working hard to fulfill our commitment to deliver fast and efficient services to as many of our people as possible,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said. Seguis said the new guidelines will complement the steps that have been undertaken by the DFA to improve its services such as the transfer of its consular offices to shopping malls in Metro Manila and in other parts of the country. “Our people can look forward to better services once we transfer our consular offices to their new locations inside shopping malls in the next several months,” Seguis said. According to Seguis, the new guidelines are the result of a review of the directive on the accreditation of travel agencies in the regi...

ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 05/19/2012 9:25 AM | Updated as of 05/19/2012 9:25 AM This is the first of a two-part feature by Pru Life UK on the challenges overseas Filipino workers face when it comes to saving, and tips on how they can become more prudent with their finances. MANILA, Philippines - The overseas Filipinos worker (OFW) has long been heralded as the country’s new breed of heroes, and with good reason to do so. It takes strength, determination and a drive to have a better life for your families in order to survive working long hours in a foreign land – away from your family, friends and basically everything that you work for. OFWs have also been cited as being major contributors to the Philippine economy for 2012. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), remittances from OFWs will grow further this year, and the government does not expect a drop in the demand for workers abroad real soon. For 2011, the Philippines was the fourth-largest remittance receivin...

ABS-CBNnews.com This is the second of a two-part feature by Pru Life UK on the challenges overseas Filipino workers face when it comes to saving, and tips on how they can become more prudent with their finances. Part 1: Why OFWs have a hard time saving MANILA, Philippines - It's not how much you earn, but how much you save. Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Belle Tiongco recognizes the difficulties of saving. "Saving is difficult for everyone except for those who are very disciplined. There are people who have big incomes/salaries, and yet do not have substantial savings. It's not the size of the earnings, I think it's the extent of discipline that one has that determines his capacity to save," Tiongco said. There is no universal mathematical formula to determine how much you can save, says Tiongco but there is an adage that OFWs can always rely on: needs vs. wants. "For everything that costs money, you ask yourself: is t...

by Jomel Anthony Gutierrez, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau LONDON - Filipino parents in the United Kingdom, who are sending their children to school in the Philippines, are not all keen on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) new K+12 education program. Some of them are criticizing the additional costs that they need to pay for their children’s extended years in school. The government will implement the K+12 education program starting in June. The High School level will now consist of Grades 11 to 12 for 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to 2018 academic school years. And 2 years will be added to Kindergarten before a child can be qualified to start Grade I. Jailie Enguio, a care assistant in London with a daughter who is now a grade 5 pupil in Manila, asserted that it is not necessary to add years in the country’s educational system to improve the quality of education. “We really don’t need to change the length of study in our schools,” she said. "What we need to upgrade is the qualificat...

MANILA, Philippines – An advocate of overseas Filipino workers on Thursday urged a congresswoman to withdraw a bill she filed that seeks to require departing overseas Filipino workers to pay US$50 as contribution to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration fund (OWWA). “Madam Congresswoman, your bill has caused an uproar in OFW communities across the globe. This is not an exaggeration. It touches a sensitive nerve because of its gross insensitivity to the heavily burdened life of an OFW,” Susan Ople of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center said in her open letter to Manila 4th District Congresswoman Maria Theresa Bonoan-David. Ople was referring to House Bill 6195 which the lawmaker authored. The bill, according to the press release of Bonoan-David, seeks to amend the Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. The bill “provides that for every worker recruited or deployed overseas, recruitment agency or its employer, in addition to the obligation to rep...

Manila, June 20 – First was the 2012 Global Peace Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace that ranked the Philippines among the top five nations that registered "improvements in peacefulness." The Pulse Asia's Ulat ng Bayan survey results came next that showed high approval ratings on the Aquino Administration's efforts in "increasing peace in the country." "Similar to other governance reforms being implemented under this administration, President Aquino's continuing efforts on peace and security are already being felt and recognized not just by our people, but also by the international community." said Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles, who welcomed the results of both studies. "These will further raise the public’s hopes for a just and lasting peace" she added. The 2012 Global Peace Index report stated that the Philippines’ high score was a result of improvem...