KAKAMMPI News

Sports fans attending the London Olympics were told by Olympic bosses on Sunday to avoid sending non-urgent text messages and tweets during events because an overloaded network was affecting television coverage. Coverage of the men's road cycling race on Saturday left many viewers in the dark at times, including details on how far back the chasing pack was from the leaders. Commentators were unable to get timing information due to issues surrounding the communications network of the GPS satellite navigation system. It was particularly annoying for the home crowd, who had tuned into to watch what had been billed as one of Britain's best chances of winning an early gold medal with sprint king Mark Cavendish. Many vented their anger on Twitter at the lack of information - and their disappointment at Cavendish's eventual defeat. An International Olympic Committee spokesman said it was a network issue, caused by hundreds of thousands of fans, who had lined the streets of...

MANILA, Philippines – Another e-mail recruitment scam targeting Filipino nurses and medical practitioners have been uncovered, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said. POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the email, purportedly from the Sydney Adventist Hospital, charges a fee of P3,750 for a two-day “British English” training. Sydney Adventist Hospital, located in New South Wales, Australia, was informed of the scam and has since denied having a part of it. An alert in Sydney Adventist Hospital’s website said it has not issued advertisements, emails and other notices encouraging nursing staff in the Philippines to submit applications for training for employment. “The information about Sydney Adventist Hospital recruitment is not accurate and we have not organized training courses and hospital representatives will not be in the Philippines on July 21 and 22 to employ people," the hospital said in its warning. Cacdac said the scam is similar to the one allege...

by Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau KUWAIT – More than a hundred overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are scheduled to be repatriated from strife-torn Syria. The Philippine Rapid Response Team and Philippine Embassy officials are now working double time to arrange the exit visas of 136 OFWs who are temporarily staying at a halfway house. “Yung exit visa requirements na-waive na po lahat ‘yan noong dumating po dito, nakipag-usap ako sa mga opisyal dito, at sa magandang loob naman ng Pangulong Assad ay binigyan ng directive ang Immigration Department dito na bigyan na, i-waive iyong exit visa requirements at lahat ng penalties,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis. The OFWs are set to leave Syria Saturday or Sunday, he said. Aside from the 136, some 1,404 Filipinos who availed of the government’s repatriation program are still waiting for their exit visas to be processed. “’Yung iba pa na nakalista doon na 1,404 na gusto din umuwi. Iyan ay ipakiusap muli na ...

abs-cbnNEWS.com MANILA, Philippines – A global alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), along with their families, held a lightning rally today at the first Congress of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia. The OFWs are protesting about the agency’s P2 billion reintegration loan program for returning OFWs and their families, which OWWA presented during the Congress. Migrante International chairperson Gerry Martinez said, “This reintegration loan package is an insult to OFWs because unlike other dole-out programs by the Aquino administration, the funds will come directly from OFW contributions.” “Walang ilalabas na pondo ang gobyerno para rito.” Martinez explained that OFWs are required to pay a $25 OWWA membership fee for every two-year contract. Migrante is also renewing their calls to scrap the OWWA Omnibus Policies (OOP) implemented in 2003. Martinez said that OWWA did not consult the OFWs and their families ...

By Gerry Carpio, The Philippine Star LONDON – A group of Overseas Filipino Workers who came all the way from the United Arab Emirates to cheer for Filipino athletes found themselves victims of internet scam but they are bringing down the house elsewhere, wherever they go outside the venues with their getups and their happy “Go Philippines” cheering props. The Filipinos, one male and five females from Dubai, were on their first cheering stint in the Games, at the archery range of the millionaire’s Lord’s Cricket Club in east London, when they were refused entry at the gates by marshals. The event was the qualification round of the archery competitions in the London Games last July 27. “We bought our tickets on-line but we were told at the gates that the competition does not allow spectators to watch,” said Fe Rizal Huera, a sales administration and group coordinator of a firm in UAE. Despite the incident, the six OFWs remained in high spirits as they plan, this time, to buy their t...

LONDON - Police on Sunday warned tourists in London to beware of people pretending to be plain-clothes officers and stealing credit cards and cash during the Olympics, and said they arrested more touts for illegally reselling Games tickets. The capital's Metropolitan Police Service said it arrested three men aged between 27 and 35 years on Saturday on charges of impersonating a police officer and conspiracy to steal. "There have been a number of incidents where criminals have impersonated police officers to take money off unsuspecting tourists," said Detective Superintendent Steve Osborn. "Officers would never take money from you, they would never take you to a cashpoint and ask you for money. They are unlikely to ask to see your bank cards and would never need to ask you for your pin number," he added. Saturday's arrests were made in central London's Russell Square, where London 2012 organisers are running a transport service for media covering ...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday that 140 overseas Filipino workers will be repatriated from Syria in the next four days. This is the largest batch of OFWs to come home from Syria since the unrest started in March 2011. The repatriations have already started as of this Sunday with the arrival of 19 OFWs at 3:25 p.m. onboard Etihad Airways flight EY 424. Two more Filipinos are scheduled to arrive at 10:00 p.m. this Sunday on board Emirates flight EK 334. The DFA expects 82 OFWs to arrive on July 30, 27 on July 31, and the last 10 on August 1. According to the DFA, the Syrian Government had agreed to waive the exit visa fees, penalties, and requirements for the 140 OFWs, thus saving the Philippine government over $100,000. Furthermore, in a meeting with DFA Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, the Syrian Government gave assurances that it will assist in the repatriation of 1,404 more OFWs who have signified their intention to come home. This will bring the to...

By Christine F. Herrera The principal author of the reproductive health bill on Sunday said an endorsement from President Benigno Aquino III has pushed the number of its supporters to 140, more than enough to approve the contentious measure by Aug. 7, when the debates were expected to close. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the bill needed to be passed by August because Congress would be preoccupied with the deliberations on next year’s national budget by September and the filing of the candidacies for the mid-term 2013 elections by October. Although the President only mentioned the term “responsible parenthood” once during his State-of-the-Nation Address last week in reference to his administration’s plans for education, Lagman took that as an endorsement of his bill. “The message of the President was loud and clear. It’s not in the length of what he said but the content of what he said,” Lagman said. “We have been saying that we have the numbers, and most especially now that Preside...

By: Patricia Evangelista, Philippine Daily Inquirer We are told we are on the verge of open war. The generals are mounting their cavalry; the defenders of the faith are mustering their troops. This war did not spring from the deaths of the 11 members of the New People’s Army killed in a June encounter with the Army’s 85th Infantry Battalion. Neither was it a result of the hostilities in Basilan, whose terrorists shattered the bodies of the 10 soldiers whose coffins arrived yesterday at the Villamor Air Base. The war does not involve the Chinese garrison at Scarborough, or the families of the victims of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, or even the millions whose lives we are told are at stake at the center of Edwin Lacierda’s metaphorical war against poverty. The battle of 2012, we are told, was declared on July 23. “Now that we are ending the backlog on textbooks, perhaps we can also avoid a backlog on students,” said President Aquino at his third State of the Nation Address. “I belie...

Following the Roman Catholic hierarchy's pronouncements that they will make a list of anti-reproductive health (RH) bill candidates that they will support for the coming 2013 elections, a group of women working in grassroots communities welcomed the move saying that it will even help them know the candidates to reject and not vote for. The Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP), a national federation of 264 community women’s organizations with 40,000 members chaired by Elizabeth Angsioco is not threatened by this announcement and in fact, fully supports it. She added, “the move is good for RH champions as non-inclusion in the bishops’ list means that they favor saving mothers from dying and adolescent girls from untimely pregnancies.” "The bishops will make our work easier. Inclusion in their list is a guarantee that a candidate is anti-RH. For women, especially those in poor communities such as our members, being anti-RH is being anti-women and anti-poor...

The Social Security System (SSS) is set to draw the last batch of monthly winners of its SSS Member-Get-Member (MGM) for OFWs promo on July 31 at the Executive Lounge, 2nd foor SSS Building, East Avenue Diliman, Quezon City, 9:30 am. Media and stakeholders are invited to join the SSS in the raffe, which has given away P10,000 to each of the 45 Filipino overseas workers who won in the past draws. Nominators and nominees who complete six monthly contributions for January to June 2012 automatically qualify for the Grand Draw in September 2012. The grand winner will walk away with a vacation package for two to Boracay and P45,000 pocket money or have the prize converted to P160,000 cash. The SSS will also draw two 2nd prize winners of P30,000 each; three 3rd prize winners of P20,000 each; and ten winners of P10,000 each as consolation prizes. Last month’s winners were Vitaliana Hara Hernando, Aileen Barbosa and Divina Pagaduan (Asia); Auricel Tolentino...

Dolphy was proud to have been one of the first OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in Hong Kong in the 1940s, having been a young dancer and errand boy there, struggling like the masses of Filipinos who later adored him. Dolphy, born Rodolfo Quizon Sr. in Tondo, Manila on July 25, 1928, passed away at age 83 on Tuesday at 8:34 p.m. in Makati due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dolphy was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Makati Medical Center on June 9, after complaining of difficulty in breathing. He also suffered from pneumonia and kidney ailments. In an interview with GMA News in 2009, Dolphy recalled how, at just over 20 years old, he worked as a dancer in Hong Kong in the late 1940s. When not on stage or the dance floor, he was also an errand boy. "Nagsasayaw lang ako, may boss din akong nagdala sa akin, errand boy din ako and at the same time nagsasayaw din ako," he recalled. "Unang dating ako, nakikisama ako at gusto kong matuto, ako a...

A severe typhoon in Hong Kong — Hurricane Signal Number 10 — forced the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Hong Kong to suspend operations for at least half a day on Tuesday. However, as Typhoon Vicente ("Ferdie" in the Philippines) was lowered to Signal Number 3 on the same day, the PCG posted a notice posted on its website saying it has resumed operations. "In view of the downgrade of Typhoon Vicente by the Hong Kong Observatory to No. 3 Strong Wind Signal at 10:10 a.m., the Philippine Consulate General will resume operations at (noon) and will be open to the public until (4:00 p.m.)," the PCG said. On Tuesday morning, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) said Hurricane Signal number 10 — the highest signal — was issued for the first time since 1999 on Monday night. RTHK said Vicente had made landfall after 4:00 a.m. near the coastal area of Taishan. Typhoon Vicente started as a tropical depression in the Philippines. While in the Philippines, "Fer...

As the Holy Month of Ramadan started on Friday, the police in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a hotline offering cash rewards to those who report seasonal beggars. A report of the news site Gulf News said the public can call 06-7401616 or 06-7409999 to report instances of begging. Under the campaign, the amount of the reward will depend on the amount of cooperation given and the importance of the report. "Police patrols will be deployed at places where the beggars are found. They take advantage of Ramadan and go to mosques and markets, banks and residential areas to ask people for money," the report quoted Lt. Col. Abdullah Saif Al Matroushi, director of the Department of Criminal Investigation at Ajman Police, as saying. He said people who have "limited resources or face difficult situations" should contact authorized charity and humanitarian groups instead of begging. These groups will study their individual cases and offer them help in a legal an...

Dubai authorities warned about fake emails from supposed government officials about a $2 million lottery prize in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), home to some 636,154 Filipinos, based on the 2010 Stock Estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. According to a report of the news site Emirates 24/7 on Tuesday, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) issued a 'Dubai National Lottery Foundation 2012' scam alert. The modus operandi involves scammers demanding an "advance fee" using identities of DFSA Chairman Saed Eigner, UAE Central Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and UAE Ministry of Finance. Scammers reportedly send unsolicited letters, using a DFSA letter headed paper, informing persons by email that they won $2,161,500 in the "Dubai National Lottery Foundation 2012 online prize awards." However, the scammers say that the funds cannot be released until the winner pays a remittance fee of $21,600. The report said the letter is "false an...

President Barack Obama visited with friends and family of the Colorado movie theater shooting victims on Sunday, joining local officials and residents in mourning those who died. Twelve died and 58 were wounded early Friday when a lone shooter, armed with three guns and clad in body armor, opened fire at a midnight screening of the new Batman movie. Police apprehended James Eagan Holmes, 24, moments after the massacre and identified him as the killer. He is to make his first court appearance on Monday. "I refuse to say his name. In my house we're just going to call him Suspect A," Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper told a community memorial service at the municipal center in Aurora, Colorado, a Denver suburb of 325,000 people. He captured a spirit of defiance in the blue-collar city that saw one of the most innocent of American pastimes turn into a horror show. Among the thousands of people spread across the lawn at the memorial were two dozen friends of victim...

Job Title: Own Studio, Great Live-In Housekeeper for super family Location: Weybridge, Surrey Start Date: September 2012 Salary: £275npw An experienced, flexible dog-loving Live-In Child-Friendly Housekeeper (Tagalog spks adv) is required for a fun family in Kingston. This is a large residence with 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms over 3 levels. The family have grown-up children who come and go between University and home – usually holidays so busy and quieter times (you are able to have part time jobs too). Own studio. Monday – Friday 7am – 4pm £275npw. September 2012 start. Keen to interview soonest. This is a really fantastic role for a knowledgeable Dog –Loving Housekeeper who is happy to have a couple of part time roles too (the family’s nephew needs c 3-4 hours each week – cleaning and laundry). The 4 older children are “in & out” from University to home – so busier in the holidays. You’ll be a dog lover and happy to walk the dog every morning for 20 minutes on the local golf ...

Some overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are holding from July 20 to 25 a global "web protest" against the planned increase in PhilHealth premiums. Dubbed “Global Webwide Protest to Stop PhilHealth Increase,” the move aims to stop the proposed 150 percent increase in health premiums for OFWs — from P900 to P2400 per person. According to a news release on the OFW site Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards (PEBA), Philhealth premiums for all members, including OFWs, increased from P900 to P1,200 in January this year. PhilHealth this month postponed to January 2013 plans for another increase for OFWs — from P1,200 to P2,400. PEBA said OFWs want the planned hike stopped until further discussion. “OFWs globally plead to stop and immediately implement a moratorium on imposing the increase until a comprehensive and genuine consultation with most OFWs and other stakeholders have been conducted,” PEBA said. A direct violation PEBA is a non-profit organization of international Filipin...

Philippine officials on Monday belied reports claiming that 180 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have staged a hunger strike in Saudi Arabia to protest against "illegal recruitment, abusive employers and government neglect." According to a news release of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Ambassador Ezzedin Tago said it was not true that the OFWs started having a hunger strike on July 19. “The truth is there was no hunger strike in Al Swayeh. The truth is there was no hunger strike by the Al Sabillah workers in Al-Jouf,” Tago said. "Stop work protests" However, he confirmed that 98 workers of Al-Swayeh held a "Stop work" protest against the non-payment of salary, lack of end-of-service benefit, and the non-issuance of exit visas to the workers who have finished their contracts. Labor Attache Albert Valenciano added, “there are no details of the cases of the workers in the other companies.” The embassy said Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in...

President Benigno Aquino III, in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) popularly well defined impunity. That which is wrong, no matter how long it remains, is still wrong. No way can anyone say after sometime that: “It already is OK. Let bygone’s be bygone’s.” Victims of human rights violations and their families took heart at Mr. Aquino’s statement taken it to mean that he was setting a course to break from the past culture of impunity and embark on building a course that ensures the primacy of human rights and the rule of law. It meant a road built on truth, justice, as well as guaranteeing reparation and compensation for victims. It was also expected to include institutional reforms to make sure of non-recurrence of similar violations. And yet, as gleaned in the following sample cases, impunity persists. The families of six workers from Trento, Agusan del Sur, still await the fate of their members since the latter were abducted last October 14, 2000. A soldier witn...

In an effort to further attract more Filipino voters to register for the 2013 senatorial and party list elections, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, has set up satellite overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration sites in Worldwide Plaza in Central Hong Kong starting on July 8. The project is in cooperation with the Philippine Bankers Club. The satellite sites are located in Metrobank and BDO Remit at the second floor, while LBC hosts a site at the third floor. Daily registrations will continue until 31 October 2012.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) would like to assure all our partner-providers that we are pursuing improvements in our management and IT systems. Our goal is to improve efficiency of claims processing, as reflected by two relevant measures: 1) the average Turn Around Time (TAT) for claims, and the 2) percentage of submitted claims paid beyond 60 days. Our commitment has not changed. We recognize that claims processing is one of PhilHealth’s core functions towards ensuring our members’ true financial risk protection and strengthening our partnership with health care providers, and as such, is a responsibility that we take seriously. This issue of delayed claims payments or claims backlog has long been addressed by PhilHealth since late last year. In 2011, the average number of claims was around 340,000 a month. During this period, the TAT was more than 60 days, with less than half of our 20 claims processing centers or regional offices having TAT less than 60 d...

In an effort to further attract more Filipino voters to register for the 2013 senatorial and party list elections, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, has set up satellite overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration sites in Worldwide Plaza in Central Hong Kong starting on July 8. The project is in cooperation with the Philippine Bankers Club. The satellite sites are located in Metrobank and BDO Remit at the second floor, while LBC hosts a site at the third floor. Daily registrations will continue until 31 October 2012.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, M.P. called for increased trade and investments between the Philippines and Canada, saying that the presence of huge numbers of Filipinos in Canada should spur a livelier trade in goods across the Pacific. In a dinner hosted in his honor by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, Minister Baird said there is much potential for moving the two countries' economic relations forward. Minister Baird noted that the Philippines has become Canada's number one source of immigrants and overseas workers, with over 800,000 Filipinos now residing in the country. Minister Baird said: "We should be able to raise the level of our bilateral trade, and the Filipino diaspora could provide the needed impetus for this." Minister Baird also mentioned the huge potential for increasing tourist arrivals from Canada to the Philippines. "Family members and friends of Filipinos in Canada have heard of so many good things about the Philippi...

Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac recently revealed another come on used by fly-by-night immigration consultants to attract unsuspecting jobseekers by promising them overseas employment supposedly without payment of fees other than for medical tests and visa interview coaching in the Philippines. According to Cacdac, the scheme starts with an unsolicited job offer through e-mail to nurses and caregivers apparently from legitimate and prestigious medical facilities in Canada or the United States of America. Cacdac cited an e-mail supposedly from Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Ontario, Canada and forwarded to the POEA, which informs the recipient of her selection as staff nurse and/or caregiver, and details on the application procedure and payment process. Cacdac said the offer could be hard to refuse for some applicants looking for overseas jobs. The e-mail said the workers would not be charged any fees except Php3,888.00 for “visa interview coaching”, and Php5,000.00 fo...

One of the most talked about plagues of modern society is human trafficking. People, particularly women and children, are traded and shipped by boats and planes from poor countries to well-off countries that are in constant need of cheap labor and "objects" of entertainment, particularly to serve sexual depravity and perversion of all kinds. In the olden times, it was called slave trade. Until it was abolished, humans were publicly traded from merchant to merchant and the slaves were transported to Europe and the new world (then US) by the boatload. The slaves, most of them from Black Africa, were used to work in plantations as indented cheap labor and objects of their masters’ sexual perversities. The slave trading was so INHUMAN and an evil "incarnate" that it became so infamous. Governments, first the British then their counterparts in mainland Europe, could no longer tolerate the inhumanity of slave trading that it was outlawed in Europe followed by the US a...

Airport immigration officers arrested a Malaysian couple last June 20 for allegedly escorting three undocumented overseas Filipino workers to Malaysia. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Sunday the couple was apprehended at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 as they were to board a Cebu Pacific flight. Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the couple was accompanying three male victims. According to the Immigration Bureau, the three admitted they were hired to work as mechanics and welders for the Jin San Transport Contractor Snd. Bhd., a construction company owned by the Malaysians. The three victims pointed to the couple as their recruiters who facilitated their travel, saying the couple secured their single-entry tourist visa from the Malaysian Embassy in Manila. David declined to divulge the names of the foreigners and OFWs as the law prohibits the public disclosure of human traffickers and their victims. The couple was later turned over to officials of...

A Singaporean — Tan Pang Kwang — was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Wednesday for attempting to smuggle into the United States a Chinese woman disguised as a Singaporean. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David identified the victim as Lin Xiao Mei. The two were intercepted at the boarding gate of the NAIA 2 Terminal as they were about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Los Angeles. The two are now detained at the immigration jail in Bicutan, Taguig pending deportation proceedings. Immigration officers found that the Singaporean passport used by Lin was fraudulent. During an investigation, Lin’s Chinese passport was found hidden under the clothes she was wearing. David commended the bureau’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) for the arrest, saying, “We have repeatedly warned these syndicates to stop using the Philippines as a transit point for their operation because they cannot elude the watchful eyes of our immigr...

At least 31 Filipino women were rescued in an operation conducted by Malaysian immigration operatives last Thursday, a Malaysian news site reported over the weekend. The women were rescued in a condominium in Taman Tun Dr Ismail following a three-month monitoring by immigration officers, Malaysia's The Star reported. But at least two other Filipinas were detained on suspicion they worked with the syndicate, the report added. The report quoted Immigration Department director (enforcement) Mohd Zamberi Abdul Aziz as saying the women were kept in two residential units. He said none of the 31 had their passports, adding they may have entered Malaysia via social visit passes as tourists or as students. Syndicate members monitored their movements using a closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, the report said. An investigation showed the women would be taken out to work daily at nightclubs around the Klang Valley, then brought back to the residence. Following the raid by a 44-me...

The kin of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Bacolod City in the Visayas were warned this week against a group of swindlers that included a fake ambassador to the Middle East. According to a report of the news site Visayan Daily Star last week, one of the gang's latest victims was a 56-year-old wife of an OFW in Saudi Arabia. The report said the victim lost some P109,000 to a man claiming to be “Rodolfo Go,” supposedly an "ambassador" to Saudi Arabia. The "ambassador" allegedly called her at 9:30 a.m. more than a week ago to say that her husband was wounded, hospitalized, and needed money. The "ambassador" allegedly claimed that the husband fought and killed an engineer in Saudi Arabia, the report said. The "ambassador" then instructed her to remit money at different pawnshops to a certain "Romwel Celedio," the report added. The victim said she sent P42,000 and P67,000 via two pawnshops before learning that her husband ...

GENERAL SANTOS CITY --- Benefit disbursements to Social Security System (SSS) members in Southern Mindanao reached P2.22 billion from January to May this year, which was eight percent higher than the P2.05 billion released for the same period in 2011. SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros, Jr., who is in the city with senior officials to touchbase with employers and workers in the region, said the increase in benefit payouts in Southern Mindanao was higher than the national average of five percent. "Monthly pensions of about 112,600 members in Southern Mindanao amounting to P1.61 billion comprised 72 percent of the disbursements. Apart from pensions, SSS also released about P609 million in lump-sum and short-term benefits from January to May 2012 in the area," he said. Lump-sum payments included P228.98 million for retirement, P114.73 million for death and P22.23 million for disability. Other benefit payouts in Southern Mindanao were P104.21 million for f...

(The Philippine Star) MANILA, Philippines - One of the authors of the Reproductive Health Bill at the House of Representatives is urging President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to endorse the measure during his third State of the Nation Address next week. In a statement, House members also expressed certainty the chief executive will include in his speech the administration’s gains in promoting good governance and economic stability in the country. Rep. Janette Garin (1st District, Iloilo), a Senior Deputy Majority Leader, said these two subjects will most likely be included in the annual report of the President to Congress and the public. “The President’s SONA will probably tackle the economic achievements of the administration and the progress on its transparency and good governance agenda, and their good effects on our country,” Garin said. Garin, also the Vice Chairperson of the House Committees on Health and on Population and Family Relations, expressed hope the President would ...

By RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News MANILA, Philippines - A cousin-in-law of President Aquino lashed out at the administration for its failure to pass the Reproductive Health Bill into law before the end of the 15th Congress. Pangasinan Rep. Carmen Cojuangco, wife of Aquino’s 2nd degree cousin Mark Cojuangco, posted several tweets imploring the President and his allies to pass the RH Bill. “Mr. President, dying mothers & starving children need your protection. The best legacy you can leave behind is the RH Bill,” she said. She also placed a similar message on the President’s Twitter account. “Please toe the line for the RH Bill. The fate of impoverished families & dying mothers is in your hands,” she said. Cojuangco scored House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II for saying that it would be more difficult to pass the RH bill as the country inches closer to the elections. She said Gonzales’s statement only shows his inaction and failure to deliver on the President’s promise. Failur...

July 16, 2012 Manila – As the upcoming 2012 State of the Nation Address is nearing, various civil society organizations are looking forward for President Aquino to include the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill in his speech. Dr. Eden R. Divinagracia, executive director of the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare Inc. (PNGOC) is optimistic that President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III will continue his support for the RH bill. Since including the RH bill as one of the 13 priority measures to members of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) last August 2011, the RH bill still languishes in both houses of Congress. Dr. Divinagracia would like to remind the President that in able to provide a good future for one’s family, the government should create a favorable environment for every Filipino. To do this, PNGOC believes that having a sound and comprehensive Reproductive Health (RH) policy that is rights-based and central to the meas...

MAKATI CITY, July 10 (PIA) -- The local government continues its commitment in upholding the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families in the city as it vows full support for the newly established OFW Help Desk at City Hall. In a statement, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay reiterated the local government’s continuing commitment after he signed a memorandum of agreement with Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Carmelita S. Dimzon on the establishment of an OFW Help Desk at the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) at the 5th Floor of Makati City Hall. “I remain strongly committed to protecting the rights and welfare of our OFWs, especially since I have seen firsthand the sad plight of some 1,500 OFWs who were stranded at the Haj Terminal of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia last year,” Binay said. The mayor was part of the delegation of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay that went to Saudi Arabia last year to ...

by Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau GLENDORA, California – Sixty-nine year old doctor Rolando Lodevinco Atiga was arrested Thursday morning at his Glendora Clinic and remained in police custody for nearly 8 hours. Police claim that after a 2-month sting operation, the Philippine-born physician sold highly addictive pain killer prescriptions to patients that didn't need them. “We had undercover officers with no medical problems and basically pay cash anywhere between $250 and $500. A person could pay cash and he would write a prescription and a script for drugs such as hydrocodone, vicodin, oxycoton, zanyx, that type of medicine,” said Tim Staab of the Glendora Police Department. Staab said tips helped initiate the investigation which, on one occasion, involved an officer using a dog's X-ray to convince Atiga to prescribe powerful pain medications. The Philippine Union College Graduate, who began his practice in the Philippines before migrating to southern C...