KAKAMMPI News

ABS-CBNnews.com MANILA, Philippines – The first-ever Filipino convenience store with free access to WIFI service opened to cater to the needs of the big Pinoy community in Las Palmas, Canary Islands in Spain. Owned by Filipina Jenneth Karlsson, the Mabuhay Store is patronized by more than 2,000 Filipinos in Las Palmas. “Galing kami sa Barcelona, nang malaman ko na malaki ang Filipino community dito sa Las Palmas naisip namin na magtayo ng Mabuhay Store. Kami ang nag-iisang store dito sa Canary Island,” said Karlsson. Philippine products such as fresh and dried fish, vinegar, soy sauce, bagoong, sardines, are among the items sold in the store. “Every time na pumupunta kami dito sa Mabuhay Store nagkakaroon kami ng relaxation. Nagpapahinga kami. Nagkakaroon kami ng peace of mind,” said seafarer Vicente Olviga. The store also provides its clients, particularly the seafarers waiting to board their ships, with free access to WIFI service to easily connect with their families back i...

The Philippines may eventually lose a favored destination of Filipino workers if the number of OFWs illegally staying in Korea continues to increase, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration warned yesterday. Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has decided to reduce the number of newcomers that may be allowed to work in Korea this year to 4,200 from 5,200 in 2012. For 2013, only 7,900 names of OFWs would be included in the roster, a marked decrease from 9,800 names in 2012, Cacdac added. However, Cacdac said the POEA is not disputing the decision of Korea to slash the quota on Filipino workers.  “We have to abide with our contract with them. The memorandum of understanding between the government of Korea and the Philippines provides that “the MOEL may  take necessary measures such as reducing the number of jobseekers in the roster or suspending participation in the EPS if the number of Filipino workers ...

By Raffy A. Beltran, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia - A bank account for blood money donation was recently opened by the Saudi Government for Filipino death row convict Rodelio “Dondon” Lanuza. Lanuza who has been in jail in Dammam since 2000 was sentenced to “qisas” or death by beheading for the death a Saudi National. The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has secured the bank account for blood money donation for Lanuza in coordination with the Saudi Reconciliation Committee in Dammam. Two years ago, through the effort of the Saudi Reconciliation Committee (February 2011), an amicable settlement was reached between the victim’s family and the accused (Lanuza) with the payment of diyya or blood money amounting to 3 million Saudi Riyals or P32.5 million to save the overseas Filipino worker from beheading. The embassy said the bank account was opened through the instruction of the Office of the Governor (Emir) of the Eastern Region. All donations to the acco...

(Update 4:49 a.m., 31 January 2013)   BEIRUT - Israeli jets bombed a convoy near Syria's border with Lebanon early on Wednesday, sources told Reuters, apparently targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah in what some called a warning to Damascus not to arm Israel's Lebanese enemy. Syrian state television accused Israel of bombing a military research center, at Jamraya between the capital and the nearby border, but Syrian rebels disputed that, saying their forces had attacked the site. No source spoke of a second Israeli strike. "The target was a truck loaded with weapons, heading from Syria to Lebanon," said one Western diplomat, echoing others who said the convoy's load may have included anti-aircraft missiles or long-range rockets. Several sources ruled out the presence of chemical weapons, about which Israel has also raised concerns. The overnight raid followed warnings from Israel that it was ready to act to prevent the revolt against President Bashar a...

By Lila Ramos Shahani It begins with a painful, all-too-familiar story. The friend of a friend promises a young girl from an impoverished family a high-paying job abroad as a waitress. The amount being offered both astonishes and delights her, and she responds with a resounding yes. How can she not want to help her family, after all? Magically, the paper work is prepared in the blink of an eye. She is to be sent to the Middle East, but must first pass by Malaysia as a stowaway. So she boards a motorized banca as the dusk begins to fall, hoping to evade roving coast guards on her way from Tawi-tawi in the southern part of the Philippines to Sabah in Malaysia. Before long, she finds herself in a cramped, dark space, her wrists encrusted in cold metal. She is handed a large box of condoms and is blithely informed that this will have to be her daily quota from now on — that is, if she hopes to eat at all. By then, it’s too late, as we witness the plight of yet another ...

ANDREI MEDINA , GMA News The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will conduct anti-human trafficking Pre-Employment Orientation Seminars (PEOS) in 10 Philippine provinces where illegal recruitment is rampant. During the Forum on Forced Labor Trafficking at the  POEA  headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, POEA Director Lucia Villamayor said the PEOS aims to educate Filipino job seekers about human trafficking and other job issues. Among the provinces where the POEA intends to hold the PEOS are Isabela, Quirino, Batangas, and Pampanga. Human trafficking, also known as "modern-day slavery," affected 20.9 million people globally in 2012, Villamayor noted. The PEOS is a three-hour seminar that provides aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) basic knowledge about illegal recruitment, forced labor, and human trafficking as well as how to avoid these. The PEOS is being conducted daily at the POEA headquarters. It is also held in schoo...

The Philippine Embassy in Washington will be closed on Feb. 18 in observance of former US President George Washington's birth anniversary.   In an advisory, the embassy said Feb. 18, a Monday, is considered a federal holiday in the United States.   " The Embassy will be closed on Monday , February 18 in observance of Washington’s Birthday, a US federal holiday," it said.   But it said those with emergency cases requiring assistance from the embassy may contact telephone numbers 202-368-2767 or202-467-9300.   Washington's Birthday, also known as President's Day, is held on the third Monday of February.   It honors all the presidents of the US, with Washington as the first president.   However, TimeAndDate.com said some states pay attention to  Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday also falls on February .  —KG, GMA News

By SYLVIA WESTALL, REUTERS KUWAIT - Donor countries have pledged more than $1.5 billion to aid Syrians stricken by civil war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday after warning that the conflict had wrought a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. In a pointed message for Syria's leader, Ban told a fund-raising conference that President Bashar al-Assad bore primary responsibility to stop his country's suffering after nearly two years of conflict that have cost an estimated 60,000 lives. "Every day Syrians face unrelenting horrors," Ban told the gathering in Kuwait, adding these included sexual violence and arbitrary killings. Sixty-five people were shot dead execution-style in Aleppo on Tuesday, opposition activists said. "We cannot go on like this.... He should listen to the voices and cries of so many people," Ban said. "I appeal to all sides and particularly the Syrian government to stop the killing ... in the name of humanity, stop...

ANDREI MEDINA , GMA News A Department of Foreign Affairs official on Thursday belied a newspaper report saying Syria President Bashar Assad had sought asylum and financial assistance from the Philippines. As a reaction to the banner story of The Philippine Star on Thursday, DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez told GMA News Online the report's claims “aren't true.” Hernandez said President Benigno Aquino III, with DFA officials, met with Assad's adviser Bouthaina Shaaban earlier this week in Manila to discuss possible political solutions to the two-year Syrian conflict. “The political solution is in contrast to a military armed intervention which Syria is avoiding,” said Hernandez. He also said the discussion aimed to get the opinion of the Philippines on the Syrian situation, and that it was normal for troubled countries to ask for help from the international community. Also, Hernandez said there was a letter from Assad handed personally to Aquino by Bouthaina...

(Updated 8:45 a.m.)  Another batch of overseas Filipino workers who availed of the government's repatriation efforts arrived home from strife-torn Syria Thursday morning. The latest batch of OFWs numbering 78 arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport aboard an Emirates flight before 7 a.m., radio dzBB's Rodil Vega reported. Many of them were relieved to be home, the report said. Expected to welcome them were officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the report said. The report also quoted Labor Department officials as saying they are targeting some 3,000 more Filipinos for repatriation from Syria. Last week, a new batch of 22 OFWs returned home aboard a Qatar Airways flight. Earlier, the OWWA said the returning OFWs will be given assistance in getting to their home provinces. Those who could not immediately go home will be allowed to stay at a halfway house. For its part, the DFA continues to convince OFWs in Sy...

Starting March 17, the   Philippine Embassy in Singapore   will adopt a new workweek schedule where it will cease Sunday operations and revert to its Monday-to-Friday setup. In an announcement on its website, the embassy said this is part of its efforts to upgrade its services and to facilitate the conduct of the Overseas Absentee Voting in April and May this year. “Consular service hours have been revised so that applicants can submit and collect documents throughout office hours, without lunch break. The Embassy has instituted online appointment systems for key services, particularly for the issuance of passports and Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC), in which the applicant can choose a specific date and time that is most convenient to him or her,” it said. The embassy added that it is ready to devote Sundays to more initiatives that will promote the welfare of Filipinos in Singapore. It plans to focus its weekend operations to livelihood and entrepreneurial sk...

There were no Filipinos among the 200 people killed in a night club fire in Brazil on Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. “Per report of our embassy in Brazilia, so far there are no Filipino casualties in the night club fire that hit Brazil,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez told GMA News Online via text on Tuesday. The fire started around 2:30 a.m. at the  Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria , an earlier report of the Reuters news agency said. A flare allegedly lit by a member of the band or its production team set the ceiling of the night club ablaze where an estimated 500 people were present, police official Luiza Sousa said. Most of the fatalities either died due to asphyxiation or from being trampled on. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the Brazilian police investigating a nightclub fire that killed 231 people detained the owners of the club and two band members whose pyrotechnics show authorities say triggered the blaze.    No char...