KAKAMMPI News

Supporters are pushing for the recognition of Filipino veterans in light of the nearing re-introduction of a bill in the US Congress similar to another piece of legislation that seeks to acknowledge the service of Filipino vets, as well as provide them and their families with monthly pensions and other benefits. Los Angeles-based veterans’ advocate group Justice for Filipino-American Veterans (JFAV) cited the renewal of calls by Filipino veterans’ supporters to recognize these men who served the US during World War II. This was in reaction to the the news that California congresswoman Jackie Speier plans to re-introduce a bill similar to House Resolution 210, or “The Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2011. “The new equity bill for 2011 shall include full recognition of service, broadening of the basis of eligibility to all documents proving active service, lifetime monthly pensions for all veterans and widows,” JFAV said in a statement dated Feb. 20 posted on the site of Asian Jo...

ANDREI MEDINA , GMA News The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said a Filipina nurse was killed in a road accident in Saudi Arabia on Thursday last week. “Ms. Emma Eleuterio died in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia last February 21 after the coaster that she was riding in together with six other Filipino nurses collided head-on with another vehicle,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez told GMA News Online via text on Wednesday. Eleuterio was on a shopping trip with Filipino and Indian nurses working at the Prince Salman hospital. Eleuterio, who hails from General Santos City, Philippines, has been working in Saudi Arabia for nine years. Hernandez added that repatriation of Eleuterio's remains is now under way and that her family has already been informed about the accident. Hernandez also noted that representatives from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh went to Al Kharj to check on the injured Filipinos who are now in stable condition. Head on collision? Meanwhile, one of the inju...

A Philippine envoy now chairs the World Trade Organization's Committee on Trade and Environment, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. The DFA said Philippine permanent representative to the WTO Esteban Conejos Jr.'s appointment came during the WTO General Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland last Feb. 25. "Ambassador Conejos, who presented his credentials as Philippine Permanent Representative to the WTO on July 27, 2012, succeeds Ambassador Krisda Piampongsant, former Permanent Representative of Thailand to the WTO,"  the DFA said . Conejos will have a one-year term, with the possibility of reappointment. His appointment had the endorsement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee in Geneva and the Asian Group of Developing Countries. Conejos vowed to continue the tradition of being impartial and objective, and to ensure transparency and inclusiveness in decision-making and consultative processes, the DFA said. "...

UNITED NATIONS - More than 40,000 people a week are fleeing war-torn Syria and the total number of refugees will likely pass 1 million in less than a month, a senior U.N. official told the Security Council on Wednesday. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said the U.N. agency as of Tuesday had registered 936,000 Syrians across the Middle East and North Africa, nearly 30 times as many people as April last year. "We expected to have 1.1 million Syrian refugees by June. If things continue to accelerate like this, it will take less than a month to reach that number. Just last night, and just into Jordan, 4,585 fled the country," he told the 15-member council. "The refugee numbers are staggering, but they cannot convey the full extent of the tragedy. Three-quarters of the refugees are women and children. Many of them have lost family members. Most of them have lost everything," he said. Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt have been flooded wi...

Cristina DC Pastor, The FilAm “It’s crazy to separate husbands and wives.” That was lawyer Alan Lubiner arguing for changes he would like to see in a new immigration reform law widely speculated to pass Congress within a year. A partner at Lubiner & Schmidt in Cranford, New Jersey and the author of two popular books on U.S. citizenship and immigration, Lubiner said cutting short the amount of time a green card holder can petition for his or her spouse is one way Congress can fix the broken immigration system. “What we’d like to see is if they (lawmakers) can change the Family Second Preference Visa so that people with green cards can bring their spouses immediately,” he told The FilAm. “A wait of three to five years is ridiculous.” Spouses separated by immigration is just one in a stream of heartbreaking stories Lubiner has seen in his five years as an immigration officer and attorney for the Immigration and Naturalization Service and later as a private practitioner for ...

The Florida 15 victims of human trafficking have been granted T visas and employment certification cards, according to their lawyer. Lawyer Felix Vinluan said the 15 men and women won the first round of their case against their former employer, Jose “Jojo” Villanueva, proprietor of San Villa Ship Management Co. In a press statement, the litigants said Villanueva failed to renew their H2-B employment visas without their knowledge, leading them to overstay in the U.S. without proper documentation. The workers were recruited by the San Villa to work at the W Hotel in Miami, Florida as housekeepers and managers from 2008 to 2009. While employed, they said they were subjected to the following: • They were required to pay up to $7,000 each for placement fees • Their pay rate was supposed to be $16-17 per hour, but the agency only gave them $6 per hour without overtime pay • Many were paid only once a month and paychecks were issued very late • The agency failed to renew their H2-B...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) yesterday reiterated that recruitment agencies shall be held accountable for incidents of abuse, exploitation, or breach of contract committed by household employers against Filipino household service workers. Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said the recruiters’ failure to abide by their responsibility to protect OFWs warrants cancellation or suspension of their licenses, depending on the gravity and frequency of the offenses. Cacdac said that Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda DimapilisBaldoz has ordered him to hold recruiters true to their responsibility and accountable to the POEA to ensure that foreign employers faithfully comply with their legal and contractual obligations to our domestic workers. Baldoz has earlier reminded recruitment agency owners not to lose sight of their duty to protect domestic workers deployed overseas. "The obligation of a licensed recruitment agency to its hired OFWs does n...

More than 90,000 runners nationwide have participated in the first   "PhilHealth-DOH Run 2013: Nationwide Run for Mother and Child Protection!"   on February 17, 2013. The said run-for-a-cause event is the highlight of PhilHealth’s 18th anniversary celebration with the theme  "Synergy for Universal Health Care!"  This took place simultaneously in more than 18 sites in the country which include Manila, Baguio, Dagupan, Tuguegarao, Clark, Malolos, Laguna, Batangas, Legazpi, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Koronadal, Marawi, Butuan and Tubod, Lanao del Norte. Focusing on the importance of mother and child’s health in support of the country’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, proceeds from this running event will go to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila. Other institutions also catering to mother and child health from each of the 18 sites have also been identified as...

THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is celebrating its 18th year today as the government corporation spearheading the implementation of the National Health Insurance Program. Millions have already benefited from PhilHealth but the struggle to provide better and significant benefits for others continues as emerging diseases and recurring illnesses become prevalent. This year’s anniversary celebration is centered on the theme  "Synergy for Universal Health Care!,"  to focus on the strong partnerships between PhilHealth, the Department of Health and all other stakeholders towards achieving this goal. As a culmination of the Philippines’ race towards Universal Health Care, the country will witness the first simultaneous nationwide running event on February 17, 2013 dubbed  "PhilHealth-DOH Run 2013: Nationwide Run for Mother and Child Protection."  The said event will focus on the importance of mother and child's health in support of the co...

  As it celebrates its 18 th   anniversary, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is proud to announce that its satisfaction rating in terms of support and protection across all areas and classes of its members and dependents is “excellent” (+82), which is remarkably higher compared to “very good” in the past SWS surveys done in June 2011 (+67) and in February 2009 (+60).   Results of the Social Weather Station (SWS) nationwide survey from December 8 to 11, 2012 showed that 87% of respondents were very satisfied with PhilHealth while 5% were dissatisfied, for a  net score of  +82 .   The survey also showed that awareness of members on the different PhilHealth services and benefits increased in 2012 compared to 2009 and 2011, with 9 out of 10 members being aware of at least one of these services. Significant increase in awareness can be seen on inpatient services (76%), followed by maternity care package (71%), outpatient benefi...

The first  national  Women's Day was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the  Socialist Party of America . [2]  In August 1910, an International Women's Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist  Second International  in Copenhagen . Inspired in part by the American socialists, German Socialist Luise Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual 'International Woman's Day' (singular) and was seconded by  communist   Clara Zetkin , although no date was specified at that conference. [3] [4]  Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights, including  suffrage , for women. [5]  The following year, on 18 March 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in  Austria ,  Denmark ,  Germany  and  Switzerland . In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstra...

The first  national  Women's Day was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the  Socialist Party of America . [2]  In August 1910, an International Women's Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist  Second International  in Copenhagen . Inspired in part by the American socialists, German Socialist Luise Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual 'International Woman's Day' (singular) and was seconded by  communist   Clara Zetkin , although no date was specified at that conference. [3] [4]  Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights, including  suffrage , for women. [5]  The following year, on 18 March 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in  Austria ,  Denmark ,  Germany  and  Switzerland . In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstra...

by Estrella Torres, BusinessMirror MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine labor department said the Sultanate of Oman announced that Filipino medical professionals could seek jobs in the Arab state to fill 3,288 vacant positions for doctors and nurses. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the job openings in the oil-rich country would “certainly boost the chances of our highly skilled and highly qualified medical workers, particularly our nurses.” But the labor chief warned that, “OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] wanting to work in Oman should apply only with POEA [Philippine Overseas Employment Administration]-licensed overseas recruitment agencies with verified job orders in Oman to avoid getting illegally recruited.” Philippine Ambassador to Oman Joselito Jimeno reported a recent announcement of Oman’s Minister of Health, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Obaid al-Saidi, saying the Sultanate is facing a shortage of around 8,900 doctors and nurses by 2015. Jimeno said nurses spec...