KAKAMMPI News

By Cecile Docto, ABS-CBN Canada Ret. Corporal Gina Pinangat.  File photo VICTORY, British Columbia - Gina Pinangat came to Canada in 1991 under the Foreign Domestic Movement Program now called Live-In Caregiver. Like any other foreign worker, Pinangat had to fight off homesickness. "The first two years, I wanted to go back to the Philippines. Ang sabi ko po sa sarili ko mag-iipon ako ng 2 years and then I'll go home," said ret. Corporal Pinangat. But fate had other plans. Pinangat found a job at the Nortel Networks in Montreal and when she got laid off, she ended up enlisting in the Canadian forces. "At first, there was a signing bonus of like humongous amount plus the offer was like really, really, good and plus the benefits were like top of the line," she said. Pinangat was trained as an Aerospace Telecommunications and Information Systems technician. She never saw action in the war zone. "At that time po, I was too valuable to be deployed,...

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) gave some reminders for consumers, companies and overseas Filipino workers who send balikbayan boxes to the Philippines. Before you send that balikbayan box, make sure the freight forwarder is accredited with the Philippine Shippers' Bureau  (PSB) to avoid possible problems.  (A list of accredited freight forwarders as of end-December 2012 can be found  here .) "Accredited freight forwarders can be trusted because they follow government standards that guarantee their capability to provide reliable service to their clients," Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said. Maglaya said accredited freight forwarders also observe a code of ethics in doing business, as well as insurance coverage in case of accidents and non-delivery. As of end-March 2013, there are 632 freight forwarding companies accredited with the PSB. This includes 422 Non-Vessel Common Carriers, 590 International Freight Forwarders and ...

ABS-CBNnews.com JEDDAH – A Filipino electrician survived after electrocuting himself out of desperation in Saudi Arabia. Edgar Magwate has given up hope of ever resolving his problems. He has been staying at the so-called Tent City for several months now after leaving his employer. Magwate said he pawned his house and lot and loaned money just to be able to work in the kingdom as an electrician. But his bid for a better future failed when his salary was delayed and he was not given an iqama. He also suffered culture shock in Saudi Arabia. Magwate said he was not prepared for the job and the culture of his host country. He admitted that he left the Philippines without going through the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS). "Galing kami sa Lanao, pagdating namin sa Maynila tapos ibinigay nila itong certificate na ito sa PDOS, tapos sabi nila, bukas na lang sa airport mag-PDOS. Tapos walang nangyari, hindi kami na-orient," Magwate said. Administrator Carmelita Dimz...

ABS-CBNnews.com MANILA - Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia should be wary of people claiming they can have their exit visas quickly for a fee, the Philippine embassy in the kingdom warned on Thursday. The embassy, in a press statement, said the fixers demand money from OFWs who want exit visas for repatriation. "The embassy wishes to categorically state that it has not authorized any individual or organization to facilitate the issuance of exit visas," it said. It added that only Saudi government agencies process exit visas of foreigners. The embassy said it got several complaints filed against unscrupulous individuals who promised repatriation for a fee but instead supplied their victims with spurious exit visa reference codes. It urged Filipinos who want to return home to contact the Philippine embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah for help.

            Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros, Jr. (top photo, left) gestures as he presented the SSS financial performance and accomplishments for the first half of 2013 during the “Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel” media forum held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City on September 24.         De Quiros responded to various queries from the veteran journalists, columnists and media practitioners (bottom photo) who attended the event, with Deedee Siytangco (top photo, right) at the helm as moderator. The SSS chief cited the agency's P21.67 billion net revenue from January to June 2013, up by 16 percent from the same period in 2012, as bolstered by SSS efforts to improve coverage and collection in both the informal and formal sectors as well as its prudent management of benefits and operations expenses. Other major topics raised duri...

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) conducted an advocacy activity for rural health units in Negros Oriental and Siquijor, encouraging these facilities to support national effort towards improving maternal health and reducing child mortality. Participants from 19 local government units in Negros Oriental and from all six Siquijor towns attended the activity in Dumaguete City, together with representatives from the Barangay Health Workers Federation and some nongovernment organizations. PhilHealth hopes to encourage facility assisted births among members, so it aims to engage all rural health units to participate as Maternity and Newborn Care provider. "Pregnancy is a risk, therefore, delivery should be in a facility,"  said Dr. Maria Socorro Enterra, Maternal and Child Health/Center for Health Development (Central Visayas) Medical Specialist, one of the resource persons during the activity. Once a rural health unit participates as Matern...

The implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of Republic Act 10606, otherwise known as the National Health Insurance Act of 2013, was approved by the PhilHealth Board during a special meeting on September 12 at its main office in Pasig City. The said IRR aims to simplify member’s experience with PhilHealth especially in registration and availment of benefits and operationalizes the new law, some salient provisions of which include mandatory coverage of the marginalized sector; entitlement of indigent members to the No Balance Billing policy, among others. Under the new law, even pregnant women who are non-members and who are about to give birth can also be entitled to financial health protection from PhilHealth. In photo after a simple signing ceremony are (L-R) Department of Finance Undersecretary Jeremias N. Paul, Jr.; National Anti –Poverty Commission Vice Chairperson for Basic Sectors Atty. Marlon J. Manuel; Department of Labor and Employment Representative Leah T. Fortu...

Tags:  Jejomar Binay Filipino seafarers will not be blacklisted from European-flagged vessels amid an audit by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) this October, although they are advised not to be complacent and instead continue honing their skills. "I have been assured by the businessmen in a meeting that the Philippines would not be blacklisted from European-flagged vessels," said Vice President Jejomar Binay, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino worker (OFW) concerns, on Sunday. "This was again reaffirmed to me last July by the Vice President for External Affairs of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Henry Schumacher," Binay added at the National Seafarers' Day in Manila. On the other hand, Binay said Filipino seafarers should not be complacent and should instead further improve their skills. "These assurances are heartwarming, but should not be reason for us to relax our drives or aims," he said. ...

Curbing the threat of human trafficking is a “joint responsibility" of all member-states of the United Nations, the Philippines declared this week in its fresh international appeal for unity against human trafficking. The Philippines made the appeal during the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends United Against Human Trafficking in New York through Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) undersecretary for policy Evan Garcia. "(Garcia) underscored that fighting human trafficking is a joint responsibility of member states – whether these be countries of origin, transit or destinatio," the DFA said in a  news release  posted on its website over the weekend. The Group of Friends United Against Human Trafficking held its fourth ministerial meeting last September 26 at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly 68th session in New York. Garcia said fighting human trafficking is a core advocacy of the Philippines as the protection of overseas Filipino workers is...

Filipinos serving as United Nations peacekeepers received praise from no less than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday. The DFA said Ban thanked DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario last Sept. 26, during a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers. "Mr. Ban publicly commended the Philippine government for maintaining Filipino peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Force in the Golan Heights (UNDOF) despite the two kidnapping incidents in March and May this year," it said in a  news release posted on its website . It also said Ban described the Philippine peacekeepers as "being extremely courageous in performing an outstanding necessary task." Earlier this year, the DFA raised the issue of safety and security for the Filipino peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights following two abduction incidents this year. At the time, del  Rosario m...

Tags:  Jonard Langamin Overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia are banding to help another fellow OFW now in death row in the Kingdom's Dammam area. The OFW Congress in Riyadh and Dammam said it will explore ways to help former seaman Jonard Langamin, Arab News reported Saturday. “We cannot do this alone. We should join hands and work together if we want to save Langamin,” said Alex Bello, president of the  Riyadh-based OFW Congress . Dammam-based OFW Congress President Mary Jane Tupas added the group will discuss the matter in its next meeting. “We will definitely take action and help Langamin so that he can also be released,” she said. Dammam's high court in 2008 sentenced Langamin to death for killing Filipino Robertson Mendoza that same year. Langamin's plight is similar to Rodelio Lanuza, who spent 13 years in jail and was sentenced to death for a killing in 2000. But Lanuza has since been pardoned and was allowed to return to the Philippines. The Arab News repor...

Women from the northern and southern areas of the Philippines far outnumber men who go abroad for work, according to a report by the National Statistics Office (NSO).   Despite NSO's  report  that out of the 2.2 million overseas Filipino workers abroad, there are generally more male OFWs, a 2007 survey by the same agency meanwhile reported that there is a gender discrepancy in the northern and southernmost regions of the country.   This data was put into an  infographic  by fomer University of the Philippines (UP) assistant professor Erika Fille Legara. (Also seen below)   A 2007 survey by the NSO reported that there is a gender discrepancy in the northern and southernmost regions of the country.  Infographic: Erika Fille Legara   In Legara's graphic, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos region, and CAR in the north are dominated by women. Zamboanga, ARMM, and SOCCSKSARGEN in the south have the same ratio. Laborers and workers  ...

Tags:  Pinoys in Thailand A Filipino was among six people arrested in Thailand Wednesday for allegedly being part of an international drug trafficking network whose operations included the United States and the Philippines.   The six were arrested in Phuket as part of a joint operation with Nigeria and Kenya, Thailand's Bangkok Post on Friday quoted police as saying.   Police arrested Joseph Manuel Hunter, 47, the drug network's alleged leader, and five suspected accomplices on Wednesday evening.   Arrested along with Hunter were two Britons, a Slovakian, a Filipino and a Taiwanese. The six were flown to Bangkok Thursday for questioning.   "This group was considered to be a big network that spanned many countries," including Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines," it quoted deputy police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang as saying. Somyot also described Hunter as a "leading drug lord...

Some 61 Filipino women with children who are staying in Saudi Arabia and who underwent DNA testing were urged this week to go to the Passport Department to have their status verified. The Philippine Embassy said that while the fingerprinting process is needed before exit visas can be issued to them, many of the mothers could no longer be contacted. “We have done our best to contact them, but their cell phones are either switched off or have been sold onto someone else. They may have found a new employer in this time,”  Saudi news site Arab News quoted an embassy spokesman as saying . He said the mothers must complete the fingerprinting process, which is part of the process for the issuance of exit visas to leave for the Philippines before the November 3 deadline. Saudi Arabia had given a Nov. 3 deadline for illegal workers to correct their status or leave the Kingdom without penalties. Its original deadline had been in July. The embassy spokesman said the mothers should c...

Tags:  Zamboanga City Attack Some MNLF gunmen remain defiant even in captivity . Even at the last minute, a captured MNLF gunman shows defiance as government forces bring them to a police station in Zamboanga City to be processed on Thursday, September 26. About 17 more suspected MNLF members were taken into custody in Barangay Sta. Barbara. This brings to more than 200 the number of Misuari followers arrested as of 7 p.m. Thursday, according to the Zamboanga City police. As of Wednesday evening, the military said at least 125 MNLF members, 15 soldiers, five police officers and 13 civilians were killed in the conflict.  Chino Gaston Matapos na isara ng mahigit dalawang linggo, unti-unti nang binuksan nitong Biyernes ang Zamboanga City Port para sa mga biyahe paunta at paalis ng syudad.   Ngunit sinabi ng Philippine Coast Guard na mahigpit ang seguridad sa daungan, ayon sa ulat ng Philippine News Agency gabi noong Huwebes.   Sa panayam ng PNA kay Coast G...

03 Setyembre 2013 - Nais pong bigyang linaw ng Konsuladong Panlahat ng Pilipinas sa Jeddah ang napabalitang pagsundo sa mga  undocumented overseas Filipino workers  (OFWs)   sa tinaguriang “ Tent City”  ng Jawazat nitong mga nakaraang araw upang sila raw ay pauwiin sa Pilipinas. Diumano, ang pagsundong ito ay utos ng hari upang mapabilis ang pag-uwi ng mga undocumented  OFWs sa Pilipinas. Ang impormasyong ito ay kinumpirma ng Konsulado sa Jawazat. Ayon sa Jawazat, walang ganitong utos ang hari at walang sinuman ang makauuwi ng hindi dumaan sa proseso na naaayon sa kasalukuyang repatriation at regularization program . Wala ring kinalaman ang Konsulado sa mga pangyayaring ito. Kung mayroon mang mga bagong proseso sa pagpapa-uwi ay agad itong ipagbibigay alam ng Konsulado sa publiko. Ayon sa impormasyong nakalap ng Konsulado, ang mga undocumented OFWs na sinundo diumano ng Jawazat ay nagbigay ng hindi bababa sa 100 Riyals. Totoong sila ay dinala sa airport n...

12 September 2013- The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh renewed its call to all  overstaying Filipinos in the Kingdom to proceed to the Deportation Office  (Jawazat Wafideen)  NOW   and avail of the facilities under correction period  before the November 03, 2013 deadline . Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin H. Tago advised  all overstaying Filipinos in Riyadh to proceed now to the Deportation Office  ( Jawazat Wafideen ) and avoid delays in the processing of their documentation by Deportation authorities  especially before the E’id il Adha holidays from October 11 to 20. “The Embassy calls on all overstaying Filipinos in Riyadh to proceed NOW to the Deportation Office and avail of the facilities under the correction period before 03 November 2013 and avoid penalties and imprisonment,”  Ambassador Tago said. Ambassador Tago also noted that over 3,000 Filipinos have been repatriated using Philippine Government funds by the Embass...

23 Setyembre 2013 – Bukas ang Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA) para sa mga may appointment sa pagkuha ng pasaporte ngayong araw, ika-23 ng Setyembre 2013.  Gayunpaman, pinapayuhan ng DFA ang mga hindi makakapunta sa kanilang appointment ngayong araw na maaari silang magtungo sa tanggapan ng DFA sa Kamaynilaan anumang araw ngayong linggo, mula bukas, Martes, hanggang Biyernes, ika-27 ng Setyembre. Kinakailangan lamang nilang ipakita ang katunayan na sila ay may appointment sa araw na ito (ika-23 ng Setyembre). WAKAS

26 September 2013 – The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh warns Filipinos in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against dealing with individuals falsely claiming that they can facilitate the issuance of exit visas for repatriation in exchange for payment. The Embassy wishes to categorically state that it has not authorized any individual or organization to facilitate the issuance of exit visas. Filipinos are also reminded that exit visas may only be processed through the proper Saudi authorities. This advisory is a response to several complaints lodged against unscrupulous individuals who promised repatriation for a fee but instead supplied their victims with spurious exit visa reference codes. Those  kababayans  wanting to be repatriated are advised to contact the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate General in Jeddah for assistance. END

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By RACHEL ANN ROSALES PARR It was in a small barangay in the then Municipality of Mabalacat (now Mabalacat City) of Pampanga that we, a team of psychologists from the MLAC Psychosocial Services for Well Being, became witness once more to how several families were transformed into motherless homes with the greater demand for female contract workers in Middle Eastern countries. About 70 percent of Filipino migrant workers are women, most of which are mothers and wives. Many of our Filipino female migrant workers are forced to work abroad because of the economic demands and lack of employment opportunities for the father. The phenomenon of the OFW mothers has altered the family landscape in several areas in the country.   “Nawala ang ilaw ng tahanan” is how many families of OFW mothers describe their situation. It is also the title of a book by psychologists Dr. Honey Carandang, Chris Carandang, and Aileen Sison. The book puts together the stories of several families who, like so ...