KAKAMMPI News

A 24-year-old Filipina maid's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan of her apartment in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. Police are investigating the Filipina's death following the discovery at the flat at the Al Nekhailat area, UAE news site Khaleej Times reported.   The report quoted police as saying they got a call at 6 a.m. about the body (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=nationgeneral&xfile=data/nationgeneral/2014/august/nationgeneral_august259.xml).   Forensic experts collected evidence, including those from the Filipina's mobile phone, before transferring the body to the forensic laboratory.   Investigators are not discounting a possible "criminal act" behind the death, taking into custody some people who may shed light on the incident.   —  Joel Locsin /ELR, GMA News

WASHINGTON -  The United States on Thursday accused the Al-Qaeda-affiliate Al-Nusra Front of detaining 43 members of a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, near Syria's border with Israel.   "The United States strongly condemns the detention of UN peacekeepers and ongoing violence targeting the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights by non-state armed groups, including UN Security Council-designated terrorist group Al-Nusra Front," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.   Washington demanded the "unconditional and immediate release" of the "blue helmets" after the armed groups forced the peacekeepers, from Fiji, to disarm and then took them hostage near Quneitra crossing.   Syrian rebels, including Al-Nusra Front fighters, stormed the crossing on Wednesday, sparking an exchange of gunfire with Israeli troops. 81 Filipino peacekeepers   Eighty-one Filipino peacekeepers refu...

DAMASCUS - Islamic State jihadists boasted Thursday they had executed scores of Syrian troops after capturing a key air base, the latest in a string of abuses that have shocked the world. News of the killings came as US President Barack Obama weighed air strikes on IS positions in Syria and edged closer to greenlighting a mission to aid Shiite Turkmen trapped in an Iraqi town besieged by the jihadists.   It also came as rival Islamist rebels led by Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front seized 43 UN peacekeepers on the Golan Heights, part of a mission that has monitored an armistice between Syrian and Israeli troops on the strategic plateau for decades.   IS posted grisly video footage on the Internet of scores of bodies heaped in the desert they boasted were those of Syrian soldiers they captured and executed following its seizure of Tabqa air base.   The jihadists have repeatedly posted gruesome videos, which have appalled international opinion but served as a ...

Philippine peacekeepers in the Golan Heights refused to lay down arms in the face of demands by Syrian militants and are in a standoff that the United Nations is trying to resolve, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said early Friday morning. In a press statement, the AFP said Syrian anti-government armed elements occupied positions held by Fijian peacekeepers and demanded they surrender their firearms. The 43 Fijian peacekeepers have been taken hostage. "The Philippine peacekeepers held their ground and demonstrated their resolve to defend their positions. They did not surrender their firearms as they may, in turn, be held hostage themselves," the AFP said. "The Philippine government and the United Nations are in close coordination and are working together to ensure the safety and security of our troops," the military also said. The Philippines, which has 331 troops serving in UNDOF, announced on Saturday that it will pull out of the peace force, citing security c...

A young US-based Filipino filmmaker has earned a spot in the Top 200 of an HBO reality television series, with an "inspirational" short film currently making waves online. Joshua Ortiz, who runs a small production outfit with his siblings, wrote and directed "Listen," a nearly three-minute film on the importance of perseverance and hard work despite talent and failure. As of posting time, "Listen" has been viewed more than 37,600 times on YouTube. The short film was the 25-year-old's entry to "Project Greenlight," a documentary series on HBO that will follow the winner of a digital film competition to the making of his prize — a feature film. The show, with Hollywood actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as executive producers, "takes a revealing, uncensored look at the challenges facing a first-time director." It will follow the winner through the various stages of film production. Bella Rose Maltzman, one of the actors in ...

A resolution has been filed at the House of Representatives seeking to establish a single-visa scheme that would allow Filipinos to enter any of the 10 ASEAN-member countries. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, co-author of House Resolution 1313, said their proposed scheme is similar to Europe's unified visa system allowing non-ASEAN nationals to enter the Asian countries using a single visa, saving them time and resources in securing travel documents for each country of destination. Rodriguez said the creation of a single-visa system under HR 1313 would significantly boost the country's tourism industry. "The Philippines, Indonesia and other neighboring countries will benefit from the single-visa scheme," Rodriguez said in a press statement Wednesday. Aside from the Philippines and Indonesia, other ASEAN-member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Rodriguez urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has called out 50 recruitment agencies for allegedly failing to repatriate distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). “These recruiters have displayed poor judgment in terms of complying with their promise to repatriate distressed OFWs,”  said  POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac in his Facebook account . He said the 50 recruitment agencies are those with the “most number of repatriation cases with documentary suspension before the POEA.” “We shall docket cases against all 50 recruitment agencies for failure to properly repatriate their OFWs,” he said. The names of the agencies are as follows: ABC Manpower Agency Inc.; A.B.U. Talent Management Inc.; Acclaimed One Manpower and Recruitment Services; Aisis International Manpower Inc.; Al-Ahram International Group Services Inc.; Al Awa El International Manpower Inc.; Al-Habib International Services Corp. Al-Masiya Overseas Placement Agency Inc.; Al Rafedain Manpower Interna...

Second of 3 parts I met Lilia Juele on account of my TOFA-NY duties, and we became Facebook friends soon after. Later, we would chance upon each other at a Philippine Consulate Independence Day reception in June, sharing a quick “hello.”   AFTA adviser Lilia Juele.  The FilAM photo At that time, AFTA had already lost many of its leaders. But I wasn’t aware, until I began to work on this series, that Juele played a central role in this episode. Her name kept popping up in my interviews. I came to know more about her at the beginning of a phone interview for this article. Juele is the director of eLearning & Academic Technology at SUNY Rockland Community College. She is also an academic faculty. “A teacher forever,” she said, a friendly voice on the other end of the line. She came to the US in 1986 immediately after the People Power revolution in the Philippines. She joined her husband who was already working in the purchasing department of a private company. Their tw...

Over a thousand Filipino nurses took the first step in gaining employment in the United States on the first half of the year—the most number among foreign-educated nurses—but a lawmaker said they should not get their hopes up. “We do not expect the number of Filipino nurses seeking to practice their profession in America to increase any time soon,” said House Assistant Majority Leader and Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. “Healthcare labor market there remains somewhat bleak.” Based on data reaching Gullas' office, 1,951 Philippine-educated nurses took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the first time from January to June this year, slightly higher compared to the 1,944 who took the same exam during the same period in 2013. Gullas said based on statistics by the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc. (USNCSBN), which administers the NCLEX, Filipinos are the most active job-seekers in the US among foreign-educated nurses. He said 420 Indians, 300 C...

A Filipina domestic helper in the United Arab Emirates was sentenced to three months in jail for stealing her Egyptian employer's jewelry and hiding it in hygiene pads. The 24-year-old maid said she stole the items as she wanted to run away from her sponsor, who she claimed was abusive,  UAE news site The National reported Tuesday . She will be deported after she serves her sentence, the report said. The Dubai Criminal Court handed down its sentence Tuesday morning. The maid worked for the Egyptian, 44, since July 2013 and was caught with the jewelry last March. Court records showed the maid was caught with the watch of her sponsor's brother, along with a Nokia mobile phone and some clothing items of her sponsor. While she claimed she did not steal anything else, a police search yielded the stolen jewelry in the hygiene pads. The maid was also found to have stolen two memory cards, a USB stick and a toolbox belonging to the sponsor’s former husband. — Joel Locsin /KBK, GMA News

Fairness and justice is what the  poor and the oppressed need from those elected to protect and serve them. When the people are in greatest need and government officials turn away then the people have been betrayed ,abandoned and left without help. This is what I experience everyday in our  struggle to get justice for the victims of human trafficking child sexual abuse.  But there is little justice. The rich and powerful can buy a way out of their crimes. It happens also to the farmers and the urban poor their oppressors kill with impunity. That is what is happening to the Panay Fair Trade group in Panay island central Philippines. Some members of the Panay Fair Trade farmers cooperative have been harassed,brutalized and their leaders assassinated. One day Last  March 2014  Romy was with his mother in law a the Public market when a motor cycle with two men drew close to him and opened fire shooting him in the head. His mother-in-law went into shock,and the kille...

The Social Security System (SSS) marked its first appearance in the Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Outlook Survey with a positive performance rating from business leaders, netting the 15 th  place among 62 government agencies included in the survey. The SSS tied with Pag-IBIG, which both received a net score of 55.3 from 65 senior business executives covered by the MBC's survey for the second semester of 2014. More than half or 43 of the 62 national agencies and offices were considered to have performed well in the fourth year of the Aquino administration, the survey showed. “ The results are both humbling and motivating. We are happy that the efforts we have done so far to improve SSS operations and services left such a positive impression on most employers and key leaders in the business sector,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio S. de Quiros, Jr said. Expounding on the SSS' performance in recent years, De Quiros said the agency saw a historical...

Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio S. de Quiros Jr and Quezon City District 2 Representative Winston T. Castelo formally opened the SSS Batasan Hills branch on August 13, 2014. The new branch located at the Lower Ground Floor of Diliman Commercial Center at Commonwealth Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City was opened to members in May 2014 as part of the agency's plan to expand further its network by setting up additional branches, particularly in major cities and business districts with a high demand for SSS transactions. Batasan Hills Branch is the 16 th  SSS office opened this year. Witnessing the event are (from L-R) SSS Branch Evaluation Services Department Head Gloria Y. Cuisia, Batasan Hills Branch Project Officer Leonora S. Nuque, Assistant Vice President for North Division Leticia G. Barbers, Vice President for Luzon Operations Josie G. Magana, Diliman Commercial Center Building owner Arsenio N. Tanco, and SSS Senior Vice Pr...

This is the story of a 25-year-old teachers organization created in 1989 to campaign for an extension of the H1-B visa so that Filipino teachers could continue to work legally in the United States. The following year, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 was passed under then President George H. W. Bush. It provided for an extension of the H1-B visa and enabled foreign teachers to continue to work until they could find employers who would sponsor them for permanent residency or green cards. Against the backdrop of that historic immigration triumph was born the Association of Filipino Teachers in America. AFTA became the heart and voice of united Filipino teachers and educators.   Ousted AFTA president Lumen Castaneda.  Photo by Velzon Hizon Velez/ The FilAm But in March this year, the once-solid and formidable AFTA, suddenly split up, stunning many in the Filipino American community. Equally shocking were reports that it moved to impeach its 79- year-old presiden...