KAKAMMPI News

Almost all of the close to 200 countries in the world have been deemed compliant with the provision of Republic Act 10022 or the Migrant Workers or Overseas Filipino Act that protects overseas Filipino workers by the Philippine government. The inclusion of the 192 countries to the list were contained in separate resolutions by the POEA Governing Board issued since 2011. Section 3 of RA 10022 states that “the government recognizes any of the following guarantee on the part of the receiving country for the protection of right of migrant workers: – It has an existing labor laws and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers; – It is a signatory to and/or ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers, including migrant workers and – It has concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers. — KBK, GMA News

A young US-based Filipino's short film project has been nominated for Most Unique Short Film in an HBO documentary series about a digital film competition. The nearly three-minute-long inspirational film "Listen" was Joshua Ortiz'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, which is a feature film. "Listen," which was written and directed by the 25-year-old Ortiz, will be competing with five other short films and is the only Asian entry in the competition. The winner will determined by the most "thumbs up" on YouTube. Voting will be until April 1, 2015. [ Vote here. ] "Listen" is about the importance of perseverance and hard work despite talent and failure. — KBK, GMA News

A Filipino man was killed during an attack in Zawiya, Libya, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday. “Our embassy in Tripoli confirmed that one Filipino died in the bombing in Zawiya,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message. Jose did not provide further details, saying an embassy report “did not indicate his work or other details.” Three other Filipino oil workers were wounded in Sunday's attack on Zawiya, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Tripoli, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported as it cited a Libyan security source.   The four Filipinos were riding in a car when the attack took place, the source said, adding that a Sudanese man and a Libyan man who were driving separate cars were also wounded. Libya is in a state of civil war and eight Filipinos have been captured by militants in separate kidnappings in the last two months. Their whereabouts are still unknown. Manila has declared Libya unsafe for Filipino travelers and called...

It was around 3 p.m. of March 26, and Jordan Cezar, shift manager at Pommes Frites, was about to take his lunch at one corner of the restaurant when he experienced a really loud explosion. He felt the room shake, and the poster décors on the walls and the kitchen pans and bottled dips on the shelves came falling down. “It was so strong it felt like we were raised, parang umangat yung floor,” he recalled when interviewed by The FilAm. The lights went out, smoke was coming into the restaurant, and people were screaming “Everyone get out, everyone get out.” Pommes Frites’ three Filipino employees, including Jordan, 31, rushed out of the restaurant and dashed into the cold weather wearing only summer shorts and T-shirts. That explosion in the East Village resulted in injuries to 25 people, according to news reports. Two remain missing. Outside, Jordan and his two workers, Joey Vedoral and Joseph Sumpay, watched the commotion — firefighters hosing down the buildings and New Yorkers not k...

Two more countries have been certified by the Philippine government as compliant with the provision of Republic Act 10022 or the Migrant Workers or Overseas Filipino Act that protects overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Monday. The addition of Nepal and Uzbekistan to the list has brought the total number of RA 10022-compliant countries to 192, the POEA said. It said these countries have vowed to protect the rights of OFWs employed in them as provided under Section 3 of RA 10022. Nepal and Uzbekistan's inclusion to the list is formalized through POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 2. “Whereas, in its official communication dated 11 December 2014, the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) has further certified Nepal and Uzbekistan as compliant with the guarantees under the aforesaid law,” the resolution said. The order also allows the continued deployment of workers in said nations. “Now, wherefore, the POEA Governing Board, i...

The Sandiganbayan has recommended executive clemency for former Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria Masaranga Umpa, who was was found guilty of malversation. In a decision penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada, the court said that Umpa, 73, should be pardoned, citing that while Umpa was found guilty of malversation, his crime was committed out of negligence. “The Court, while it is obliged to apply the penalty provided for the offense charged, believes that it is too harsh and excessive under the circumstances, hence, pursuant to Art 5 par 2 of the RPC hereby recommends to the Chief Executive, through the DOJ,  for the commutation of the penalty, if not pardon of the accused, in these cases,” part of the decision said. Umpa’s case stemmed from the misuse of funds sent to the Philippine Embassy in Nigeria in 2007, during the time when 25 Filipinos were abducted by rebels there. In February 2007, the Department of Foreign Affairs released $174,000, or roughly P7.48 million, ...

Vice President Jejomar Binay has assured the parents of Filipino death convict Mary Jane Veloso that the government will exhaust all “legal remedies and options” to spare the life of their child. Celia and Cesar Veloso, parents of the Filipino woman currently on death row in Indonesia, met Binay, presidential adviser on OFW concerns, at the Makati City Hall Sunday and discussed the Philippine government’s next move to save their daughter from the death penalty.   Binay called up Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Minda Calaguian-Cruz during the meeting and the latter assured the Vice President that the government will be filing a second petition for judicial review. Veloso, 30, was sentenced to die by firing squad after she was apprehended at Java’s Yogyakarta Airport in April 2010 for carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage. The Philippines has earlier asked Indonesia's Supreme Court to review the case of Veloso, saying the latter was not provided a capable...

Filipinos who want to leave strife-torn Yemen were advised Sunday to contact the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh soonest, as  government-assisted repatriation is now the only means of travel  out of there.   The embassy in Riyadh, which has consular jurisdiction over Yemen, said all commercial flights in Yemen have already been suspended.   "(A)ll commercial flights have been suspended, and the only means of travel is through government-assisted repatriation that must be arranged in advance," it said.   It added there will now be "limited opportunities" for repatriation.   Because of this, it urged all Filipinos to "decide and act immediately," and bring their original passports to the embassy team at the Movenpick Hotel in Sanaa.   They may contact the embassy team in Sanaa at 730187540, 737426292, 730194165 and 733844958 for assistance.   On the other hand, it urged Filipinos who said their employers had guaranteed their re...

After nearly two years, an overseas Filipino worker who spent almost two years in a United Arab Emirates hospital after being paralyzed in a traffic accident finally returned home to Cebu. Teresita Castro arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport past 4 p.m. Thursday – after her townmates in Asturias raised funds to get her home, GMA Cebu reported Friday. Castro, who lost the ability to move or speak, was transported to the town's infirmary clinic from the airport via an ambulance. "May fracture siya sa pelvis pero na-operahan naman. Tapos, may severe injury siya sa brain," said nurse Crystal Balatayo. An investigation showed Castro started work in Dubai as a domestic helper in March 2013 to support her six children. But she figured in an accident and spent nearly two years at Rashid Hospital. Her town-mates in Asturias banded together to raise funds to bring her home. "Gumawa kami ng grupong makaka-raise ng funds para matulongan siya at kanyang pamilya rito. ...

Malacañang on Saturday reassured the kin of Mary Jane Veloso – the Filipina facing execution in Indonesia over an attempt to smuggle 2.6 kilos of heroin – that the Philippine government continues to do everything possible to save her from death row. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Philippine government is moving within Indonesia's legal framework to save Veloso. "Ginagawa ng ating pamahalaan ang ating magagawa within the legal framework of Indonesia. (Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario) said the Philippines will continue to push other legal avenues to help her case," she said on government-run dzRB radio, amid appeals from Veloso's mother for compassion. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Friday, said an initial appeal for judicial review of Veloso's case was denied by the Indonesian Supreme Court. But del Rosario reiterated the government "will continue to exhaust all possible diplomatic and legal means to ...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has canceled the license of a recruitment agency for its attempt to deploy two Filipinos abroad with concealed visas. Chanceteam International Services Inc. tried to deploy the two to Dubai as household service workers, POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac said. “This is a clear case of reprocessing that constitutes misrepresentation to circumvent the POEA rules on recruitment and placement of household service workers,”  Cacdac said . Investigation showed the Bureau of Immigration barred the two Filipinas from boarding their Dubai-bound plane after they presented two sets of visas for different positions but with the same permit numbers. Both workers' declared visas showed they were processed at the POEA as cashier and hairdresser but their hidden visas showed they would work as housemaid and babysitter. Cacdac said this meant Chanceteam "used other non-domestic worker job orders for UAE to facilitate their deployment and ultimately evad...

Filipinos who still refuse to leave strife-torn Yemen despite repeated warnings from the Philippine government have been asked to send the Philippine Embassy a waiver through a text message. The  Philippine Embassy in Riyadh  – which has consular jurisdiction over Yemen –  asked Filipinos who want to stay there to do so by supplying the needed personal information as indicated in the waiver template. "Sa mga Pilipinong desididong hindi umuwi, paki-text ang sumusunod: Ako si (Full Name), at desidido akong HUWAG UMALIS ng Yemen sa kabila ng abiso ng DFA," it said. Also, it said Filipinos in Yemen can send the message to 730187540, 737426292, 733844958 or 730194165. The same numbers can be reached to register with the embassy. The embassy can also be reached via email at cmt-sanaa@riyadhpe.com. In the meantime, the embassy said it continues to contact Filipinos in Yemen and urge them to avail of repatriation service. Philippine officials had placed Yemen under Alert Level 4,...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's Supreme Court has rejected an application by a Filipina on death row for a judicial review of her case, taking her a step closer to being executed along with several other foreign drug convicts.    As well as the Filipina, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, two high-profile Australian inmates and convicts from France, Brazil, Ghana and Nigeria are set to face the firing squad after they recently had requests for presidential clemency rejected.   In her application for a judicial review, Veloso's lawyers had reportedly argued that she was not provided with a capable translator during her first trial.    But the Supreme Court's website said that judges on Wednesday rejected Veloso's application for a review of her sentence. It did not provide details about the ruling and a court spokesman could not immediately be contacted for comment.   Veloso was caught at Yogyakarta airport, on the main island of Java, carrying 2.6 k...

Two watercolor paintings of artist Lynda A. N. Reyes will be featured in two California exhibits in Brea, Orange County and San Francisco. “An Afternoon Stroll at Venice Beach,” a transparent watercolor painting done on a full size 300 lb. Arches paper was juried into the 30th Annual Made in California Juried Exhibition of the City of Brea Art Gallery located at 1 Civic Center Circle, Plaza Level in Orange Country.   The artist: Moving on closer to mainstream American art.  The FilAm photo The exhibit will be on view starting March 28th until May 8th, 2015. The exhibit will celebrate the proud tradition of displaying works from artists all over California selected from over 1,000 statewide entries. This multi-disciplinary survey of art features artists working in all mediums and highlights established artists in their quest for new creative movements in the California art scene. A three-person panel of experts from the Orange County area selected 69 artists to display th...

Filipina household helpers in the United Arab Emirates who want to go home for the Holy Week and summer (dry season) may face long delays in getting clearances at the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi, a UAE news site reported Thursday. Employers of the Filipino housemaids are complaining about the long waiting period for the exit clearance or overseas workers travel permit, Gulf News reported. “My maid had to visit the embassy twice last week but could not get a form. The queue was that big,” said an  Emirati sponsor . He said his helper had to wait "more than three hours for her turn.” Some domestic helpers had to line up outside the embassy premises as early as 6 a.m., the report added. Another sponsor said his helper waited from 7 a.m. until noon to get the travel clearance. The clearance is a requirement for OFWs to return to the UAE after vacationing in the Philippines.  —  Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News

Two Filipinos will be among the cadets graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut this May, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Wednesday.   In a post on its website, the PCG said it sponsored the two cadets—Niño Jhanus Aniban from Bantayan, Cebu and Sean Jayner Cabral from Calaca, Batangas—and sent them as international cadets to join  USCGA Class of 2015.   Aniban and Cabral underwent training at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) under the PCG Cadetship Program in June 2010.   The Coast Guard said Aniban and Cabral qualified for the international cadet program - a four-year academic and professional training program. They will be commissioned into the PCG with the rank of Ensign upon graduation from the USCG Academy and are required to render at least eight years of continuous active service.   The PCG Cadetship Program was designed to establish the PCG's first Cadet Corps as a precursor to the establishme...

Close to 5,000 Filipino workers are allowed to work in South Korea’s manufacturing sector this year under the Employment Permit System (EPS), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday. This was after South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) raised the ceiling for new Filipino workers in the manufacturing sector from 4,400 to 4,600 for 2015. Labor Attaché Felicitas Bay of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) said there was an increase in the demand for OFWs in the manufacturing sector after the country captured 13.98 percent of the alloted quota for new entrants. “If we go by the total number, there was an increase in demand for OFWs. Last year, the quota for the Philippines was at 12.71 percent. In 2013, out of the 42,600 quota, we were given a total of 4,400 slots, or at 9.86 percent of the workforce allowed in the manufacturing industry,” she said. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Philippines' good standing in the EPS was partly ...

Sixteen victims of illegal recruitment who were already in government custody were believed to have been taken again by the recruiter through people posing as their relatives, a report on “24 Oras” said Wednesday. The report said people identifying themselves as relatives of the 27 victims—all women from Mindanao, three of them minors—started harassing the non-government organization tasked to take custody of the women Tuesday last week. “Tuesday pa lang, mayroon nang nangha-harass. May pumunta doon [sa safehouse] na namimilit na gusto nilang kunin yung kanilang kamag-anak kasi kinukulong daw namin,” said Cecilia Obeando,  president of Visayan Forum, the NGO tasked to take care of the victims as the Department of Social Welfare and Development prepares the case against the recruiter. “Nung Linggo, mas marami na po silang pumunta. Tapos pinukpok daw po nila yung gate namin tapos pinagbabato hanggang sa magiba,” she added. She said the supposed relatives' were in expensive vehicles w...

The United States government on Tuesday announced the release of an updated policy memorandum on the L-1B nonimmigrant visa classification for workers with specialized knowledge. “This policy memorandum, once it goes into effect, will help companies in the United States better use the skills of talented employees in the global marketplace,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director León Rodríguez said in a statement. The  policy memorandum  clarifies for USCIS officers how L-1B petitioners may demonstrate that an employee has specialized knowledge. It will undergo a 45-day public feedback period and will go into effect on Aug. 31, 2015. According to the memorandum, USCIS personnel must evaluate potential applicants based on several evidence, including documentation of work experience, contracts, and evidence of the impact of their transfer to the US operation. L-1B beneficiaries must also be employed abroad by their petitioners "on a full-time basis for one cont...

A Filipino-American doctor diagnosed with blood cancer is looking for bone marrow donors after repeated searches failed to turn out suitable matches for a transplant. A  report on the Chilicothe Gazette  said Dr. Tracy Jalbuena's mixed ethnicity made the search difficult, as donors of mixed ethnicity make up fewer than 4 percent of donors on the bone marrow registry, with Filipino-Americans at less than 1 percent. Moreover, her unique Irish-German-Filipino blood and unknown status of her lone potential donor made her case a lot more urgent. The website  Be The Match , operated by the National Donor Marrow Program, explained that having the same racial or ethnic background makes donor matching easier. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types used in matching are inherited, meaning some racial groups have higher chances of having certain combination than others. In order for Jalbuena, 43, to receive a transplant, most of her donor's HLA tissue markers must match her own. If t...

GLENDORA, Calif. – Pilar Mencias Kierulf will turn 90 in October, and she hopes to celebrate the milestone with a victory for her family. Kierulf recent wrote a letter the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the mayors and council members of the cities of San Juan and Mandaluyong, to preserve the name of the street where she grew up and the legacy of the heroes it honors: revolutionary icon Gen. Antonio Luna and Dr. Bonifacio Lopez Mencias, her father. Luna Mencias, the street between the cities of San Juan and Mandaluyong, is where the Pangasinan-born Dr. Mencias built a home for his wife, Barbara Sacro, a nurse, and their six children, in the 1930s. Dr. Mencias lived and died for his country. The graduate of Colegio de San Juan de Letran was an epidemiologist was dean of the College of Medicine of the University of Santo Tomas from 1938 until he was captured by Japanese while tending to guerrillas in World War II.    That mission to save lives led to hi...

No Filipino was aboard the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. DFA spokesman Charles Jose disclosed this Wednesday, radio dzBB's Mao dela Cruz reported. Earlier  reports said the crash of the 4U 9525 left no survivors . The British Broadcasting Co. said France's interior minister said the black box flight recorder had been found.  —  Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News

The Philippine Embassy in Washington will be closed on April 2, 3, and 9. In an announcement on its website, the embassy noted these dates are Philippine holidays. April 2 is Maundy Thursday, April 3 is Good Friday, while  April 9 is Araw ng Kagitingan . Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) is a non-working day as Filipinos mark the greatness of Filipino fighters during World War II.  —  Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News