KAKAMMPI News

MANILA - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Friday warned that he will close down Congress if he would face impeachment attempts as president. Vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who alleged that Duterte has bank transactions amounting to  P2.407 billion , has vowed to impeach the mayor right away if he wins in the May 9 presidential elections. Speaking to reporters at his campaign rally in Olongapo City, Pampanga, Duterte denied hiding any ill-gotten wealth, reiterating that two of his bank accounts only hold P50,000 and P17,000 each. He added that he will leave Trillanes with no avenue to unseat him from Malacañang. "P*****, impeach mo ako dahil sa P17,000? Kalokohan, ipasara ko na lang ang Congress," he said. Asked what he'd do if Trillanes wins as his vice president, he said: "Paalisin ko na lang siya sa tabi." "Doon na lang siya sa mga kabarkada niya sa PMA (Philippine Military Acedemy). Doon siya magaling sa mga ku...

 Pag-IBIG Fund President and Chief Executive Officer Atty. Darlene Marie B. Berberabe met with the Filipino community (FilCom) leaders, members of the Filipino business community, and representatives from the local media in Vancouver and Toronto to present the programs and services of Pag-IBIG Fund, and to launch the Pag-IBIG Fund Members Services Desk in Canada.  The said briefings were arranged by the respective Philippine Consulate Generals in the said cities where there is a concentration of Filipino workers and permanent residents. There are about 700 thousand Filipinos in Canada consisting of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), permanent residents and immigrants. Worldwide, Canada ranks 6th among countries with Filipinos in terms of Pag-IBIG housing loan availments. "With the sizeable number of Filipinos in Canada and their strong demand in Pag-IBIG housing loans, we deemed it opportune to open a Pag-IBIG service desk in Canada so we can provide better access for our mem...

OWWA Deputy Administrator Josefino I. Torres and NCR Director Emma Sinclair guide OWWA personnel as they assist OFWs during the DOLE-led Assist WELL job fair activity which takes place on 10 March 2016 at OSHC in Quezon City. The Assist WELL Center maintains a centralized data base to monitor and coordinate with participating DOLE-attached agencies and other offices on the applications filed by the OFWs concerning assistance they need.

Media practitioners pose with Padilla (middle), after the successful Kapihan. THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) conducted its first Kapihan for 2016 with its President and Chief Executive Officer, Alexander A. Padilla at the Hotel H2O in Luneta, Manila. Some 47 media practitioners from quad-media organizations attended the activity. Ruben John A. Basa, Senior Vice President for Health Finance Policy Sector explained the new policies on Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE), Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP). He also clarified that a Quality Assurance Committee composed of personnel from Department of Health (DOH), PhilHealth, representatives from Philippine Hospital Association, Philippine Medical Association and various societies work hand-in-hand in the area of benefits development. PhilHealth Chief Information Officer Jovita Aragona and IT consultant, Lito Abando discussed the importance of the PhilHealth Dashboard in ...

The implementation of the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) is well on track in Region XI and continues to flourish to ensure that all residents in the Region are provided with social health insurance coverage. As of December 31, 2015, total membership count is at  4,499,537  inclusive of qualified dependents of principal members from Compostela Valley, the City of Davao, and the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. Of this membership figure, 1,420,415 or 32 percent of members come from Davao City, while 957,373 or 21 percent come from Davao del Sur. Some 951,755 are from Davao del Norte, 666,259 are from Compostela Valley, and 503,735 are from Davao Oriental. In 2015, PhilHealth paid a total of  P6.2 billion  to Region XI, representing benefits availed of by members in the region. In Davao City alone, total benefit payments for the same year reached P2.8 billion. These payments are for various health insurance benefits ...

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said his lawyers are preparing a complaint to be filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) over the issue of discrepancies in vote receipts during the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV).    “We are in the process of collating all complaints, all data in preparation for the filing of a complaint before the Comelec regarding the controversy. We will exert all efforts to get to the bottom of this,” Marcos said in a statement.   Marcos issued the statement amid the reported incidence of discrepancies between actual votes on the ballot and the printed voters’ receipts during the ongoing Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) particularly in Hong Kong, Dubai, Kuwait and Japan.   In an earlier statement, Marcos claimed that based on the reports reaching his office, the votes that were supposed to be credited to him were being credited in the receipts to fellow vice presidential candidate Sen. Gregor...

On the eve of the first anniversary of Mary Jane Veloso's near execution in Indonesia, her mother positively identified in court the two alleged recruiters blamed for sending her to Yogyakarta Airport with heroin in her luggage. On Thursday, April 28, Celia Veloso took the stand for the prosecution during the trial for the human trafficking case filed against Maria Christina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao at the Baloc Regional Trial Court Branch 37 in Nueva Ecija. She followed daughter Maritess, who testified as the prosecution's first witness on a hearing on March 29, according to the National Union of People's Lawyers. The NUPL said both Celia and Maritess positively identified Sergio and Lacanilao, who the group said "kept a cocky poise while side commenting, snickering and shaking their head" during the trial. "[Celia] vividly recalled, while sobbing copiously, the miserable fate that gripped her youngest daughter. Celia bellowed that what happened ...

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has vowed full cooperation in the investigation on the alleged theft of P50,000 worth of valuables from a Pinay balikbayan from Hong Kong. At the same time, MIAA spokesperson Dave de Castro said passengers who have valuables missing from their check-in baggage should contact the concerned airline immediately. "We encourage them to get in touch right away with the airline," De Castro told GMA News' Jiggy Manicad in an interview on QRT. "'Pag napansin niyo pa lamang sa airport na meron pong problema pagdating sa inyong bagahe, lapitan na po natin yung airline personnel."  De Castro gave the advice after Maria Melencia Nabor, the balikbayan from Hong Kong, said she found her baggage slashed and P50,000 worth of her valuables, including shoes and jewelry, missing upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday . De Castro said they are coordinating with the Philippine Airlines regard...

A total of 191,427 registered Filipino voters abroad have cast their ballots as of Wednesday morning, 18 days into the month-long overseas absentee voting.  This accounts for 13.91 percent of some 1.3 million voters registered abroad.  Data from the Commission on Elections' Office for Overseas Voting show this is higher compared to the turnout within the same period in previous elections—13.4 percent in 2010 and 7.12 percent in 2013.  While noting that they have a "bigger base" to cover given the record-high registration for the May 2016 polls, Comm. Arthur Lim said they appreciate the turnout so far.  "It is heartening to say the least because voter participation is crucial to political maturity and political awareness. Dahil kung mga tao ay bumoboto, ibig sabihin niyan nakikialam, nakikilahok sa halalan," he told reporters Wednesday.  Lim, commissioner-in-charge for overseas absentee voting, said they expect the numbers to spike as May 9 nears....

The number of Filipino students studying in New Zealand has increased from 2014 to 2015 and is expected to rise further this year, according to Education New Zealand, a crown entity. Citing data, ENZ general manager Peter Bull said 2,964 Filipino students studied in New Zealand in 2015, a 71-percent increase from the 1,734 recorded in 2014 Because of this, New Zealand considers the Philippines as an emerging key market. To sustain this growth, Bull said New Zealand implemented a new Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students that aims to provide better support and care to foreign students. "Not only does it set the standards of care that education providers need to provide but this new code also highlights the importance that New Zealand places on international students having a positive study experience," he said. The code, which will take effect on July 1, will also provide students a new dispute resolution scheme for any contract and financ...

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday confirmed that Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio has been hospitalized. GMA News Online was the first to report that Basilio, 71, underwent tracheostomy  - a surgical procedure where a pipe is inserted into the trachea to provide an airway and to remove secretions from the lungs. "We confirm that Philippine Ambassador has been hospitalized," DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message. "She is under the care of a team of good doctors." Basilio's medical confinement came at a crucial time when relations between Manila and Beijing may be further strained by an upcoming decision by an international tribunal in The Hague on the South China Sea disputes. Philippine officials said the tribunal’s ruling is expected sometime in May. The case was filed by the Philippines in January 2013, a move that has angered China, but earned praises from the international community, including the United ...

A Filipina saleswoman was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates after the Dubai Court of First Instance found her guilty of drug possession. A  report on Gulf News  said the 25-year-old Filipina, identified only through her initials A.M., was sentenced and fined Dh50,000 after the court ruled that she owned the methamphetamine found in her home in Satwa by anti-drug officers. A.M. insisted that the drugs were her roommate's though she admitted to prosecutors that she peddled the drugs and earned the money that was seized from her. Officers raided her home following a tip in January that A.M. had been "promoting and selling drugs to addicts." "We obtained prosecutors’ search and arrest warrant and raided her house. A policewoman did not find any drugs upon searching the Filipina. Then when we searched her house, she guided us to a cotton wool jar that she had put on a shelf … she opened the jar and took out the nylon sacks that contained ...

A Filipina balikbayan from Hong Kong has lost P50,000 worth of valuables to suspected thieves upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday. A report by GMA News' Susan Enriquez on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho on Tuesday night said Maria Melencia Nabor found the fabric on her luggage torn and held together with tape at carousel number five of NAIA Terminal 2. When Nabor inspected the luggage, she saw that the zipper was damaged and that some of her jewelry, shoes and gifts for her newborn child were missing. "Nung pagkita ko, wala na 'yung gamit ko, mga accessories ko, nanghihina na po ako. Ilang beses na akong bumabiyahe papunta dito, papunta doon so Hong Kong, walang nangyayari, tapos ngayon lang 'yan nangyari sa 'min," Nabor said. Nabor took a picture of her taped-up luggage and approached an airport employee seated in front of the carousel to ask for help. "Hinarap ko po sa kanya 'yung bag, 'y...

The head of the country's absentee voting secretariat on Wednesday admitted that the government's 80-percent target of Filipinos casting their ballots overseas for this year's elections is no longer attainable. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, the concurrent chairman of the Overseas Voting Secretariat, lamented that out of the 1,376,067 registered Filipino absentee voters, only 184,327 or 13.40 percent have voted since the balloting started abroad on April 9. "To be realistic, as of today the total average of turnout is 13.40 percent so it might be unrealistic to hope for 80 percent and we only have two weeks left. We will be happy to at least have a 50 percent turnout," Seguis said in an interview. This year's registered overseas voters is the highest ever since overseas absentee voting was first implemented in 2004. As of April 26, Middle East had the highest turnout of overseas Filipino voters with 85,176, followed by Asia-Pacific with...

The Philippines' envoy to China is afflicted with a serious ailment that led to her hospitalization at a crucial time when relations between Manila and Beijing may be further strained by an upcoming decision by  an international tribunal in The Hague on the South China Sea disputes. According to Department of Foreign Affairs sources, Ambassador Erlinda Basilio, 71, has undergone tracheostomy - a surgical procedure where a pipe is inserted into the trachea to provide an airway and to remove secretions from the lungs. “She is currently in a hospital in Beijing. She can not travel. She will be out of circulation for a month or more,” a Filipino diplomat told GMA News Online. Sources separately interviewed by GMA News Online said Basilio was in Manila this month and complained of a sore throat. “She had a growth in her throat, but it was benign. But she underwent tracheostomy,” another source said. Currently, Basilio’s deputy, Minister Counsellor Elizabeth Te, is the Charge ...

Twerking, selfie-taking, picnicking and performing impromptu dance routines -- Hong Kong's 180,000-strong community of Filipino workers fill the city's public spaces on Sundays, their day off, to relax and party. But for the past few weeks the colourful gatherings have turned political, as the Philippines heads towards an election in which its migrant workers could swing a tight race. Bands thrash out rock ballads backing their favourite candidates in the walkways and public squares of Hong Kong's financial district, and campaigners wear t-shirts bearing political slogans to drum up support. "It's important to vote for change," said 49-year-old Winnie Blaza, a domestic helper who has not lived in her home country for 20 years. "I became a migrant worker because of poverty. We migrants are supporting candidates who want to help." The majority of Hong Kong's Filipino workers are domestic helpers, an often-abused underclass in the wealthy...

A Filipino with a rare neurological disease that causes him to suffer uncontrolled rigid movements recently underwent free surgery in Australia to prolong his life. Gerhard Infante, 49, underwent deep brain surgery (DBS) at Mater Private Hospital in Brisbane to mitigate symptoms of his Lubag Syndrome or X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP), a  report on ABC News  said. Dr. Sarah Olson, the primary neurosurgeon, said DBS involved placing fine wires inside Infante's brain to change some of the electrical signals that caused dystonia or involuntary muscle spasms and other symptoms of Parkinson's disease. According to neurologist Dr. Alex Lehn, the surgery alleviated some of Infante's pain and prolonged his life but would not cure his condition. Two of Infante's four brothers died because of XDP while his uncle, Von, underwent DBS five years ago. “He’s a young man with a young wife. Two of his brothers have died from this, with another brother also affected. We’d...

Filipinos began casting their votes on Saipan as the field voting for the overseas absentee voting began Monday. Registered voters came in trickles and were accommodated by batches. “The turnout is fast paced, the voters arrived in successive waves and we haven’t had a break. We haven’t been able to keep track of the numbers but we will count the total ballots claimed by overseas voters this evening,” said consul Mark Hamoy of the Philippine Consulate General-Guam and the chair for the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group. Hamoy was deputized by the Philippine Commission on Elections to conduct the field voting in Saipan, which will last until April 28 at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe. The four-day field voting will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are about 11,900 registered Filipino voters in the PCG-Guam’s jurisdiction, which includes Guam, CNMI, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Marshall Islands. In th...