KAKAMMPI News

The Philippine government respects President Donald Trump's order that halts the entry of refugees into the United States and temporarily bars travellers from seven Muslim countries, a Palace official said Sunday. In an interview over dzRB, Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said imposing such restriction is the US' "right." "[W]e respect the policy of the United States of America if they have prohibitions or they would be banning people from entering their country because that is their right," she said. Banaag noted that they have consulted the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C., on the matter, and would issue a comment on it after officials there have studied the order, including its parameters. Signed Saturday (Philippine time), Trump's sweeping executive order suspends the arrival of refugees in the US for at least four months. It also bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries, including Syria, for the next three ...

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Saturday assured that the government is doing everything to save all overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who are on death row abroad. "Sa simula't sapul niyan, talagang inaasikaso 'yan ng ating DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) tsaka DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) ano. Kaya lang each one is a particular case and each one is a particular situation pero pinaglaban natin lahat," Abella said in a radio interview. He said "top caliber" lawyers are handling the cases of the Filipinos on death row. The DFA had said that at least 88 Filipinos are on death row abroad. "Katulad po nung si Ms. Pawa ano, eh talagang, according to DFA, we sent top caliber, we hired top caliber lawyers kaya lang talagang hindi talaga siya, mukhang ano talaga 'yung kaso against her seemed to be tilted against her, parang ganon. Pero hindi po tayo pabaya sa kapakanan ng ating mga kapwa Pilipino abroad," Abella added...

The Philippine Labor Department is considering a temporary suspension of the deployment of Filipino household helpers to Kuwait due to reports of abuses by employers in the host country. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said Friday that a deployment moratorium is being studied amid growing calls to impose the measure, following reports of abuses against OFWs, particularly female household service workers (HSWs). “We are taking this call for a moratorium seriously.  We will conduct consultations with our partners and other government agencies,” said Bello. He flew to Kuwait after the third round of peace talks in Italy with the communist rebels to check on the situation of another OFW on death row convict in Kuwait. Last Wednesday, Pinoy HSW  Jakatia Pawa was executed  for the murder in 2007 of her employer's daughter, which she denied until her execution. Bello said he would try to save the life of another OFW death con...

A Filipino-run hospital with 100 beds is set to be constructed in Qatar, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a statement. The DFA said the construction of the hospital, which will be located in Doha, is set to begin in 2018. The project was discussed during Philippine Health Secretary Jean Rosell-Ubial's two-day visit to Doha where she and her team met with prospective Qatari investors, among them Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani, a member of the Royal family in Doha and deputy chairman of AlJazeera International Group WLL. Joining Ubial during her January 22 to 23 visit were Director Maylene Beltran of the Bureau of International Health Cooperation of the Department of Health (DOH), and Dr. Jose Manigque Tiongco, chairman of the Medical Mission Group. According to the DFA, while waiting for the construction of the hospital, the Medical Mission Group will first start with a polyclinic in Doha by the third quarter of 2017. During the meeting, Al-Thani acknowl...

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday said he will proceed to Kuwait after the third round of peace talks with the National Democratic Front in Rome to try to save another overseas Filipino worker (OFW) on death row. In an interview posted on the Facebook page of state media PTV, Bello said he will first facilitate the burial of Jakatia Pawa,  the Filipina domestic helper who was executed on Wednesday for killing her employer's 22-year-old daughter in 2007 . "I should be in Kuwait at 8 in the morning. I will look into the remains of Jakatia Pawa and I just found out that she is a Muslim so the relatives decided that she should be buried in Kuwait. We will not anymore have to repatriate the body," Bello said. "My second purpose in going there is to look into the case of another death row OFW, Mr. Elpidio Nano, who allegedly killed his own co-worker Engr. [Nilo] Macaranas. Matagal na rin ito kagaya ng kay Ms. Pawa, 2008 pa ito," he added. Bello ...

The brother of Jakatia Pawa, the Filipina who was executed in Kuwait, on Thursday said the government should not be faulted for his sister's fate, saying it did what it could to save her. "Hindi naman pinabayaan ng gobyerno natin sa tatlong administration 'yung kapatid ko," said Lt. Col. Angaris Pawa, referring to the Arroyo, Aquino and Duterte administrations. "Full support naman ang gobyerno natin." Pawa was executed Wednesday for killing her employer's 22-year-old daughter in 2007. She maintained her innocence up to her final moments, saying it was the victim's family who had the motive to kill her after she was allegedly caught having an affair with their neighbor. The Filipina domestic helper left behind two children in Zamboanga City, who both could not accept the fate of their mother, according to a report by GMA News' Tina Panganiban-Perez on "24 Oras." "Ma, kahit wala ka na sa tabi namin, masakit sa amin na wala k...

A day after a Filipina domestic helper was executed in Kuwait, a lawmaker proposed a review of the Philippine government's policy in sending domestic workers to the Middle Eastern country. ACTS-OFW party-list Rep. John Bertiz said the government should "reconsider" sending Filipino domestic workers to Kuwait. He said Filipino domestic helpers make up more than half of the 250,000 OFWs in Kuwait. "Like Jakatia [Pawa], they are all vulnerable to abuse and exploitation," said Bertiz at the weekly Serye forum in Quezon City on Thursday. The Kuwaiti government executed Jakatia Pawa on Wednesday afternoon (PHL time), seven years after she was sentenced to death for killing her employer's 22-year-old daughter. She has maintained innocence up to the day of her death. In November 2016, Bertiz filed a resolution seeking "to look into the plight of household service workers in Kuwait and into the oft repeated demand for ban/moratorium on their deployment ...

The brother of OFW Jakatia Pawa who on Wednesday was executed in Kuwait said their family has decided to let her burial be done there.  "Nagdesisyon na rin kaming lahat na magkakapatid. Kasi sa batas kasi ng Muslim, sa Islam, within 24 hours dapat mailibing siya. Pagka-inuwi pa namin ng Pilipinas, baka pagdating dito sa amin sa Zamboanga, wala na 'yung kapatid namin. Baka mangangamoy na 'yun. Magdudusa pa kami," said Col. Angaris Pawa on Thursday in an interview on Unang Balita with Arnold Clavio. He also revealed that they only managed to get information regarding the case through phone calls with his sister. "Actually, everytime 'pag ano, 'pag kausap ko 'yung kapatid ko, dun lang ako kumukuha ng information sa kapatid ko, kung ano ng development ng kaso mo," Col. Pawa said.  "Last time na pumunta ako ng Kuwait kasama ko ang dalawang anak niya. Maganda sana 'yung outcome, kasi maganda 'yung assurance na ibinigay ng ...

The family of OFW Jakatia Pawa on Wednesday expressed dismay that they learned about her impending execution in Kuwait from her and not from the government, a report by GMA News' Jam Sisante on "24 Oras" said. "Kung halimbawa ma-execute and kapatid ko, dapat 2, 3, 4 days dapat naimpormahan kami. Ang masakit lang sa aming pamilya, kapatid ko na ang tumawag na bibitayin na siya ngayong araw na ito," said Lt. Col. Angaris Pawa, Jakatia's brother. Jakatia was executed on Wednesday afternoon (PHL time), seven years after she was sentenced to death for killing her employer's 22-year-old daughter in 2007. In the report, Col. Pawa recalled his last conversation with his sister, who at that time was already at the execution room. "Sabi niya '8 a.m. dito sa Kuwait, ako'y bibitayin na.' So napaiyak na lang ako. Nabigla ako nung pagtawag niya so huling pag-usap namin 10 minutes to 1 p.m. dito sa atin bibitayin siya, 8 a.m. doon sa Kuwait,...

Jakatia Pawa should not be remembered as a convicted felon but as a hardworking overseas Filipino worker, an OFW advocate said Wednesday, following Pawa's execution in Kuwait. "It should be made of public record, however, for her to children to know, that for those of us who have been carefully following this case, Jakatia will continue to be known for her courage, conviction, and her innocence," said Susan Ople, head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center that assists distressed OFWs, in a statement. Pawa, 42, was sentenced to death in Kuwait for killing her employer's 22-year-old daughter in 2007. During court hearings, however, Pawa denied killing her employer's daughter, saying the victim's family members had stronger motives to kill her because of an alleged illicit love affair with a male neighbor. According to Ople, Pawa was innocent of the crime as "[t]here was not a single shred of evidence linking her to the crime scene." "She ha...

Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday vowed to help the family of a Filipina convict who had just been executed in Kuwait. Noting that OFWs “sacrifice every day for their family and our country," Robredo in a statement called on Filipinos to “continue working for the welfare” of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), following the execution of Jakatia Pawa. “We offer our most sincere condolences to the family of Jakatia Pawa,” Robredo said. “We hope to connect with their family and help them through this trying time.” Pawa, 42, was sentenced to death for murder in 2010 for the killing of her employer’s 22-year-old daughter in 2007. She was  executed  at 10:19 a.m. in Kuwait (3:19 p.m. Manila time) on Wednesday. The Filipina, a mother of two, denied the crime, saying the victim’s family members had stronger motives to kill her employer’s daughter because of an illicit love affair with a male neighbor. In a press conference confirming the execution, Department...

Following the execution of a Filipina convict in Kuwait, the party-list representing OFWs in Congress on Wednesday hit the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for being “reactionary” toward the cases of Filipinos on death row overseas. In an interview, ACTS-OFW party-list Rep. John Bertiz said the DFA should have acted upon the case of Jakatia Pawa, a murder convict in Kuwait, when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in June last year. Pawa was sentenced to death for murder in 2010 for the killing of her employer’s 22-year-old daughter in 2007.  She was executed 3:19 p.m. Wednesday (Manila time) . “Ang sa akin lang ay lagi na lang tayong too late the hero, reactionary, lalung-lalo na sa parte ng DFA, na sa ngayon, mismong spokesperson hindi niya ma-account kung ilan ang nasa death row,” Bertiz said. “Dito sa case ni Jakatia, maaagapan pa sana ito kung ‘yung pag-upo ng ating Presidente—na alam naman natin na may puso at malasakit sa ating mga OFW—ay nag-initiate na s...

Malacañang on Wednesday condoled with the family of overseas Filipino worker Jakatia Pawa who was executed in Kuwait. Presidential Spokesperson Ernie Abella in a statement said that the Philippine government provided Pawa all the assistance to stop her execution. "It is with sadness that we confirm the execution of Jakatia Pawa this afternoon (Philippine time)," he said. "The Philippine government has provided the late Pawa all the assistance necessary to ensure all her legal rights are respected and all legal procedures are followed. Government likewise exerted all efforts to preserve her life, including diplomatic means and appeals for compassion. Execution, however, could no longer be forestalled under Kuwaiti laws," he added. Abella added that the Department of Foreign Affairs is in touch with Pawa's family for the assistance. "The Department of Foreign Affairs is now closely coordinating with Ms. Pawa’s family and continues to facilitate ass...

Jakatia Pawa, the Filipina who was sentenced to death in Kuwait for murder, was executed Wednesday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). "It is with sadness that we announce the execution of Jakatia Pawa," DFA spokesman Charles Jose said at a press conference. "We extend our sincere condolences to the family." Jose said Pawa, a mother of two, was executed at 10:19 a.m (3:19 p.m. in Manila). It was the first time a Filipino was executed in Kuwait in recent years. Pawa, 42, was sentenced to death by the Kuwait's Court of Cassation in 2010 for the killing of her employer's 22-year-old daughter in 2007. A mother of two children aged 18 and 16 and a native of Zamboanga del Norte, Pawa earned a bachelor's degree in banking and finance from the Zamboanga Arturo Eustaquio Colleges in Zamboanga City, now Universidad de Zamboanga. During court hearings, Pawa, who started working in Kuwait in 2002, denied killing her employer's daugh...

The Philippine ambassador in Kuwait is making "last-minute" appeals in connection with the reported looming execution of Filipino worker Jakatia Pawa, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) representative told a Senate committee on Wednesday. "Currently, I was informed by our office that our ambassador in Kuwait is making last-minute appeals to the kuwaiti authorities to spare the life of OFW Jakatia Pawa," lawyer Tanya Ramiro, principal assistant of the DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs told members of the Senate labor committee. "The embassy in Kuwait assured us that they will call us to inform us whether or not the execution will be deferred or whether or not it will push through," she added. Pawa, a household service worker, was sentenced to death by the Kuwait's Court of Cassation in 2010 for the killing of her employer's 22-year-old daughter in May 2007. Ramiro told the Senate committee that a high-level intercession meet...

A group of Filipino-American police officers has decided to continue helping their counterparts in the Philippines even after the San Franciso Police District (SFPD) cut ties with the Philippine National Police (PNP) due to concerns of human rights violations. Retired SFPD Lieutenant Eric Quema, second vice president of THE Filipino-American Law Enforcement Officers (FALEO), said they cannot turn their back on Filipino policemen. Some 20 FALEO members are now in the country to turnover $25,000 to $30,000 worth of used and brand new police equipment to different police stations in the country. They also gave donations to different barangays and schools. “We are not officially here under San Francisco PD anymore and neither is any agency, they discontinued that (exhange program) immediately and I don’t blame my chief, that’s the only move he can make because politically, everybody is in turmoil so he made the only choice he could make,” Quema told reporters after the turn-over cer...

Kuwait is set to execute seven convicts on Wednesday, including a Filipina, according to a  report on Gulf News . Except for Shaikh Faisal Al Abdullah and Nasra Al Enezi, both Kuwaiti nationals, the foreign convicts were not identified in the report, only saying that they are an Ethiopian, a Filipina, two Egyptians and a Bangladeshi. Though the Filipina was not identified, OFW advocate Susan Ople posted on Facebook that she is "[p]raying for OFW Jakatia Pawa." Pawa, 42, a household service worker, was sentenced to death by the Kuwait's Court of Cassation in 2010 for the killing of her employer's 22-year-old daughter in May 2006. "May her life be spared from execution. I believe that she is innocent," Ople said as she urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to "act with dispatch" to save Pawa. During a Senate labor committee hearing on Wednesday, Ople said Pawa called her brother, Lt. Col. Gary Pawa, around 5 in the morning to say...

Filipinos in Rome have thrown their all-out support to the ongoing peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF). Dalisay Solomon of the Hugpong Pederal Movement personally voiced this support during her meeting with GRP peace panel chair Silvestre Bello III on the sidelines of a peace forum last Sunday. Bello and negotiators from both parties were in Rome for the third round of the negotiations. A statement from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said Bello, during the forum, sought the support of overseas Filipinos in order for the peace process to move smoothly. "We will succeed if we have you behind us," the statement quoted Bello as telling the forum, which was attended by Rome-based Filipinos. Solomon, who has been living in Italy for 27 years, said she is happy that the peace talks is moving under the Duterte administration. In another forum a...

A clinic catering exclusively to Filipinos has opened in Abu Dhabi, courtesy of the biggest healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates. Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Constancio Vingno Jr, Madame Yoko Ramos-Vingno and Dr. BR Shetty join the Filipino medical staff of the newly opened NMC Mabuhay Clinic.  DFA photo The medical center called Mabuhay Clinic opened its doors to patients on January 11, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Constancio R. Vingno Jr., according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The DFA said the Mabuhay Clinic is the only health facility of the New Medical Center (NMC) Healthcare chain of hospitals where the Filipino language can be widely spoken by its predominantly Filipino doctors, nurses, medical professionals, and staff. NMC is currently the biggest healthcare provider in the UAE, the DFA added. The opening of the facility was borne out of a meeting between Vingno and Dr. BR Shetty, NMC...

Pope Francis has appointed a Manila-born priest as the new bishop for the Church in Papua New Guinea, according to a report on the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website. An undated photo of Bishop-elect Pedro Baquero and Pope Francis taken at the Vatican.  L'Osservatore Romano/CBCP News The  report  said Fr. Pedro Baquero, a 46-year-old Salesian priest, will be the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Kerema, located around 300 kilometers north-west in the capital of Port Moresby. Born in Manila in September 1970, Baquero will oversee the 47-year-old diocese with 35 priests and 24 female religious who are working to serve more than 26,000 Catholics. Baquero was ordained priest in 1999 after studying philosophy in the Don Bosco College in Canlubang, Laguna, and theology in the Don Bosco Study Centre in Parañaque. According to the Vatican, Baquero has served in a number of pastoral roles, including parish priest in Lariau, Kerema; advisor to...

Thousands of Filipina Americans struck back in spades and joined millions of women in the US and around the world in calling on the new government to respect issues of gender equality, women’s choice, and immigration. “It is important to me to be there because I love my daughters, admire my LGBT friends and respect my Muslim neighbors,” said fashion model and independent filmmaker Bessie Badilla when reached by The FilAm. Christina Newhard: 'Making sure we can continue to have the space to express how we feel.'  The FilAm photo Proud to call herself a “nasty woman,” Badilla joined the January 21 Women’s March in New York City that began at the UN Headquarters on Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza and ended at the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. Mayor Bill de Blasio said an estimated 400,000 people attended the march. Many of the protesters in New York and in Washington D.C. where the main ‘Sisters March’ was organized, wore pink pussy hats in reference to Donald Trump bragging in a...