KAKAMMPI News

Personnel of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) may be reshuffled soon following the discovery of an "anomaly" involving the deployment of directly hired OFWs, a report on "24 Oras" said Thursday. The report, by GMA News' JP Soriano, said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has tightened its rules on the issuance of Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) to OFWs as a result of the discovery. Citing DOLE, the report said some 50 to 100 OFWs directly hired by employers are deployed every day despite the ban on direct hires. Section 123 of POEA rules and regulations states that "No employer shall directly hire an overseas Filipino worker for overseas employment." This rule, however, does not cover highly-skilled workers like doctors and nurses. Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say blamed "fixers" within the POEA for the deployment of direct hires who are not covered by the exemptions. "Marami ang hi...

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday acknowledged the sacrifices of OFWs, saying it is one of the reasons why he has been pursuing an intensified campaign against illegal drugs even during his stint as mayor of Davao City. In his speech during the oath-taking of government officials in Malacañang, Duterte said during his visits to other countries, he has heard "sad stories" about OFWs, including Filipinas who were raped or sexually abused and domestic helpers who were forced to serve numerous employers. "I have been to many places. I have been to the Middle East. You know, the husband is working in one place, the wife in another country. The so many sad stories I hear about our women being raped, abused sexually," Duterte said. About Filipino domestic helpers, he said: "Pagka empleyado ka ng isang pamilya, at yung kapatid ng asawa [ng employer] wala silang helper, magtrabaho ka pa rin dun. Kapag sa compound, nandun yung son-in-law [ng employer], magta-t...

An unemployed Filipino man was sentenced to six years in prison for stealing cellphones from two women at a shopping complex in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, a  report on Daily Express  said. Mohd Shi Ben received three years in jail for stealing a phone from Sabturiah Tei Teck Sen at the first floor of the Centre Point Sabah complex at 8:30 pm on March 11. Ben was handed another three years for snatching another phone from a Syarfa Md Hassan at 9 p.m. in the same mall on the same day. Prosecuting officer Insp. James Paran told the court that a security guard witnessed Ben take Sabturiah's phone from her trouser pocket while she was on her way home. The guard reportedly chased and caught the fleeing suspect. Magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus declared Ben guilty on March 22. The Filipino, a IMM13 visa holder, will be referred to the Immigration Department after serving his sentence. An IMM13 visa is awarded to Filipino refugees to allow them to move, stay, study, and wor...

The debate surrounding US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has focused almost entirely on the Latino community, leaving other groups affected – notably Asians – largely out of the discourse, experts say. Of the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, some 80 percent are from Mexico or elsewhere in Latin America. But the second largest group -- 1.5 million -- are from Asia, according to government figures and researchers. The majority hail from China, India, the Philippines and South Korea, representing the fastest-growing segments of unauthorized immigrants in the United States since 2000, according to the Pew Research Center and the Migration Policy Institute. The number of unauthorized immigrants from India, for example, grew by about 130,000 from 2009 to 2014, to an estimated half a million, according to Pew. And yet Asians have often been overlooked in the current debate over illegal immigration, which has mainly been cast ...

A Filipina caregiver in Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County has been arrested for allegedly stealing from her patients. In a post on Facebook, the Palos Verdes Estates Police urges victims of Ma "Rose" Licuanan to come forward and help them in their investigation on the suspect. According to the post, Licuanan is currently being held without bail for stealing credit cards from elderly victims while in their service. Detectives found probable cause to believe that the 49-year-old resident of Torrance, California, took a credit card from the elderly victim who filed a police report against her. She is believed to have copied other credit card numbers and used them to make fraudulent transactions online. Police recovered stolen property and credit cards belonging to different victims when they served a search warrant for Licuanan's  residence and vehicles on March 21. The LA County District Attorney's office filed four felony counts and two misdeme...

MANILA, Philippines - A young fisherman flew home to the Philippines on Wednesday after being given up for dead at sea, battling hunger, thirst and despair for nearly two months on a tiny boat that drifted all the way to Papua New Guinea. Rolando Omongos, 21, recounted an astonishing tale of survival as he arrived from his first-ever plane ride at Manila airport, three weeks after his rescue by a Japanese fishing vessel. "I cried non-stop when I was finally rescued. I was too weak to stand up and they had to carry me," the diminutive fisherman told reporters. He said he survived on rainwater and moss growing at the hull of his 2.5-metre (8-foot)long boat, finding respite from the heat of the tropical sun by diving into the water frequently. His 31-year-old uncle Reniel Omongos, who was on a second small boat, died after a month. The nephew believes hunger and exposure killed the older man. The nephew lashed the body onto his boat for a few days but later let it sin...

Atlanta police have yet to locate a Filipina who has been missing since October last year despite help from the Filipino-American community, and are starting to consider foul play in the case. A  report on Fox 5 Atlanta  said members of Chamblee's Filipino community passed out fliers for Cecilia Bustamante, 42, on Tuesday, seven months after she was last seen on October 28. Pia Valeriano of the Filipino American Association, told Fox 5 that as Bustamante's "kababayan," it was their duty to reach out to find the mother whose safety they prayed for in front of her Meadow Wood Lane home on Tuesday. Willie Blanco, another member of the Filipino American Association, said authorities "are following up several leads that may lead to something else." The Filipino American Association even hired a new private investigator named Eric Echols to help Chamberlee police in their search for Bustamante. While they initially ruled Bustamante's disappearance a...

A member of United Kingdom's House of Lords or upper parliament has called on the government of the United Arab Emirates to grant Filipina domestic helper Jennifer Dalquez clemency to save her from death row. "It is clear from the evidence that her action was not pre-meditated, but a desperate response to an unprovoked sexual attack," Inderjit Singh, Lord of Wimbledon CBE, said in a  letter  addressed to UAE Ambassador Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui. "I am writing to you to use your good offices to remove the threat of the death penalty and for the authorities to show due clemency," added Singh, a former BBC journalist, engineer, and champion of interfaith relations. An  excerpt of the letter  was posted on the website of Network of Sikh Organizations, the British-registered charity that Singh chairs. The same post contains a statement from the pro-migrant worker group Justice For Domestic Workers (J4DW), which described Dalquez, 30, as another "victim o...

Job mismatch turned out to be a problem for some OFWs who went to Tuesday's government-sponsored job fair in Quezon City meant for Filipino workers who lost their jobs in the Middle East due to recession. A report on Balita Pilipinas said many of the 15,000 vacancies were only for engineers and machine operators, which did not match the work experience of some of those who went to the job fair. The report said 21 overseas and 18 local companies participated in the job fair organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Applicants also tried their luck with the 1,500 postings within the country that were present in the job fair. More than 10,000 Filipinos lost their jobs in the Middle East due to the sudden drop in world oil prices that resulted in companies laying off many workers.   — Rie Takumi /KBK, GMA News

A Singaporean couple who starved their Philippine maid until she weighed just 29 kilograms (64 pounds) were jailed Monday, in a case described as "shocking" by prosecutors who are appealing for stiffer sentences. Trader Lim Choon Hong, 48, was sentenced to three weeks in jail and fined Sg$10,000 ($7,200), while his wife Chong Sui Foon, also 48, was jailed three months, the couple's lawyer told AFP. Both were convicted last year of violating employment laws for failing to provide enough food for their maid, Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, over a 15-month period in 2013 and 2014 at the couple's condominium in the posh Orchard Road area. State prosecutors, who have described the systematic starvation as "downright shocking in its extremity and severity" are appealing the sentences and pushing for the pair to be jailed for the maximum 12 months.  Gawidan, who is in her 40s, lost almost 20kg during her time working for the couple, who only allowed her to eat two ...

The Court of Appeals in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, has deferred its decision on the case of Jennifer Dalquez, the Filipina domestic helper facing execution for killing her employer in 2015. According to Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the court postponed its decision after one of the victim's children skipped the trial on Monday. "According to our Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the UAE Court of Appeals postponed its decision on the case of OFW Jennifer Dalquez to April 12 because one of the victim's children did not appear in court today," Jose said. The Al Ain court in February deferred the execution of Dalquez, 30, pending the decision of the victim's children whether to affirm the execution or opt for blood money. Dalquez may escape the death sentence if the victim's two children refuse to swear in court and ask for blood money instead. Dalquez was sentenced to death for killing her employer o...

Death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso would not be able to testify soon against the people who allegedly tricked her into transporting illegal drugs in Indonesia in 2010, resulting in her conviction. In a resolution dated March 24, the Court of Appeals (CA) Eleventh Division issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the deposition of Veloso that was scheduled on April 27 in Yogyakarta prison. The resolution came after the accused, Maria Cristina Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao, questioned the order handed down by Judge Anarica Castillo-Reyes of the Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court Branch 88 on February 13 allowing the deposition. The CA also granted the request of the Office of Solicitor General, which represents the judge in the case, to comment on the petition until April 11. The OSG was also directed to give its position on the plea of the accused for a preliminary injunction, which aims to extend the life of the TRO for an indefini...

While awaiting information on her fate, the husband and children of Jennifer Dalquez, the OFW facing execution in the United Arab Emirates, joined a rally in General Santos City on Monday to appeal for government help for her and other distressed Filipino workers abroad. Carrying tarpaulins with the words "Save the Life of Jennifer Dalquez" and "Justice for Jennifer," Dalquez's husband Norkie and their two children joined members of Migrante and Kadamay in a rally outside the City Social Welfare and Development Office. The rallyists urged the government to come up with livelihood and employment programs that would stop Filipino workers from seeking overseas employment. The UAE Court of Appeals is set to rule late Monday afternoon (Manila time) on the execution of Dalquez, a 30-year-old domestic helper who was convicted for killing her male employer in 2015. Last month, a court in Al Ain deferred her execution pending the decision of the victim's chi...

Undocumented Filipinos have started flocking to the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah to register for the amnesty program being offered by the Saudi Arabia government. Under the program, foreigners staying illegally in the Kingdom have 90 days starting March 29  to leave the country without paying penalties or to correct their status. Those who will leave Saudi Arabia will also be allowed to return and work there. Most of those who registered have expressed intention to come home to see their families, as some haven't been home in over 20 years. "Iniwan ko ang anak ko tatlong buwan pa lang at ngayon magga-graduate na siya ng kolehiyo kaya uuwi na ako," said Tina Muksin, who left the Philippines for Saudi Arabia in 1997. "Paminsan rin may tampo ang anak ko sa akin dahil sa hindi ko pag-uwi pero mabuti na rin ito keysa nandoon nga ako pero wala ka naman maibigay. Mas mabuti na nandito ka na lang," she added. Muksin said she has been illegally staying in S...

Filipino-American investigative journalist Alex Tizon died in Oregon on Thursday (Friday in Manila). He was 58. An online report by  The Oregonian  said that Tizon died in his sleepo of natural causes, quoting University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda. The  Daily Emerald  also reported Tizon's passing, quoting an email by the University of Oregon's journalism director Scott Maier. “His death is a tragic loss not only to his family but to the entire SOJC (School of Journalism and Communication) community,” Maier said in his email to students. Tizon, who was born in Manila, taught at the University of Oregon since 2011. The Oregonian reported that Tizon had just returned from the Philippines, where he attended the Knight International Journalism Fellowship. The Filipino-American investigative journalist was a reporter for The Seattle Times for 17 years. He won a Pulitzer Prizer in 1997 for his coverage of a federa...

Published  March 24, 2017 6:30pm Filipino travelers can visit 61 countries without applying for a visa, according to immigration and citizenship firm Henley & Partners, which placed the country  on the 75th spot in its 2017 Visa Restrictions Index released last month. Listed above are the 61 countries that Pinoys can visit without a visa, based on information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) through its Timatic application as of December 2015.  — Jannielyn Ann Bigtas /JST, GMA News

 The word “complicated” nowadays is associated with relationship status as popularized in Facebook. Such word, however, can also describe the factors associated with the sexual behaviors of the young adults of this generation. The various regional studies undertaken by the Commission on Population through the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and Demographic Research and Development Foundation (DRDF) using the data from the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study revealed that millennials engage in early sex for variety of reasons. Access to internet and social media and new information technologies are among the most prominent factors that facilitates early sexual engagement among young people. For example, the regional study for Metro Manila revealed that most of urban boys in the region are exposed to pornographic materials and have already engaged in sexual activities. Likewise, adolescents in Central Luzon who were exposed to internet early were ...

 The word “complicated” nowadays is associated with relationship status as popularized in Facebook. Such word, however, can also describe the factors associated with the sexual behaviors of the young adults of this generation. The various regional studies undertaken by the Commission on Population through the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and Demographic Research and Development Foundation (DRDF) using the data from the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study revealed that millennials engage in early sex for variety of reasons.  Access to internet and social media and new information technologies are among the most prominent factors that facilitates early sexual engagement among young people. For example, the regional study for Metro Manila revealed that most of urban boys in the region are exposed to pornographic materials and have already engaged in sexual activities. Likewise, adolescents in Central Luzon who were exposed to internet...

Marine deck and engine officers in need of Updating Management Level Courses (MLCs) from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) may avail of a P7,500 financial subsidy that would render their training free. The financial subsidy will benefit sea-based workers who are active OWWA members who were not able to comply with the 2010 Standards of Training and Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention. “We hope to enroll  as many non-compliant active members as we can as support to the plight of our  member-seafarers, who because of their failure to take the MLCs prohibited them to progress to the next step,” OWWA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said in a statement Thursday. Interested parties must submit two copies of accomplished application form; two 2x2 photos; seafarer's Identification and Record Book (SIRB) and passport; enrollment confirmation; and endorsement from Principal/Manning Agency that they have not yet availed of similar schol...

The Hong Kong government has sought the Philippine government's input regarding its labor policy affecting migrant workers, according to Consul General Bernardita L. Catalla. Catalla paid a courtesy call on Hong Kong Secretary for Labour and Welfare Stephen Sui Wai-keung last March 15 during which she expressed her appreciation for the close coordination and open relationship between the Philippine Consulate General and the Hong Kong Labour and Welfare Bureau. In particular, Catalla highlighted the Technical Working Group between the Consulate and the HK Labour and Immigration Departments, which has allowed the Philippine government to input into the policy-making processes of the Hong Kong government and provided a venue to exchange information on issues involving Filipino workers in Hong Kong. Sui, for his part, ensured Catalla that his bureau is continuously working on initiatives for foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, including Filipino domestic workers, who he said...

The Saudi Arabia government has given foreigners staying illegally in the Kingdom 90 days to leave the country without penalties or correct their status. Media reports from Saudi Arabia said the amnesty period will be effective starting March 29 and is part of the Saudi government's "Nation Free of Violators" campaign, which seeks to help undocumented expatriates. A  report on Gulf News  said Prince Mohammad, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister, ordered all concerned agencies and departments  to ease the departure of all foreigners who wished to leave. Following this development, undocumented Filipinos in Saudi Arabia who wish to return home have started flocking to the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah to seek assistance. "Nandito ako ngayon sa Philippine Consulate para mag-avail pauwi ng Pilipinas," said an OFW who identified herself only as Gracia. "Kasi nang malaman ko na may amnesty, sobrang tuwa ako dahil makakauwi na ako ng walang kaproble-problem...

The Philippine Embassy in the UK has advised Filipinos in London to "remain vigilant and monitor UK security advisories." The advisory was issued in connection with the terrorist incident near the Parliament wherein a policeman was stabbed and  at least five persons were reported killed . About 40 people were injured. UK authorities are conducting an investigation into the said incident. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones whose lives have been affected by the Westminster attack," the Philippine Embassy in London said in a statement. The Embassy has not received any reports of Filipinos affected by the incident. UK authorities are conducting an investigation into the said incident. Filipinos in need of assistance are advised to contact the Philippine Embassy in London through their Emergency Hotline +44 7802 790695.  — Marlly Rome Bondoc/BAP/KG, GMA News