KAKAMMPI News

Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau Posted at  May 26 2017 04:11 PM LOS ANGELES – For Filipino activists in the United States, martial law is familiar territory. Tony Dorono, for example, was a protest movement organizer during martial law in the '80s, and received death threats as he pursued his activism. Now, he and other Filipinos are back on the streets calling for a stop to President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao. “When you hear this new president declaring martial law with the prospect of all throughout the country, then your memory returns to the fact that I have been through martial law during Marcos' time,” said Dorono, executive director of the Filipino Migrant Center. Twitter Ads info & Privacy The martial law declaration comes as peace talks between the government and rebel groups are expected to resume in the coming days. “We feel the recent declaration of martial law in...

Alindajao proudly shows his PhilHealth ID card after registering through the PhilHealth desk THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) brings its services closer to the public once again through the Pinoy Tsuper Hero program. Pinoy Tsuper Hero is a program for Filipino drivers initiated by Phoenix Petroleum in cooperation with ABS-CBN’s Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation and Bayan Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development, Inc. Aside from encouraging drivers to be mindful of the environment and be responsible motorists, the program aims to boost the morale of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers by providing an opportunity for them to gain access to social services. “Na-realize namin na maraming drivers ang hindi alam ang kanilang social benefits (We realized that several drivers are unaware of the social benefits available to them),”  says Bayan Academy Executive Director Philip Felipe when asked why they tapped PhilHealth to pa...

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration advises jobseekers to ignore emails offering supposed jobs in international cruise ships.  In an email forwarded to the POEA , the sender email informs the recipient of being “shortlisted to become a Cruise group crew here in Ontario Toronto, Canada”. Princess Cruise Ship Company, the purported employer, offers a monthly salary of US$3,500 and US$300 allowance, with free food and accommodation and medical insurance. It also offers free visa and work permit. The catch, however, is that the applicant is required to send US$350 to the company’s account officer through a remittance company. The recipient was told to send payment to a certain Kelvin Jacob Sloan of Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA. The sender used the email addresses princess_cruise17@yahoo.com and princess_cruise17@yahoo.com, a telling sign that the job offer is a scam. The following are other signs that the job offer is a scam:  1. The offer seems too good to be t...

The Russians are coming, says tourism chief By:  Jerome Aning  - Reporter /  @JeromeAningINQ Philippine Daily Inquirer  / 05:00 AM May 26, 2017 Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo on Thursday said she and her Russian counterparts have signed a cooperation agreement that would pave the way for more Russian tourists visiting Philippine travel destinations. The Joint Action Program of Tourism Cooperation (JAPTC), signed by Teo and officials of the Federal Agency of Tourism of Russia, was one of nine bilateral agreements sealed by the two countries during President Duterte’s shortened visit. “The Russians are coming though they are very particular about safety and security in any prospective destination. The agreement signifies Moscow’s confidence in the Philippine government’s capability to resolve peace and order issues,” Teo said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT She noted t...

INQUIRER.net  / 08:31 AM May 30, 2017 An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was recently arrested for alleged human trafficking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Police nabbed the unidentified Filipino after he was accused of illegally employing two domestic helpers who previously escaped from their employers, police spokesperson Fawaz Al-Maiman told local news site Arab News. He confessed to helping both of them escape from their employers’ homes and hiring them in his company. The Filipino is currently detained at a local police station while the rescued maids are under the care of the country’s Ministry of Labor and Social Development. His arrest came following cases of fugitive maids, including Filipinos, who have been reported missing over the past few months. After President Duterte’s state visit to Saudi Arabia last month, concerned Philippine authorities are eyeing to repatriate illegal OFWs stranded in the Middle East. According to the Departmen...

A policeman looks at the glass window marked with bullet holes and cracks in a building at the site of an earlier gun battle between government forces and Muslim militants in Marawi Monday, May 29, 2017. AP Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año reportedly said on Tuesday that three Malaysians, an Indonesian and possibly Arab extremists had been killed in Marawi since Islamists tried to take over the predominantly Muslim city last week. The Associated Press quoted Año as saying that the military had made advances in containing the weeklong siege of Marawi. He said a top Filipino militant was believed to have been killed and the leader of the attack was wounded in the fighting. According to Año, the extremists plotted to set Marawi ablaze and kill as many Christians in nearby Iligan city on Ramadan to mimic the violence seen by the world in Syria and Iraq.  CBB/rga

Two scholars of the International School Manila  are bound for fully funded study at Ivy League schools. One of them is Romnick Blanco, a farmer's son who has been admitted to Harvard University in Massachusetts, US, on full scholarship. Blanco, seventh of nine kids, used to walk two hours every day to attend school in Sierra Madre, Bulacan, where his father, Renato, works as a vegetable and rice farmer. His Harvard scholarship will cover tuition, accommodation, flights, and even wardrobe. Meanwhile, Jessica Cuadro, daughter of a policeman, will be attending Columbia University in New York, also on full scholarship. Jessica  Cuadro  and Romnick  Blanco  are heading to Ivy League schools.  Photo: International School Manila   Blanco and Cuadro are among the 13 graduating students of ISM who are headed to Ivy League schools.  —  Rose-An Jessica Dioquino /BM, GMA News

Filipino-Japanese rikishi Akira Takayasu (ring name Takayasu) was promoted to the penultimate rank in sumo wrestling after winning his 10th match in Japan's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday. According to Nikkan Sports, Takayasu defeated Haramafuji Kohei (ring name Fuji) at the Ryogoku Sumo Hall in a hard-fought match that boosted the Japinoy's win-loss record to 10-2, enabling his promotion to Ozeki. Takayasu told Nikkan Sports that he believes his hard work was rewarded by the difficult victory. He added that while he could not quite grasp his promotion yet, his career will not end at being an Ozeki. Ozeki is the second-highest rank in sumo wrestling and leads to Yokozuna, sumo's highest rank. Yutaka Hagiwara (ring name Kisenosato) was the latest rikishi to earn the prestigious rank of Yokozuna in January, which was most celebrated as he was the first Japanese-born Yokozuna in almost two decades. Takayasu has been featured in a documentary by GMA News'...

The Philippines and Israel may soon forge a bilateral agreement to combat illegal drug trafficking amid the "growing" number of Filipinos arrested or convicted in Israel over drug-related cases. A statement from the Philippine Embassy in Israel said Ambassador Neal Imperial met with Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan last week to discuss the possibility of a Memorandum of Agreement to curb illegal drugs as a transnational crime. Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial meets Israel's Minister for Public Security Gilad Erdan on May 18, 2017 in Tel Aviv, to discuss cooperation in combating illegal drugs as a transnational crime.  PHL Embassy The MOA will task each country to exchange information on pertinent laws, the modus operandi used by persons and organizations to smuggle illegal drugs, their trafficking routes, and to adopt measures to prevent illegal drug trafficking. Israel shared with Erdan that a growing number of Filipinos have been...

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have relatives in Mindanao, which is now under martial law amid threats from local terrorist groups, are advising them to stay vigilant and to always pray that they remain safe. "Just take care, pray, and believe that this will just last for days," said Nielma Biernesa, a 36-year-old data controller in the United Arab Emirates whose family resides in Midsayap, North Cotabato.  "[You] are all in my prayers kasama na mga kababayan natin lalo na mga bata at matatanda. God bless everyone," she said. Like other OFWs, Biernesa is keeping herself up to date with what's happening in Mindanao, particularly in Marawi City where government troops are battling the Maute group, a local group that has pledged allegiance to the ISIS. The presence of the Maute group in Marawi was what prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to put the entire Mindanao under martial rule. "Every day kausap ko naman ang sister-in-law ko na nakatira s...

The camp of Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso would elevate to the Supreme Court (SC) its plea to allow the deposition of testimony against her alleged recruiters from her jail cell in Indonesia. According to National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia, they would file the petition questioning the Court of Appeals' action against the deposition in the first week of June. "We are preparing the petition," Olalia said in a text message on Friday. Veloso's testimony was supposed to be gathered on April 27 in Yogyakarta prison but the CA 11th Division came out last March with a temporary restraining order (TRO) whose validity was extended through a preliminary injunction issued on May 22. The CA action stemmed from the petition filed by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), counsel for Veloso's recruiter Maria Cristina Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao, who said the deposition was against the constitutional righ...

A Filipino plantation worker was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Sandakan, Malaysia, early Sunday morning, according to a report by New Straits Times. The Filipino, whom the  report  did not identify, was killed when the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a four-wheel-drive vehicle while traversing Mile 21 of Jalan Labuk around 5:30 a.m. District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Azhar Hamin was quoted in the report as saying that the driver of the 4WD lost control of the car, veered into the opposite lane, and rammed into the Filipino. Police found the 4WD abandoned when they arrived at the scene. The Filipino, meanwhile, died of serious injuries. Mohd Azhar urged witnesses to report information about the driver to Traffic Investigation officer Inspector Zabir Aripin or the district police operation center at 089 21 1222 or 089 24 2222. The incident is being investigated under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act 1987 or death by reckless or dangerous ...

The camp of Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso on Thursday expressed disappointment at the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) to prevent her from spilling the beans on her recruiters who allegedly tricked her into transporting illegal drugs in Indonesia. "The bottom line is: how in heaven's name can we get to hear the side of a fellow compatriot who is behind bars and waiting in death row in a foreign land and who cannot come home for said purpose?" said National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia in a text message. Veloso's testimony was supposed to be gathered on April 27 in Yogyakarta prison but the CA 11th Division came out last March with a temporary restraining order (TRO) whose  validity was extended  through a preliminary injunction issued on May 22. The CA action stemmed from the petition filed by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), counsel for Veloso's recruiter Maria Cristina Sergio and her live-in partner J...

Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso would still not be able to testify against the individuals who allegedly tricked her into transporting illegal drugs in Indonesia in 2010. This developed after the Court of Appeals (CA) 11th Division issued on May 22 a preliminary injunction which effectively extended for an indefinite period of time the  60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) handed down last March on the deposition . Veloso's testimony was supposed to be gathered on April 27 in Yogyakarta prison before the Filipino death row inmate's lawyers, prosecutors from the Department of Justice, representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, lawyers of Veloso's recruiters, and the trial court judge handling the cases against her recruiters. The appellate court also rejected the motion for reconsideration on the stay order filed by Veloso's parents, Celia and Cesar Veloso. Parties to the case were also directed to  submit their memorandum on the merits...

A popular Filipino restaurant in New York City has been temporarily shut down by the health department due to alleged violations discovered after an inspection, according to a report on Sunnyside Post. The  report  said Kabayan 2, located on Roosevelt Avenue, was ordered closed after racking up  117 violation points  during a health inspection, topping the 109 violations its first branch accumulated in August last year. The City Health Department temporarily shuttered the restaurant for violations including lack of washing facilities near the food preparation area and toilet, and storing food in sub-optimal temperatures. Kabayan 2 was opened shortly after its first branch, located on Queens Boulevard, was closed also following a health inspection. Inspectors found out that the owner of the restaurant failed to obtain licenses for walk-in freezers and refrigerators on top of finding mice and flies in food and non-food areas. An illegally-constructed hut was...

A Filipina fell to her death while cleaning the window of her seventh-floor flat in Hong Kong, according to a  report on EJ Insight . Citing Chinese language sites hk01.com and Headline Daily, the report stated that the Filipina, 30, was found on a second-floor balcony after falling from her flat in the Mong Kok district. Her Pakistani partner called the police after learning of her accident. She was pronounced dead at the Kwong Wah Hospital after efforts to resuscitate her failed, according to a  South China Morning Post report . The reports said police found no signs of foul play in their initial investigation, and classified the incident as an accident. No reason has been given on why the woman, said to posses a temporary ID or form of recognizance while living with her boyfriend, was cleaning the windows of her flat in a way that would've caused her to fall. The  Philippines and Hong Kong have agreed on a window cleaning ban  after several Filipino dom...

The reason? Women who get pregnant but can't produce a marriage certificate face detention. Jojo Dass, The Filipino Times Published 9:55 AM, May 19, 2017 Updated 10:01 AM, May 19, 2017 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Cases of infants abandoned by their Filipina mothers after birth in hospitals in the Middle East are on the rise, an official from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said. “Medyo dumarami  (It’s slightly increasing),” Social Welfare Undersecretary Camilo Gudmalin told  The Filipino Times  (TFT) in a phone interview from Abu Dhabi. “There’s an increasing trend of abandoned children or what is called ‘love cases.’” (It’s increasing. There’s an increasing trend of abandoned children or what is called love cases.) “Base sa interview namin, sila siguro’y may asawa sa Pilipinas, peronagka-ayusan dito, nagka-anak, di pwedeng ikasal at pwedeng makulong,”  said Gudmalin, DSWD Undersecretary for Exi...