KAKAMMPI News

The long wait is finally over. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) now has their own bank which was launched on Thursday, January 18, led by none other than the President himself President Rodrigo Duterte. It can be recalled that President Duterte signed an Executive Order No. 44 last September 28, 2017 prompting the attainment of Philippine Postal Savings Bank by the Land Bank of the Philippines, which was later named as Overseas Filipino Bank. “Through the Overseas Filipino Bank, we give back what is  due  to our  kababayans  abroad through a bank specially dedicated to servicing their banking and financing requirements,” says Duterte in a statement. The OFB is expected to serve as a “policy bank dedicated to providing financial products and services tailored to the requirements of overseas Filipino,” as per their statement. “The creation of OFBank, a wholly-owned Savings Bank subsidiary of Landbank that will cater to the needs of the sector, will stre...

Published  January 26, 2018 7:48pm  An alleged illegal recruiter who was already in the custody of the police managed to escape while supposedly undergoing medical checkup at a hospital, GMA News' Katrina Son reported on QRT on Friday. The suspect, Teresita Hasa, the alleged owner of JAPCOM Training Center and JAPCOM Consultancy and Manpower Recruitment Company, which has an office in Ermita, Manila, was last seen boarding a taxi with an Arab-looking companion. "May sumigaw sa likod, pati 'yung guard ng hospital, [sabi] 'yung complainant [sic] niyo tumakbo na, naka-hood, atsaka isang lalaki na Arabic," said Johnny Tocoy, a victim. The victims blamed the lax security provided by the police to the suspect. Tocoy said the police even asked for gas and food money from the victims. "Ang gusto pa nga nila P200, eh P100 lang ang binigay namin. Tapos sabi nila magpakape naman kayo, kain naman tayong itlog. Parang hindi tama," he...

Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News Posted at  Jan 25 2018 10:08 PM MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed TV host and comedian Arnell Ignacio to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), appointment papers released by the Palace on Thursday showed. Ignacio, whose full name is Arnaldo Arevalo Ignacio, was appointed by Duterte as Deputy Executive Director V at the OWWA, an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Ignacio was one of Duterte’s supporters from the entertainment industry during his presidential bid in 2016. He was previously tapped by Duterte as AVP for community relation and services department at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. Comedian, TV host Arnell Ignacio appointed PAGCOR exec Aside from Ignacio, Duterte also appointed lawyer Jacinto Paras as DOLE undersecretary. Paras, a member of pro-Duterte Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, was one of the lawyers who filed a complaint agains...

Published  January 29, 2018 12:29pm  President Rodrigo Duterte's threat to stop the deployment of Filipino workers to the Middle East due to the reported cases of abuse may do "more harm than good," the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. "Such a ban would likely do more harm than good, forcing workers to take greater risks to seek overseas employment while cutting off a critical source of income for families in the Philippines," said HRW researcher Rothna Begum in a statement. Begum said a deployment ban will not end abuses and only push Filipino workers to migrate through illegal means. "The experience of other countries like Indonesia, that have instituted bans on their nationals similar to that threatened by President Duterte, is that such bans do not end these abuses," she said. "Instead people desperate to work still migrate, but through unsafe and unregulated channels, leaving the more exposed to abuse and tr...

Published  January 25, 2018 2:05pm  By LUCKY MAE F. QUILAO Filipino workers in Kuwait welcomed the Philippine government's decision to suspend the deployment of newly hired OFWs to the Gulf country following incidents of abuses, but said it should also look into the "negligence" on the part of recruitment agencies. "Ang mapang-abuso talaga dito ay ang mga agencies na pagkatapos i-deploy sa mga employer [ay] wala nang pakialam kahit binubugbog na ang mga katulong at nagkakasakit," said Geneveve Villarino via Messenger. "Dapat sa kanila ay ipasara." Villarino, who has worked in Kuwait for two years, said she knew of incidents where Filipino household service workers (HSWs) are "sold" by their employers to their friends, even to those living in another country, making the OFW an illegal worker. "Madalas nangyayari iyan lalo na kapag lumagpas na ng three or five months na nasa employer. Hindi ka na kasi puwedeng ...

Published  January 29, 2018 12:29pm  President Rodrigo Duterte's threat to stop the deployment of Filipino workers to the Middle East due to the reported cases of abuse may do "more harm than good," the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. "Such a ban would likely do more harm than good, forcing workers to take greater risks to seek overseas employment while cutting off a critical source of income for families in the Philippines," said HRW researcher Rothna Begum in a statement. Begum said a deployment ban will not end abuses and only push Filipino workers to migrate through illegal means. "The experience of other countries like Indonesia, that have instituted bans on their nationals similar to that threatened by President Duterte, is that such bans do not end these abuses," she said. "Instead people desperate to work still migrate, but through unsafe and unregulated channels, leaving the more exposed to abuse and tr...

Published  January 26, 2018 3:16pm  Saying Filipino workers in Kuwait are cared for by their employers, a Kuwaiti official has described the Philippine government's decision to suspend the deployment of OFWs there as an "unjustifiable fuss." "The Filipino workers enjoy comfortable conditions that guarantee their rights regardless of the recent unjustifiable fuss," said Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, as  reported by Kuwait News Agency . He said the expatriate community of Kuwait can testify to the "care and stability" enjoyed by foreign workers there. The Philippine government suspended the deployment of newly hired Filipino workers to Kuwait amid cases of abuses and pending the investigation on the deaths of seven workers. President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that he may ban OFW deployment to Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries if Filipino workers continue to experience abuse at the hands of thei...

Published  January 25, 2018 3:42pm  Mary Jane Veloso supporters hold Global Day of Action Filipino supporters of Mary Jane Veloso in different countries on Thursday held a "Global Day of Action" to urge the Court of Appeals (CA) to allow her to give her deposition against her alleged recruiters in the Philippines. Protests and solidarity actions were held simultaneously in Hong Kong, Italy, Canada, Japan, Australia, Canada, US, and London to send the message to the CA, according to pro-OFW group Migrante Philippines. The CA has overturned an earlier ruling by a Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court allowing Veloso, 33, to testify against Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao on the grounds that she must be in the Philippines to give her deposition. Veloso said it was Sergio who duped her into bringing illegal drugs...

Published  January 25, 2018 1:53pm  By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News Relatives and supporters of Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso on Thursday staged a rally outside the Court of Appeals (CA) urging the tribunal to allow her to testify against her recruiters from her jail cell in Indonesia. Veloso’s mother, Celia, joined members of Migrante International in asking the CA 11th Division to reverse its decision that set aside the Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court’s ruling to allow Veloso to testify against alleged recruiters Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao. The group submitted a letter addressed to CA Presiding Justice Romeo Barza. Attached to the letter is a petition written and reportedly signed by thousands of Veloso’s supporters. “We urge you to let Mary Jane have her equal opportunity to testify before the judge as you afford Sergio and Lacalinao their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Let the light of justice prevail b...

Published  January 25, 2018 1:46pm  A former Filipina domestic helper was arrested in India for allegedly smuggling cocaine for a Brazilian drug cartel, according to New Indian Express reports. The reports identified the suspect as Jonna de Torres. She was nabbed by the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) for allegedly smuggling 4.7 kilograms of cocaine from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to the Nedumbassery airport at Kochi in early January. Torres got the attention of authorities after she was seen waiting for someone "in a suspicious manner" before she passed through immigration, according to  one report . Another  report  said NCB found out later that Torres worked in Hong Kong as a domestic helper. She visited Brazil for five days in 2015 and made her way to India for the first time on the day she was arrested. She admitted to smuggling drugs several times in the past, earning $2,000 to $4,000 per trip, before a Brazillian drug cartel hired her ...

Published  January 25, 2018 12:05pm  A Filipino couple based in Hong Kong is seeking help to send the body of their daughter to the Philippines after their child died due to a rare congenital condition, according to  a report on South China Morning Post . Warlito and JB Taleon, through their employer, created a  GoFundMe page  for two-year-old Harriet Espanola, who passed away due to seizures from TORCH Syndrome. "JB and Warlito are now facing the unimaginable. To assist them through this dark time we would like to offer our support by rallying together as a community and helping to raise funds which will allow them to take their precious baby home to the Philippines where she can finally rest in peace," the GoFundMe page read. "Please consider a donation to relieve the financial burden from a wonderful pair of hard working domestic helpers." Harriet Sumner, the couple's employer, said TORCH is a group of infectious diseases that ca...

Kuwait has faced criticism over its "kafala" system for foreign workers which has been likened to a form of bonded labour (Photo: AFP/Yasser Al-Zayyat) 20 Jan 2018 07:59PM Share this content Bookmark MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte has banned Philippine citizens from travelling to Kuwait to work following reports of widespread abuse and exploitation, his spokesman said Saturday (Jan 20). Duterte ordered the ban after reports emerged about the deaths of several Filipina women in the Gulf state, his spokesman Harry Roque said. "In line with his presidential pronouncement, Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello has ordered the suspension of the deployment of workers to Kuwait," Roque told reporters. "There is really excessive suffering over there," Roque said, adding that the ban was "long overdue". An estimated 10 million Filipinos work overseas and the money they send home is a major pillar of the Philippine economy. ...

Published  January 24, 2018 1:31pm  Updated  January 24, 2018 3:53pm President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday appealed to Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries to treat Filipino workers "as human beings" amid widespread reports of abuses, with some resulting in deaths. "Can I ask you now just to treat my countrymen as human beings with dignity," Duterte, who is bound for New Delhi for the ASEAN-India Special Commemorative Summit, said during his pre-departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.  Duterte's statement was met with applause from those present in the event. “I do not want to fight with you. We are poor, we may need your help, but we will not do it at the expense of the dignity of the Filipino.” Before Duterte made the remark, he acknowledged the presence of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who will join him in India. “I hope I am not committing a diplomatic faux pas,” hesaid. He also re...