KAKAMMPI News

January 26, 2019   By Jun I. Legaspi   People's Journal THE Social Security System (SSS) has urged individually-paying members, including self-employed, voluntary members, non-working spouses, and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), to provide and update their contact information for them to receive their Payment Reference Number (PRN) via text message. The Real-Time Processing of Contributions (RTPC) program, which requires the generation of PRN before paying, instantly validates, transmits and acknowledges contribution payment with the member's record in SSS. Upon payment of their contribution using PRN, members will receive notifications via SMS that their contributions have been posted. “We strongly urge our members who are not yet registered in the My.SSS facility so they could generate their PRN online, to provide SSS their contact information for the issuance of PRNs via SMS. This way, they will be able to pay their monthly contributions a...

January 26, 2019   By Cristina Lee-Pisco   People's Journal THE European Union (EU) congratulated the Philippine government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Commission on Elections for the generally peaceful conduct of the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite on January 21. The second phase will be held on February 6. The creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao is a significant milestone in the history of the Philippines, the EU said in a statement. The European Union said it has been a staunch supporter of the Mindanao Peace Process throughout the years, expressing its political support, encouraging all sides to pursue a peaceful solution and providing substantial financial support for the process. The EU is prepared to continue to support the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law and to work closely with the relevant stakeholders towards long-lasting peace, development and prosperity for the ben...

By   Alvin Murcia  - January 28, 2019 02:50 AM 60 Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go. Migrant workers are close to the heart of former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go. That is why the ex-Cabinet official said he will prioritize the establishment of a Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (DoFW) should he win in this year’s senatorial race. In a media interview in Manila, Go said President Rodrigo Duterte wants him to solve the problems that affect the OFW if he becomes a senator. “The department is like a one-stop shop for renewing passports, getting birth certificates, complaints about breach of contracts, repatriations and even remittance issues,” Go said. Migrant workers, he pointed out, waste so much time renewing their passports and obtaining other documents because they still have to go to different agencies instead of having bonding time with their families. Aside from these, the DoFW will also focu...

Reuters Posted at  Jan 28 2019 12:42 AM  | Updated as of  Jan 28 2019 10:30 AM PANAMA CITY -- ( UPDATED ) Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the twin bombings that killed at least 20 people during a Catholic Church service in the Philippines as a "terrorist attack" and prayed that God would convert the hearts of those who carried it out. The attack also wounded 81 and was one of the deadliest in recent years in a region long plagued by instability. Francis, speaking at a hospice for AIDS sufferers on the last day of his trip here, expressed his "firm condemnation of this act of violence that causes more mourning in the Christian community. I pray for the dead and the injured. May the Lord, prince of peace, convert the hearts of the violent ones." There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police suspect the bombings were the work of Abu Sayyaf, a militant group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and is notorious for its bombings a...

Published  January 24, 2019 3:23pm  By LUCKY MAE F. QUILAO Amid the usual inconveniences and doubts over the integrity of Philippine elections, some Filipinos abroad are still willing to go out of their way to vote in the coming May 2019 midterm polls, through the overseas absentee voting (OAV) system. "I will definitely vote in the upcoming elections. It is one of the many rights that I always exercise —my right of suffrage. I always maintain that responsibility to vote even if I am out ot the country," said Rodemel Mar Maceda, 31, clinical auditor at Care National Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In an online correspondence with GMA News Online, Maceda said he had even asked his employer for a few hours off to vote in the last presidential polls. "May pasok kasi kami that time. So nagpaalam ako sa quality improvement director namin na sasaglit ako sa embassy para bumoto," said Maceda, who is also the executive board member of the Fil...

Published  January 27, 2019 9:25pm  An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Dubai jumped from the third floor of a building where she claimed she was being held against her will by her employment agency. In a Sunday report on GMA 7 news program "24 Oras Weekend", the Filipina worker pleaded for help so she could return to the Philippines. "Sa mama ko po, Ma, tulungan niyo naman ako dito para agad akong makauwi dahil gusto ko na ring gumaling. Hirap na hirap po ako dito. 'Yung mga anak gusto ko na ring makita," the worker said tearfully. The Filipina worker arrived in Dubai last December, and was picked up from the airport and brought immediately to her agency. She was promised that she would have an employer. But she claimed that weeks passed with no such patron, and she was being held captive by her agency without food. "Isang linggo po ako doon - walang pagkain, kinukulong po kami," she said. "Tumalon po ako sa...

Published  January 24, 2019 9:52am  Thousands of Filipino workers are needed in a number of countries in Asia and in Europe, the Philippine  Overseas Employment Administration said Thursday. Citing information from POEA, GMA News' "Unang Balita" said that Saudi Arabia needs 1,000 women specialist nurses; Abu Dhabi needs 150 emergency medical technicians; Germany needs 400 nurses; and Poland over 1,000 skilled and non-skilled workers. POEA said applicants should make sure they only deal with POEA-licensed and -accredited recruitment agencies. Meanwhile, the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) said that salaries and working conditions in those countries are good. For more information, visit  POEA website .  —LBG, GMA News

Published  January 24, 2019 8:48am  A young Filipino was arrested in San Jose, California, for allegedly killing his own mother, according to a report on Unang Balita on Thursday. The suspect was identified as Michael Ablaza, who is accused of stabbing his mother Maribeth to death before calling 911 himself. Ablaza reportedly told 911 that he was the one who discovered his mother's body, but investigation pointed to him as the likely suspect. Ablaza is now under the custody of the police.  —KBK, GMA News

Published  January 28, 2019 10:49am  By JOVILAND RITA, GMA News Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde on Monday said the blown Jolo church had been under threat even before the twin blasts last weekend. “According  sa pari rito,  madalas na raw yung threat naman dito. Hindi lang ito yung umpisa. Ang sabi nila pang pito o pangwalo na ito,” Albayalde said on a live feed video on his Facebook page. The PNP chief was in the Jolo bomb site, where 20 people died from the blasts. Albayaldesaid that there were incidents of grenade-throwing and assassination of church helpers and priests in the church. “So talagang under threat itong mga pari rito ever since,” he said. Albayalde said investigators are still determining the explosives used in the blasts, but they are looking into the possibility that the devices could have been electronically-detonated. “Ang hinala nila mostly, probably cellphone detonated i...

ABS-CBN News Posted at  Jan 13 2019 01:06 PM Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) from Kuwait arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila on February 12, 2018.  Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News  MANILA - A measure pushing for mandatory social security coverage for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has been transmitted to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature, a senator said Sunday.  Land and sea-based OFWs below 60 years would be covered by the Social Security System (SSS) once Senate Bill 1753 is signed into law, said its author and sponsor, Sen. Richard Gordon.  The move may help expand the number of OFWs with SSS coverage to 2.5 million from the current 500,000, Gordon said in a statement.  This would generate P16 billion in premium collections in a year, which would be able to help extend the fund life of the SSS, agency president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Dooc earlier said.  It would ...

Jess Diaz ,  Delon Porcalla  (The Philippine Star) - January 23, 2019 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will ask the bicameral conference committee to provide a P100-million fund for acquisition of land that will be distributed to more than 6,000 urban poor members. Arroyo made the request after the Department of Public Works and Highways, which is in charge of acquiring land for poor families at the 422-hectare national government center, informed her that the amount was not included in the proposed P3.757 trillion national budget for this year. “This is very consistent with what I said when we left for the Christmas holidays that we already passed many good laws, including my own law in 2003, that’s why they are now owners of their property,” she said. “What is important now is to make sure that they are well implemented.” The DPWH reported that while the beneficiaries were given lots as a result of the enactment of Re...

(philstar.com) - January 24, 2019 - 6:34pm MANILA, Philippines —The Expanded Maternity Leave bill has been transmitted to the office of President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature. The Senate website showed that the proposed measure was referred to the Office of the President on Monday, January 21. During the bicameral committee, lawmakers added five more days to the original 100-day maternity bill. This is 45 days more than the previous 60 days.The Senate and the House of Representatives  ratified  the 105-day Expanded Maternity Leave bill in October last year. The bill also allows solo mothers to avail of an additional 15 days, allowing them a total of 120 days leave. It also doubles the allowed paternity leave to 14 days, from the current seven days. If the president does not act on the transmitted draft of the proposed measure within 30 days from receipt, it would lapse into law. In October last year, Sen. Risa Hontiveros hailed the bill'...

Patricia Lourdes Viray  (philstar.com) - January 22, 2019 - 3:22pm MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised Filipinos abroad, especially those in the United States, to follow immigration rules and to avoid overstaying in their host countries. This statement comes after the US Department of Homeland Security announced that the Philippines will  no longer be eligible for H-2A and H2B visas , which are issued to foreign workers seeking agricultural and non-agricultural work, respectively. "The Department issues this reminder in view of the decision by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to remove the Philippines from its list of countries eligible for the H-2A and H-2B visas," DFA spokesperson Elmer Cato said. Washington noted that the Philippines has a high H-2B overstay rate and raised concerns of rising human trafficking. The US also removed Manila from the H-2A visa program due to such concerns. The DFA noted the co...

Jess Diaz  (The Philippine Star) - January 25, 2019 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — The Universal Health Care (UHC) Bill, which aims to expand the government’s free health insurance program to millions of poor Filipinos, has been sent to President Duterte for his signature. Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said yesterday Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier affixed his signature to the bill and that it was transmitted to Malacañang after she signed it on Monday. Arroyo said she is proud of the bill because it would mean universal and more efficient health coverage for every Filipino.   “This bill will further strengthen the delivery of health care services to every Filipino and I am honored to be a part of it,” she said.?The House committee on health, chaired by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, and her Senate counterpart, Joseph Victor Ejercito, drafted and endorsed the bill.  “With sufficient funding, the expanded program aims to extend free he...

In this Oct. 19, 2018 photo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. discusses matters with the Filipino community during a gathering at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels, Belgium. Presidential Photo Patricia Lourdes Viray  (philstar.com) - January 24, 2019 - 10:55am MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' top diplomat blamed a Philippine labor attaché for the decision of the United States to remove Filipinos from its eligibility list of temporary working visas. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier announced that it would no longer issue H-2A and H-2B visas to new Filipino workers for a year due to high overstay rates and human trafficking concerns. In Twitter post on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. pointed to a female labor attaché "who denounced work/study J1 visas as slavery."The H-2A and H-2B visas are issued to foreign workers in the US for temporary agricultural and non-agricultural services, ...

BBQ Dreamz operator Lee Johnson, a Filipino who moved from the Philippines to the UK, and Irish partner Sinead Campbell impressed investors in BBC’s reality show ‘My Million Pound Menu’ with their signature lechon kawali, sticky adobo chicken wings and vegan adobo-glazed crispy cauliflower and sesame green beans. File Pia Lee-Brago  (The Philippine Star) - January 25, 2019 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — A London-based Filipino street food operator has secured a £350,000 investment after impressing and winning the admiration of a panel of investors in a British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reality show.  BBQ Dreamz obtained a hefty investment in the first episode in the second series of BBC Two’s “My Million Pound Menu,” a reality show that aims to give emerging businesses a big boost in the competitive food industry. BBQ Dreamz is founded by Lee Johnson, a Filipino who moved from the Philippines to the United Kingdom when he was eight, and his Irish p...