KAKAMMPI News

June 25, 2019   By Christian D. Supnad   People's Journal THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is reminding the public to be vigilant against online banking and mobile text scams. During the launching of Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay, BSP San Fernando Branch bank officer Ma. Lourdes Laconsay warned the public to ensure that they are visiting official bank websites before online cash transactions to avoid being deceived. “We want to remind everyone to make sure you are engaging online bank transactions with the legit website because we have received reports of this scam wherein the savings in their account are being stolen,” Laconsay stressed. She also advised the public not to believe in mobile text messages informing them that they have won in a raffle draw and asking about their personal information.   Laconsay said that some of these fraudulent acts are using the name of BSP in order to easily fool the public. “If you did not join...

June 25, 2019   By Hector Lawas   People's Journal Health Secretary Francisco Duque yesterday vowed to cooperate in the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) probe into the multibillion-peso bogus claims paid by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to dialysis treatment centers. Duque, who sits as chairman of the PhilHealth board, made the commitment as he met with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and NBI Director Dante Gierran in the Department of Justice (DoJ) early yesterday morning. “Secretary Duque requested the meeting to express his willingness and readiness, as PhilHealth chair, to cooperate with and extend assistance to the NBI in the conduct of its expanded investigation of alleged ghost claims filed with PhilHealth,” Guevarra said. The DoJ chief welcomed Duque’s cooperation, which would allow NBI probers access to documents from PhilHealth relevant to the controversy. “The NBI will first examine the relev...

Published  June 23, 2019 4:27pm  Children of overstaying Filipino workers in Israel will be allowed to complete their school year, which will be completed by the end of the month, the Isreali government said Sunday. "Driven by humanitarian consideration, Population Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA) allows the children of the overstaying workers who are enrolled in schools to stay in the country until the end of the school year in Israel at the end of June," the Embassy of the State of Israel said in an emailed statement. The statement comes after Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that around  100 Filipina workers and their children will be deported  for lack of legal documents. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday appealed to the Israeli government to treat overstaying Filipinos in a " humane and sensitive manner ," as children may be involved. "The State of Israel recognizes and appreciates the contribution o...

MANILA BULLETIN 0 SHARES Share it! Published  June 24, 2019, 12:27 PM By Jeffrey Damicog  The whistleblowers in the “ghost dialysis” scam have asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to place them under the Witness Protection Program (WPP). President Rodrigo Roa Duterte ordered the NBI to arrest the owners of WellMed Dialysis Center involved in the alleged “ghost dialysis” scam. The Well Med Dialysis Center in Novaliches, Quezon City. (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “They already applied for admission into the program and its being evaluated for consideration,” said National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) spokesman Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin. Meanwhile, charges have already been filed against WellMed Dialysis Center owner Bryan Christopher Sy and the two whistleblowers–former WellMed employees Edwin Roberto and Liezel Aileen De Leon–before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) for 17 counts of estafa through falsi...

June 21, 2019   By Cristina Lee-Pisco   People's Journal THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) appealed to the Israeli government to treat the overstaying Filipinos humanely even as the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv is coordinating with the Population and Border Authority (PIBA) to facilitate the repatriation of overstaying Filipinos and their families. This developed following reports received by the DFA on the scheduled deportation of Filipino workers and their children from Israel. PIBA will provide repatriation tickets to those who are endorsed by the Embassy. While the Philippines respects Israeli laws, the DFA reiterated its request for the Israeli government to treat overstaying Filipinos in a humane and sensitive manner, since children may be involved. Likewise, the DFA calls on Filipinos in Israel to observe the host country’s laws. The DFA stands ready to provide the necessary assistance to affected Filipinos, and is working ...

June 19, 2019   By Lee Ann Ducusin   People's Journal THE Department of Labor and Employment has announced that the Philippines may start to deploy Filipino workers to Japan in the next two months. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said there has been a delay in the deployment of Filipino workers due to additional requirements such as language proficiency and skills upgrading. Bello announced in March that Filipino workers may share more than a third of the 350,000 available jobs that Japan will open to foreign nationals in April with the effectivity of a law allowing new residence status to foreign workers. He said skilled Filipino workers are among the preferred nationals in Japan with the potential of cornering more than 100,000 fresh job openings in the country’s Asian neighbor. “Our workers may get at least 30 percent of jobs available to foreign nationals,” the labor chief said. To govern the deployment of “specified skil...

June 15, 2019   By Lee Ann Ducusin   People's Journal THE Department of Labor and Employment is negotiating with the Russian government regarding a possible deal to protect Filipinos in the host country, most of them household service workers and nannies. Earlier, OFWs in Russia had expressed their support for the move of Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to forge a labor agreement between the two countries, which she raised during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “The proposed labor agreement between the Philippines and Russia for the protection of overseas Filipino workers is an ongoing process. Talks are continuing. We are looking at a simple but an implementable instrument that observes the migration regime of both countries,” the DoLE said. That solution is a “migration regime,” it pointed out adding: “Migration regime would mean our laws and regulations as well as that of Russia. We have ways of documenting our overseas Fi...

June 13, 2019   By Cristina Lee-Pisco   People's Journal THE  Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said no Filipino was injured when a missile hit the Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on June 12. Through the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and  Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, the DFA advised Filipinos in Saudi Arabia to exercise caution and remain vigilant in light of a missile attack that hit the Abha International Airport. Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto said no Filipino was injured during the attack and the Embassy and the Consulate General continue to monitor the situation. In an advisory posted at the Embassy’s Facebook page, the members of the Filipino community are advised to keep a vigilant watch on potential threats to their security and to continue to abide by the security measures and protocols established by the Saudi government, as well as the country’s laws, rules...

ABS-CBN News Posted at  Jun 24 2019 11:30 AM Share Save Facebook Twitter LinkedIn BEIJING - China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said on Monday that China will not allow the Group of 20 nations to discuss the Hong Kong issue at its summit this week. Millions of people demonstrated on the streets of Hong Kong this month against a bill that would allow people to be extradited to the mainland to face trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party. It triggered the most violent protests in decades when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds. The extradition bill and police reaction to the protests drew international criticism from rights groups. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump will meet at the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka this week amid heightened trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. "What I can tell you for sure is that G20 will not disc...

Published  June 23, 2019 5:31pm  A 33-year-old Filipino-American was shot to his death last week while driving on the freeway in Milpitas, California, USA. GMA News' Balitanghali Sunday report identified the victim as Matthew Rios, 33, who was shot by a still unidentified gunman. Earlier reports indicated that California cops found Rios's corpse inside his vehicle Monday night (California time). California police are investigating the incident.  —LBG, GMA News

Published  June 23, 2019 4:27pm  Children of overstaying Filipino workers in Israel will be allowed to complete their school year, which will be completed by the end of the month, the Isreali government said Sunday. "Driven by humanitarian consideration, Population Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA) allows the children of the overstaying workers who are enrolled in schools to stay in the country until the end of the school year in Israel at the end of June," the Embassy of the State of Israel said in an emailed statement. The statement comes after Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that around  100 Filipina workers and their children will be deported  for lack of legal documents. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday appealed to the Israeli government to treat overstaying Filipinos in a " humane and sensitive manner ," as children may be involved. "The State of Israel recognizes and appreciates the contribution o...

Published  June 22, 2019 9:47am  The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday asked the Israeli government to "treat overstaying Filipinos in a humane and sensitive manner, since children may be involved." In a  statement , the DFA said it respects Israeli laws and it has received reports on the scheduled deportation of overstaying Filipino workers, including their children, from Israel. The DFA said the Philippine government is coordinating with Israeli authorities regarding the repatriation of Filipinos. "Philippine Embassy in Spain is already coordinating with the Population and Border Authority (PIBA) to facilitate the repatriation of overstaying Filipinos and their families. PIBA will provide repatriation tickets to those who are endorsed by the Embassy," the DFA said. The agency also called on Filipinos in Israel "to observe the host country's laws." The DFA reiterated that it is ready to extend assistance to affe...

Published  June 21, 2019 9:35pm  Hundreds of overseas Filipino workers are seeking the government's help for repatriation back to the Philippines after they were allegedly victimized by illegal recruiters and are now living in cramped conditions at the consulate in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to a 24 Oras report by Susan Enriquez, the tight conditions were made worse as the OFWs, mostly undocumented domestics, had to share a single bathroom. Several of the distressed OFWs had escaped employers who had maltreated them, while others were turned over to the consulate. Among these workers was "Lisa," who was able to return to the Philippines last May through the assistance of the Blas Ople Center. Lisa said a certain Melanie Lopez, whom she only got to know through Facebook, had allegedly duped her into taking a supposed UAE job. "Ni-refer ako ni Melanie Lopez kay Ronald Brian de Villa na siya daw pong agent niya.....

  May 17, is the global observance of the "International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia,” commemorated in 136 countries worldwide. In the Philippines, by virtue of a legislative measure forwarded by the House of Representatives Committee on Women and Gender Equality, May 17 every year will be the "National Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia." Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia refer to prejudice or hatred of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals and/or transgenders. The international global movement recalls the day when the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminated homosexuality from its roster of mental disorders in 1990. While in some countries, homosexuality is prohibited and people are punished and even killed on the basis of their sexual characteristics, in Asia and elsewhere around the world, the Philippines is praised for being one of the most gay-friendly nations. In the 2013 Pew Research Center survey of 39 countries, it ranke...

PhilHealth maintains that there is no conflict of interest in the lease contract for office space of PhilHealth Regional Office I with the Educational and Medical Development Corporation as the decision-making in procurement implementation rests solely with the PhilHealth management and does not pass through the PhilHealth Board of Directors. Moreover, the said procurement was in accordance with the process and procedures set by the Government Procurement Reform Act or RA 9184.             Although PhilHealth is besieged by issues that have either been long resolved, or have been endorsed to the proper government agencies, we continue to relentlessly fulfill our fiduciary duty to protect the national health insurance funds and serve the Filipinos.  

PhilHealth cries foul over and vehemently denounces the slanted report which came out today in the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the fake PhilHealth Official Receipts (PORs) issued by liaison officers of recruitment agencies to a number of OFW members supposedly for their premium contributions. PhilHealth acted promptly on the issue in order to penalize those who are guilty in particular; and protect the National Health Insurance Fund in general.             There were considerable efforts exerted by PhilHealth in response to this duplicity. Mr. Dennis S. Mas, then Regional Vice-President for NCR and now Senior Vice President for Management Services, spearheaded calls for investigation to uncover the modus. His endorsement proved crucial to the current undertakings of PhilHealth against these forged receipts. In November 2015, then PhilHealth President and CEO Alexander Padilla requested the National Bureau of Inves...

More than 20 local government units (LGUs) have anti-discrimination ordinances that offer protection and encourage respect for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations in the Philippines. In Luzon, these LGUs are Cavite province and the cities of Angeles, Antipolo, Baguio, Batangas, Candon, Dagupan, Mandaluyong, Puerto Princesa, Quezon and Vigan. In the Visayas region, ordinances are being implemented in Iloilo province and the cities of Bacolod and Cebu. In Mindanao, the same is done in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Dinagat Island as well as the cities of Butuan and Davao. A few more towns and barangays across the country have their own ordinances that seek to uphold the rights of LGBTs. The Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum), the advocacy organization that works in communities to advance reproductive and sexual rights, lauded the local government initiatives in making conditions better for LGBTs. Chi Laigo-Vallido, director f...