KAKAMMPI News

Kyodo News Posted at  Sep 30 2019 12:24 AM LinkedIn Taiwanese march in the streets outside the parliament in Taipei during a demonstration to support Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests on September 29, 2019.  Sam Yeh, AFP TAIPEI - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei and four other major Taiwanese cities on Sunday as part of a global "anti-totalitarianism rally" in support of Hong Kong protesters who have been demanding greater democracy for the last four months. Similar rallies were held in over 40 other cities around the world including Berlin, Sydney and Tokyo. In the capital Taipei, organizers said more than 100,000 showed up at a march that began outside the legislative compound and also ended there. Braving heavy rain, participants chanted "Free Hong Kong" and "Taiwan with Hong Kong," with many holding placards critical of Beijing's proposal to use the "one country, two systems" formul...

ABS-CBN News Posted at  Sep 30 2019 12:50 PM President Duterte has appointed former Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson as the new Deputy Executive Director of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, according to a new list of presidential appointees from Malacañang. Joyce Balancio @joycebalancio JUST IN: Dating PCOO Asec. Mocha Uson, inatalaga bilang Deputy Administrator ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration @ DZMMTeleRadyo 12:38 PM - Sep 30, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Joyce Balancio's other Tweets Uson was among the celebrities that heavily campaigned for Duterte in 2016. She was later appointed communications assistant secretary in May 2017 but resigned last year after a string of gaffes and controversies. She ran as first nominee of the AA Kasosyo party-list, which Uson said aims to help Filipinos, particularly overseas workers, become successful entrepreneurs. The pa...

Published  September 29, 2019 10:19pm RIYADH - The long-time personal bodyguard of Saudi Arabia's King Salman was shot dead by a friend while at a private residence in the western city of Jeddah, in what the state broadcaster described as "a personal dispute". State media did not give details about the row that sparked the shooting on Saturday night of Major General Abdul Aziz al-Faghm, who was at another friend's home in Jeddah's al-Shatee district at the time, several km (miles) north of the palace where the king usually spends much of the summer. A police statement, published by state news agency SPA on Sunday, said Faghm had a verbal exchange with Mamdouh bin Meshaal Al Ali, a man described as his friend, who then retrieved a firearm from outside and opened fire. The shooter refused to surrender to police who had surrounded the site and who shot him dead, the statement said. Another Saudi, a Filipino and five members of the secu...

Published  September 29, 2019 10:19pm RIYADH - The long-time personal bodyguard of Saudi Arabia's King Salman was shot dead by a friend while at a private residence in the western city of Jeddah, in what the state broadcaster described as "a personal dispute". State media did not give details about the row that sparked the shooting on Saturday night of Major General Abdul Aziz al-Faghm, who was at another friend's home in Jeddah's al-Shatee district at the time, several km (miles) north of the palace where the king usually spends much of the summer. A police statement, published by state news agency SPA on Sunday, said Faghm had a verbal exchange with Mamdouh bin Meshaal Al Ali, a man described as his friend, who then retrieved a firearm from outside and opened fire. The shooter refused to surrender to police who had surrounded the site and who shot him dead, the statement said. Another Saudi, a Filipino and five members of the secu...

Published  September 29, 2019 12:29pm Department of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III warns  recruitment agencies against sending minors abroad to work by faking the victims' ages. Bello's stern warning came after he got information that one of the 83 repatriated OFWs early last week from the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was only 17 years old. "Yung agency na nag-deploy sa minor ay ipapakansela natin ang kanilang lisensya dahil sa illegal na pagpapadala ng isang household service worker na underage, biro mo mahigit 15 years old lang yung pinadala nya.  Maliwanag na kalokohan itong ginawa ng agency na eto, walang karapatan na maging agency yan walang karapatang magkaroon ng lisensya dapat ikansela agad," Bello said. According to the victim (identified only as Tanya) she was only over 15 years old when she was sent to Saudi Arabia to work as household service worker. She claimed she was made to work for a ruthless employer, who did not pay her ...

Published  September 28, 2019 4:54pm By HYONHEE SHIN and TERJE SOLSVIK, Reuters SEOUL/OSLO - A fire that spread across two oil tankers in a South Korean port injured 10 people on Saturday, coastguard and fire officials said, adding the blaze had largely been put out. An explosion occurred on the Stolt Groenland, a 25,000-tonne, Cayman Island-flagged oil tanker, at the southern port of Ulsan at around 10:50 a.m. (0150 GMT), a coastguard official said. There were 25 sailors aboard, including Russians and Filipinos. The fire spread to another oil tanker docked nearby, the 9,000-tonne, South Korean-flagged Bow Dalian, with 21 aboard, he said. All of the sailors on both ships were rescued, but 10 people, most of whom were workers at the terminal, have been wounded so far, a fire official told Reuters. Nine of them were South Korean, including one in a critical condition, and the other was from India. "The fire has largely been put out but we are checki...

Published  September 27, 2019 5:35pm By  MICHAELA DEL CALLAR A Filipino crewman was among the 23 sailors of a British-flagged oil tanker released by the government of Iran after more than two months in captivity, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday. "Ambassador to Iran Wilfredo Santos conveyed to Iranian authorities the appreciation of the Philippine government for releasing the said Filipino crew member, who is the Second Officer of the Stena Impero, and ensuring the safety and well-being of all crew members of the Stena Impero," the DFA said in a statement. MT Stena Impero was captured by Iranian authorities on the evening of July 19 while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said the United Kingdom-registered oil tanker was in an accident with an Iranian fishing boat and ignored its distress call. The vessel was reportedly boarded by unidentified intruders following an approach by small crafts and a helicopter while transiting the S...

Published  September 25, 2019 6:12pm The government of Qatar on Wednesday opened its first visa center in Pasay City to facilitate visa and employment applications of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) seeking jobs in the Gulf state. Visa applicants can go to the center to complete their medical test and biometric enrolment requirements within a shorter period, the Qatar Visa Center said in a statement. “Once the initial visa approval is issued by Qatar authorities, applicants can complete the contracts digitally, enrol their biometrics, undergo mandatory medical tests all under one roof,” the QVC said. Applicants will no longer have to wait for the process to be completed in Qatar, which takes weeks. The QVC said that according to Qatar officials, the Qatar Visa Center will make it obligatory for workers to sign work contracts and undergo medical tests. During the inauguration, director of the center's Visa Support Service Department Major Abdulla...

September 15, 2019   By Ryan Ponce Pacpaco   People's Journal THE number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) diagnosed as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive is likely to surpass the 7,000 mark this year, the ACTS-OFW Coalition of Organizations said on Sunday. “The cumulative number of OFWs confirmed as HIV-positive could reach more than 7,200 by the end of the year at the rate new cases are being discovered,” ACTS-OFW chairman Aniceto Bertiz III, a former congressman, said. From January to May this year alone, a total of 444 newly confirmed HIV-positive OFWs were reported, up 21 percent from the 369 recorded in the same period in 2018, according to Bertiz. “All told, the total number of OFWs found living with HIV has reached 6,699 since 1984, when the government first began passive surveillance of the virus,” Bertiz said. “We would urge returning OFWs who suspect that they may have acquired HIV while working abroad to get themselve...

September 13, 2019   By Ryan Ponce Pacpaco   People's Tonight CASH remittances from migrant Filipino workers based in Qatar are likely to nosedive by 20 percent, or $200 million (P10.4 billion), this year due to Doha’s lingering diplomatic crisis, the ACTS-OFW Coalition of Organizations said on Friday. “Filipino workers in Qatar used to send home via bank wire an average of $1 billion every year, but that amount could drop to just $800 million this year,” said ACTS-OFW chairman Aniceto Bertiz III, a former congressman. Cash transfers from Filipino workers in Qatar already tumbled by 25.6 percent to just $392 million from January to June this year compared to $527 million in the same semester in 2018, Bertiz pointed out. “A considerable number of Filipinos workers in Qatar have been displaced after other Arab countries stopped doing business with Doha. This explains the drop in remittances,” said Bertiz. “We are hoping that Doha’s hosting of...

Published  September 25, 2019 7:46am LONDON - British police announced on Tuesday that they had arrested 23 people as part of a series of investigations into suspected people smuggling. The arrests were made between September 11 and 21, and included 11 individuals suspected of facilitating illegal crossings of the Channel —between France and England—in small boats. Among those being held are British, Iraqi and Iranian nationals, according to the interior ministry. "The organized crime groups behind the illegal attempts to cross the border, either by land or sea, are putting the lives of vulnerable people in serious danger for their own financial gain," said Steve Dann, director of the ministry's criminal and financial investigations. More than 80 people who entered Britain illegally on small boats have been returned to Europe. Border Force cutters are now patrolling the Channel, and equipment including CCTV and night goggles have been dep...

Published  September 24, 2019 4:06pm By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS, GMA News Mary Jane Veloso remains prohibited from testifying against her alleged traffickers as her lawyers near their potential last chance to show evidence against the couple who allegedly tricked her into smuggling drugs into Indonesia in 2010. The Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court set the last hearing for the prosecution to present its evidence for Thursday, September 26, said the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers' Edre Olalia, the private prosecutor and Veloso family lawyer. A death row inmate in Yogyakarta, Veloso is the "key witness" in the human trafficking and illegal recruitment case against Maria Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao. The trial court judge allowed her to testify from her prison cell and scheduled the taking of her deposition for April 2017, but was  blocked  by the Court of Appeals later that year, prompting state lawyers to elevate the case to the...

DURING DUTERTE'S VISIT Published  September 22, 2019 8:21am The Philippines and Russia will sign a bilateral agreement which will allow the deployment of Filipino household service workers to Russia, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Sunday. Bello said he will be part of the delegation of President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia in October. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said  Duterte will visit Russia on the first week of October  on the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "May lalagdaan kaming kasunduan, bilateral agreement tungkol sa domestic workers," the Labor secretary said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. Once the agreement has been signed, they will prepare the implementing rules and regulations to pave the way for the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Russia, he said. Bello added that no limit has been set for the number of household service workers required by Russia. "Wala naman pon...

Published  September 22, 2019 7:56am A total of 101 overseas Filipino workers who sought shelter at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will arrive on Monday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Sunday in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. Bello: Bukas may mga kababayan tayong dadating mula sa Riyadh, sila ay mga runaways at sila nasa 101 ang bilang.  https://t.co/Jl7zdrja0g — DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb)  September 21, 2019 Bello said the group includes runaways or those who escaped their employers as well as those whose contracts have already ended but lack the means to travel back home to the Philippines. "Responsibilidad ng OWWA [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] na tulungan na silang makauwi," the Labor secretary said. Meanwhile, Bello said the  Department of Labor and Employment has not yet received any report that there were Filipinos hurt or affected by the attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia ....

Published  September 22, 2019 6:49am Updated  September 22, 2019 7:54am Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Sunday said the Department of Labor and Employment has not yet received any report that there were Filipinos hurt or affected by the attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia. "Wala pang nakarating sa amin na report galing sa tatlong labor attaché namin—isa doon sa Jeddah, isa sa Riyadh at isa sa Dammam. Wala pa tayong kababayan na apektado doon sa nangyaring drone bombing sa Saudi Arabia," Bello said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. "Sana tuloy-tuloy na silang hindi maapektuhan at magpatuloy ang kanilang pagtatrabaho," he added. Earlier this month, the DOLE said the  government is ready to evacuate around 50,000 overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia  after the recent attacks on the country's oil sites.    Oil facilities of Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil firm, in Abqaiq and Khurais provinces were  att...

The Lilac Center for Public Interest, Inc., who had exposed the Hong Kong POLO online system deal that had prompted a DOLE investigation, yesterday accused the Hong Kong service provider of undermining the investigation and urged the DOLE to reprimand it. “We urge Secretary Bello III to draw the attention of Polaris Tools Ltd. for its reckless public statements that tend to cast doubt on the DOLE investigating panel and its ongoing probe,” Nicon F. Fameronag, president of the Lilac Center said in a press release. The Lilac Center’s call came after Jaime Deverall, Polaris Tools president, publicly cast doubts on the legitimacy of the DOLE probe, saying, in an interview with the South China Morning Post, that “There’s a combination of corrupt officials within the Department of Labour and Employment and employment agencies who have been profiteering off Filipino workers for decades . . .” Adding to this reckless and baseless comments is a statement of the corporate se...

September 22, 2019 | 11:25 pm Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Font Size   A   A   A PHILSTAR THE Legislative-Executive Coordinating Council (LECC) has identified the measures the legislature is prioritizing which are in line with the President’s legislative agenda, the House majority leader said Sunday. Representative Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez of Leyte’s first district said Congressional leaders and Cabinet officials agreed on the immediate approval of the fifth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law for government workers; the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers; the postponement of the May 2020 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to May 2023; and free legal assistance to the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. “Let’s wait the official communication from the Palace about the final list of priority legislative measures it will be submitting to Congress. This is just the initial list. In...