21st August 2012

7,000 OFWs in Jeddah seek repatriation Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on August 21, 2012, 8:10 pm (By Ronald O. Reyes, Source: www.manilachannel.com, 21 Aug 2012) At least 7,000 undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia continue seeking repatriation today, according to the report from migrant’s right group based in Middle East. The group also said OFWs need over 1.3-M Saudi rials (roughly equivalent to P14.5-M) for unpaid lease rental of their temporary shelter. The Philippine consulate started renting the shelter in Al-Mina hajj terminal sometime October 2010 when it started the mass repatriation of undocumented OFWs who have camped out under the Khandera bridge in Jeddah, according to Migrante-Middle East spokesperson John Leonard Monterona. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

22nd July 2012

PINOYS IN PARIS JOIN 'MIGRANTE MAGING NEGOSYANTE' BUSINESS WORKSHOP Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on July 22, 2012, 7:25 am (By GMANetwork, 22 July 2012) Overseas Filipino workers in France benefited from a recent seminar on business and investment opportunities organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center and the Philippine Embassy there. The seminar on "Business and Investment Opportunities in the Philippines for Overseas Filipinos - Migrante, Maging Negosyante" was held at the embassy last month, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

14th July 2012

DFA: 17 more OFWs due home from Syria this weekend Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on July 14, 2012, 9:46 pm (By GMA News, 14 July 2012) At least 17 more overseas Filipino workers are due to arrive home in two batches this weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday. In a news release, the DFA said two of the repatriated OFWs are to arrive Saturday on an Etihad Airlines flight (EY 424). The other 15 are to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 aboard an Emirates flight (EK-334) at 10:10 p.m. Of the 15 repatriates to arrive Sunday, 10 are from the Syrian capital Damascus, while the rest are from the coastal cities of Tartous and Latakia and the conflict-stricken city of Homs, it said. Last July 12, the DFA said seven other OFWs from Aleppo arrived home, their repatriation facilitated by the Embassy and the Philippine Honorary Consul. As of July 12, at least 1,775 Filipinos have been repatriated since the Philippine government started carrying out its mandatory repatriation plan for Syria in December 2011. Meanwhile, the DFA urged anew the families of Filipinos in Syria to provide its Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs (OUMWA) with information regarding their next-of-kin's location and contact details. They can call the OUMWA at (02) 834-4996 or (02) 834-3333. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

4th July 2012

Unknown disease kills 60 children in Cambodia: WHO Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on July 4, 2012, 8:55 am (By the World Health Organization through Y! News, 3 July 2012) An unidentified disease has killed 60 young children in Cambodia in three months, the World Health Organization said Tuesday as it raced to identify the cause. "The number of deaths reported to WHO is 60 cases and they have all been in young children," said Dr Nima Asgari, a public health specialist for the UN body in Cambodia, adding that the first casualties were reported in April. The WHO is currently working with the Cambodian Ministry of Health "to identify the cause and the route of spread of this disease", he said. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

1st May 2012

Migration is good Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on May 1, 2012, 6:12 am (By Tont La Vina, Manila Standard Today, 1 May 2012) I write this column Sunday evening of 29 April 2012 in the Fressciarossa, the fast train that connects major Italian cities. I had just come from a graduation ceremony in Turin of the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE) Program for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), a training program of the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG), the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSent), Associazione Pilipinas OFSPES (Overseas Filipinos Society for the Promotion of Economic Security), and Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI). It is supported by the Philippine Embassy to Italy, our Milan Consulate, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) officers in Italy. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

30th April 2012

Kuwait Filipinos top OAV globally Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on April 30, 2012, 6:41 am (By Michele Fe Santiago, Special to the Arab Times, 30 April 2012) Target exceeded: Philippine Embassy KUWAIT CITY, April 30: The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait ranks first in the total number of Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) registrants among the 94 Philippine posts across the globe, Dalidig Ibrahim Tanandato, the OAV Administering Officer at the Philippine Embassy, disclosed Monday. "We are pleased to announce that a total of 4,117 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Kuwait had registered for the OAV from the period of November 2, 2011 to April 24, 2012. This figure far exceeds the Embassy’s target of 3,453 for the six-month period. We are very happy that we have topped all other posts. This is a good indication that Filipinos in Kuwait are keen on exercising their right of suffrage," outlined Tanandato. He said included among the top 10 from November 2, 2011 to April 17, 2012 are the following Philippine posts: Los Angeles with 3,227 followed by Singapore 2, 849; Madrid 2,262; Rome 1,970; Hong Kong 1,923; London 1,819; Riyadh 1,744; Tel-Aviv 1,610 and Toronto 1,407. There are over 180,000 OFWs in Kuwait and about 60 per cent of these are working as Household Service Workers (HSWs), and not all employers allow their HSWs to go to the embassy and register for the OAV. "We hope to further increase the number of OAV registrants in Kuwait, hence, we are encouraging all Filipino organizations in Kuwait or those companies with a big number of Filipino workers to register during weekdays from Sunday to Thursday, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm,” urged Tanandato. He added that those who cannot register on weekdays due to their hectic work schedule may write to the embassy, stating the number of would-be registrants, date and time that they would want to go to the embassy. “They just have to coordinate with us so we can accommodate them. They must also bring with them a copy of their passport,” he explained. Tanandato stated that OFWs in Kuwait can register until October 31, 2012. The local and national elections in the Philippines will be held in May 2013. Filipinos abroad who have registered as Overseas Absentee Voters will be able to cast their votes and have their voices heard during the elections. "Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9189, otherwise known as “The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003,” all citizens of the Philippines abroad, not otherwise disqualified by law, at least eighteen (18) years of age on the day of the election, and who are registered overseas absentee voters with approved application to vote in absentia, may vote for Senators and Party-List Representatives,” cited Tanandato. He added that for this purpose, all qualified Filipinos citizens not registered as voters under Republic Act No. 8189, otherwise known as “The Voters Registration Act of 1996,” (the system of continuing registration) shall file an application for registration while those who are already registered under the said Act shall file an application for certification. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

10th March 2012

WHO IS JESSICA SANCHEZ? AMERICAN IDOL 2012 CONTESTANT BACKGROUND INFO Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on March 10, 2012, 7:26 pm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwRvF41ked0 2 days ago by Jenny McGrath Photo Credit: Michael Becker/FOX ©2012 Fox Broadcasting Co. Watch & LISTEN: http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/showbiz/2012/03/08/american-idol-whitney.hln http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwRvF41ked0 When 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez says she’s been singing her whole life, she means it. At 11, the Filipino-American appeared on America’s Got Talent, where she wowed with her cover of “I Surrender.” Five years later, she’s getting the chance to perform in front of the world again on American Idol Season 11. Though we didn’t see much of her before Vegas ­ when she sang “The Prayer” ­ what we’ve now seen of the San Diego resident makes us wonder where Idol had been hiding her. Jessica wowed the judges ­ and us ­ with her take on Jennifer Hudson's "I Love You I Do" in the Semifinals, which earned her a spot in the Top 13. For her Top 13 performances, Jessica took on a big song ­ Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" ­ and nailed it, according to the judges. Currently, Jessica is a high school student, hoping to ease the financial burdens of her unemployed mother with her singing career. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 1

29th January 2012

Fil-Cans condemn racist acts of Canada's neo-Nazi group Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on January 29, 2012, 3:30 pm (By Alex P. Vidal, Global Balita, 29 Jan 2012, 1430 hours) VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance, Philippine Women Centre of BC and SIKLAB for Migrant Workers will hold a “protest of all forms of racism” on Feb. 13, 2012 at 9 a.m. in front of the Vancouver Provincial Court on 222 Main St. The groups have condemned “the racist acts of neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour for setting a young Filipino man on fire while sleeping on a couch on Commercial Drive in 2009.” In a statement released January 27, 2012, the three groups “hold Canada’s legal and policing system accountable for not acting fast enough to penalize and dissolve the white supremacist group. On Feb. 13, during the hearing of the men charged with burning the Filipino man, Filipino Canadians will take to the streets in protest of the racist acts.” Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

31st December 2011

Parol blamed for senior’s death on Christmas Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on December 31, 2011, 9:17 am (By Balitang America, 31 Dec 2011) CALIFORNIA - A symbol of Christmas light led to a dark tragedy for an elderly Filipina in Southern California. Authorities said 91-year old Dorie Feliz Pozas was killed at around 9 a.m. on Christmas Day, after apparently brushing up against a lit candle in her Pacoima Senior Living Facility   Firefighters reportedly forced their way into Pozas' apartment at the Pledgerville Senior Citizen Villa on Sunday morning after a visitor noticed smoke from it.    They found her body badly burned and her clothes still smoldering.   Pozas allegedly lit a candle for a parol (Christmas lantern) which authorities say may have set her nightgown on fire. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0 Fil-Am builds business from 'chicharon' Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on December 31, 2011, 9:09 am (By Rodney Jaleco, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau, 31 Dec 2011) OXON HILL, Maryland - Nothing in the life experiences of Arsenio “Tito Al” Alpapara can be seen as incidental. A former major in the now-defunct Philippine Constabulary and a factory worker in Pennsylvania, Alpapara built on these lessons to become one of the most successful Filipino-American businessmen in the United States. He oversees a food distribution company that has a presence in nation’s capital, Washington, and in Chicago, New York, Florida and most recently, San Francisco, California. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0