The government’s savings and shelter financing agency has withdrawn its original plan to impose mandatory membership for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as a requirement to process their employment papers, a Hong Kong-based group said Wednesday.

In a statement, the Hong Kong chapter of a women’s rights group said Pag-IBIG chief executive officer Jaime Fabiaña declared that they would not force OFWs to become members of Pag-IBIG, nor will it be made a requirement to process their documents.

Gabriela-HK chairperson Cynthia Abdon-Tellez said Fabiaña announced this in a forum with leaders of OFW organizations on February 1 at the Philippine Consulate General in the Chinese territory.  Read more... (152 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)

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i’ve just been reading about this OFW from Dubai who’s been getting a lot of hate with her insensitive comments on her facebook status coupled with her poor English grammar.

she writes: “buti n lng am hir in dubai! maybe so many sinners back der! so yeah deserving what happened!”

then replies: “cuz of u dnt understand!!!judge me sige!!! kya ala kayong asenso.even nature now is making statement big time!!!”

any idea who she is?

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MANILA, Philippines — Close to a thousand Filipinos working abroad registered on Thursday in various posts to allow them to vote in the May 2010 presidential election, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

There are now a total of 175,687 newly-registered Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV), up from Thursday’s figure of 174,815, the DFA said.

Those who will want to register have 17 days more before the August 31deadline set by the DFA.

The figure represents only 17.5 percent of the one million new registrants being targetted by the DFA.  Read more... (124 words, estimated 30 secs reading time)

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TOKYO (AFP) – – A Japanese man pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering two Philippine women and chopping up their bodies, media reports said.

“I admit to everything,” 49-year-old Hiroshi Nozaki was quoted as telling the Tokyo District court as charges were read over the murders of Elda Longakit Yoneda, 27, and Honiefaith Ratilla Kamiosawa, 22.

Both women, who had worked in Tokyo’s Roppongi nightlife district, were strangled to death inside apartments — Yoneda in the port city of Yokohama in 1999, and Kamiosawa in Tokyo in 2008.  Read more... (199 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

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MANILA, Philippines – The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) confirmed yesterday the death of 10 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a helicopter crash at a key NATO airbase in southern Afghanistan on Sunday.

OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said they have received verified information that 10 Filipinos were among the 16 who died in the air tragedy.

Dimzon declined to release the names of the dead.

“They were legally deployed three or five years ago but they were unable to return since we imposed a ban in Afghanistan,” Dimzon said.  Read more... (191 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

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MANILA – Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFW) reached a record high in May, but the pace of growth is still slow as the world economy reels from the crisis. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that remittances grew 3.7% to $1.48 billion in May, the highest since March 2009. The latest figure brings the country’s total remittance inflows to $6.98 billion for the first 5 months of the year, a 2.8% growth from $6.79 billion reached in the same period in 2008. “The stream of remittances from overseas Filipinos continued to show signs of strength despite lingering global economic fragilities, providing some basis for cautious optimism regarding steady remittance levels for 2009,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco said in a statement. The country’s major sources of remittances for the 5-month period were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Germany. The BSP attributed the rise in remittance inflows to the steady demand for professional and skilled workers and the expanded access of OFWs and their beneficiaries to a wide range of financial products and services offered by banks and other financial institutions. Aside from this, it would be noted that May is traditionally a strong month for remittances, as this is the month when parents pay the tuition fees of their children and other beneficiaries. The government continues to give assurances that jobs overseas remain available to absorb Filipinos looking for employment. Aside from hiring agreements it signed with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, the government said it remains focused on job generation programs to help displaced workers find alternative jobs amid the economic downturn. Consumption  Read more... (288 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

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SEOUL (AFP) – - North Korea has accused US President Barack Obama of plotting a nuclear war on the communist nation by reaffirming a US assurance of security for South Korea, the North’s state media said.

In a first official response to last week’s US-South Korean summit, the state-run weekly Tongil Sinbo said in its Saturday edition Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak “are trying to ignite a nuclear war”.

“The US-touted provision of ‘extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella’ (for South Korea) is nothing but ‘a nuclear war plan,’” Tongil Sinbo said.

Full Story: AFP/Yahoo SG

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MANILA, Philippines – Office secretary Edward Tan found 30,000 Qatari riyals or almost P400,000 at a parking lot in Doha, Qatar and decided to return the money to the authorities.

His honest gesture was not left unnoticed. The Philippine Independence Organizing Committee honored Tan and 11 other Filipinos during the opening ceremony of the Philippine Independence Day celebrations at the Hyatt Plaza in Doha last June 12.

“It never came to my mind to keep the cash to myself. My conscience compelled me to return the amount to the right person. I never really wanted to publicize this story but my company…thought that the public should know about it,” Tan told the Qatar Tribune.  Read more... (177 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)

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NO FREE RIDES. The OWWA denies a blog’s claim that OFWs will be given free rides home (via horse-drawn carriage) upon arrival at the NAIA. MANILA, Philippines – The Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) denied claims by a blog site that they are offering free rides home for arriving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

QTV’s Balitanghali quoted a statement from the OWWA denying any links with the blog Desert Nomadness.  Read more... (174 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)

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MANILA, Philippines – At least 100,000 more jobs in Guam, Saudi Arabia and Qatar await Filipino workers.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported that the government is currently negotiating agreements for the hiring of more Filipino workers abroad.

POEA chief Jennifer Manalili said the government is looking at 15,000 to 20,000 jobs for highly skilled Filipino workers in Guam.

Manalili said Guam will be requiring massive manpower with the impending construction of camps and other buildings to house American military officers who will be relocating in the area in 2010.  Read more... (131 words, estimated 31 secs reading time)

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