Pinoy Meets World

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

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)

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)

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)

MANILA: The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) will look into the case of 137 Filipino bus drivers who were recruited by a licensed agency but ended up jobless in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

POEA anti-illegal recruitment division chief Rosemarie Duquez said the agency would call the owners of CYM International Services and ask them to explain why the bus drivers were left jobless in Dubai.

Yesterday, the wives of the stranded bus drivers filed a case of illegal recruitment against CYM International.

They also went to the Department of Foreign Affairs to seek help for their husbands and the immediate release of the drivers’ passports by the agency’s counterpart in Dubai.  Read more... (175 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)

TOKYO, April 13, 2009 (AFP) – A Filipino couple were deported from Japan on Monday, leaving their 13-year-old daughter behind in an immigration row that has drawn wide public sympathy for the family.

Arlan Cruz Calderon, 36, and his wife, Sarah, 38, left Tokyo’s Narita airport for the Philippines, seen off by their daughter Noriko and a crowd of reporters, said public broadcaster NHK.

The couple were forced to leave because they entered the country on false passports in the early 1990s, but they had pleaded to be allowed to stay so their Japan-born daughter could finish her schooling in the country.  Read more... (140 words, estimated 34 secs reading time)

MANILA, Philippines – Even overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now working less than five days a week.

The recruitment industry today reported many factories in Taiwan employing Filipino workers have adopted flexible working scheme to save jobs.

Jackson Gan, Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (PILMAT) president, said Taiwanese firms adopted the policy under the supervision of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA).

“Foreign workers, including Filipinos are benefiting from the policy because they have work and are guaranteed to receive their monthly salary even if they are reporting for work less than what was stipulated in their contracts,” Gan pointed out.  Read more... (137 words, estimated 33 secs reading time)