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Saudi grants Royal Clemency to Filipino drug mule

Roy — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:51:05 +0000

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Monday that the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia on November 2009 for involvement in smuggling shabu into the country was granted pardon and freed Sunday.

The DFA did not release his name, in deference to the request of his family for family.

The OFW was apprehended by Saudi law enforcement agents in February 2008 after he received a postal package with shabu hidden inside. The DFA said, smuggling and selling of illegal drugs in Saudi Arabia are crimes punishable by death.

The Philippine embassy in Riyadh exerted utmost efforts in ensuring that his legal rights were respected during the investigation process and in trial. He sentenced to death by a tribunal of three judges in November 2009. Through the Philippine embassy, the OFW filed an appeal.

Through the help of the Philippine post in Riyadh, two members of the tribunal reduced the penalty from death to 15 years imprisonment, 1,500 lashes, and a karama (fine) of 100,000 Saudi Riyals. The Embassy, citing the new ruling, included the name of the OFW in the list submitted to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud for the grant of Royal Clemency.

The DFA said, “The Embassy’s efforts were favorably acted upon, and he was ordered released after serving a total of three years in detention.” The OFW tearfully thanks the Embassy upon his release, for its relentless efforts for his freedom.

Charge d’Affaires (CDA) Ezzedin H. Tago said, “His release is testament to the hard work and tireless dedication of the men and women of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh in safeguarding the welfare of every Filipino in Saudi Arabia.”

He is the third Filipino sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia whose released was successfully secured by the Philippine Embassy.

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DFA said no reported Filipino casualties in Japan yet

Roy — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 23:19:27 +0000

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that as of yesterday, there were still no reported Filipinos who have been injured or killed in the earthquake that hit Japan last Friday, although the department said that there about 4,500 Filipinos who are believed to have been affected by the disaster.

The DFA in Manila said they still haven’t received any report of any casualty or death from the Philippine embassy in Tokyo, Philippine consulate general in Osaka, and the four honorary consulates in Japan, Sapporo, Morioka, Nagoya and Naha. DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said most of the destruction occurred in Sendai, near Morioka.

Since Friday, the DFA in Manila have been receiving calls from worried relatives of Filipinos in Japan. DFA Undersecretary Rafael Sequis said they are having a hard time to establish contact with Filipinos in Japan because the communication lines are still down. Malaya said, “We’re also monitoring those people finder open databases and cross-checking our database with them once we have information about the individuals in those databases we will also be updating what we have.”

Reports from the Philippine consulate general in Osaka said that there is minimal damage in the southern and western regions of Japan. “So far those who have relatives within this area do not have to worry. Only those who may have something to worry about would be those in the Sendai area,” Malaya said.

He assured the public that the Philippine embassy in Tokyo is capable of immediately responding to calls for help because it is one of the larger Philippine embassies in the world having 50 personnel and seven officers. There are about 225,000 Filipinos in Japan, most of whom are residing in the central regions.

The Japanese government is still assessing the extent of damage brought about by the tsunami which followed the magnitude 8.9 quake. As of yesterday, Japanese media emergency broadcasts reported 432 confirmed deaths (202 in Iwate, 83 in Miyagi and 82 in Fukushima), 1,128 injuries and 725 missing persons. Names and nationalities of the victims were still unknown as of press time.

Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi were the hardest hit. All are located in the Tohoku Region in northeastern Japan.

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High Peso rate is it good sign or bad sign?

PinoyBusiness — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:42:48 +0000

Now that the peso has come into its highest rate this year of P43 per $1 the question is is it good or bad for filipino citizens? the answer will be yes and no because yes it may be a sign for a rising economy and no because how about the exporter and overseas Filipino workers that are depending on the dollar exchange?

Export industry may be affected because it will affect thier capital and can lead to the closing of some company. In the part of the overseas Filipino workers (ofw) it can affect their families that are depending from their remitances for example for some that remiting a $100, before the dollar is equivalent to P45 so it is instantly P4,500 if you convert the $100 to Peso. So it has a big affect on the families of the workers abroad.

The registered earnings in revenue last year is $7.3 billion but this year it can be close to $10 billion in revenues and it is more than the target of the government of $9 billion said by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and this can generate more or less 600,000 in the Employment sector.

So that’s only we can expect from the high Peso rate. It either may be bad or good the most important thing is our economy rise up.

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Lower remittance fees starting 3rd quarter

Roy — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:05:38 +0000

A lower fees in their remittances will be enjoyed by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their beneficiaries starting on the third quarter of the year. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), this will materialize once the the Philippine Payments and Settlements System (Philpass) Remit System becomes fully operational.

Remittances sent through the Philpass Remit System would result in savings of between P100 and P500 per transaction for the OFWs and their families. The current system charges for remittances is between P150 and P550 per transaction.

“This will reduce the cost of remitting money from the OFW remitter to the beneficiary. Under the existing system, beneficiaries pay from P150 to P550 as back-end processing fee. With the migration to the new system, the fee will be reduced to P50 for each remittance transaction as the BSP will be charging banks a minimal amount for the settlement of transactions,” the BSP explained.

The Philpass Remit System involves the use of the BSP-Philpass as the local clearinghouse for the transfer of remittances from a local bank to another bank where the OFW beneficiary maintains an account. “The Philpass ensures safer, faster, and cheaper means of remittance transactions,” BSP added.

The new remittance system is being undertaken by the BSP in cooperation with the Association of Bank Remittance Officers Inc. (ABROI) through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed last December. It was originally scheduled to be implemented during the first quarter of the year, but it was deferred because only one bank was able to migrate to the new signing since the signing of MOA.

BSP said other member banks would soon be migrating once they resolve the remaining issues on hardware and system connectivity.

Once the new Philpass is fully implemented, OFW families are expected to save at least P92 million to as high as P922 million due to the faster and cheaper delivery of remittances to the beneficiaries at a lower rate of P50 per transaction instead of the current range of between P100 to P550.

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PAL flights to Riyadh resume in March

Roy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:48:34 +0000

The Philippine flag-carrier, the Philippine Airlines (PAL) will be resuming its service to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 28, 2010, after four years its absence in the said city. The PAL decided to bring back its flight to Riyadh in response to the clamor of more than two million Filipino Overseas Worker (OFW) communities in the Middle East.

The flight will be a non-stop service which will have a schedule of four times a week. Flight PR 658 will be departing from Manila every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 6:20 p.m. and it will arrive in the Saudi capital at 11:00 p.m. (Riyadh time), the airline said.

On the trip back home, it will be flight PR 659 which will departs Riyadh at 12:30 a.m. every Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, and arriving in Manila at 3:00 p.m., Manila time. Deployed on the service will be Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which seat 50 passengers in Mabuhay Class (business) and 383 in Fiesta Class (economy).

It was in March 2, 2006 where PAL served it last flight in Riyadh, its final destination in the Middle East. The airline company suspended the service for commercial reason. Now that PAL had resumed the service in Riyadh, OFWs who account for one of the largest foreign communities living in the Middle East, lauded the flag carriers for its decision.

Filipinos in the Middle East still preferred PAL over other airlines, because of its direct service to Manila, which means they can get home faster as compared with other carriers. Most of those flights can involve up to two stops in intermediate cities before finally proceeding to Manila.

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Top OFW destinations for 2009 – Saudia Arabia is still No. 1

Roy — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:14:32 +0000

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still tops the list of land-based destinations of overseas Filipino workers, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The agency also said that the Saudi Arabia even improved by 8.2 percent in terms of the number of OFWs deployed as of October 2009.

The POEA also noted that the deployment of OFW in 2009 improved by 11.7 percent, compared to that of previous year. Per the agency’s record, 900,127 of these OFWs were deployed in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country as of October 2009. For the same period last year, there 831,968 OFWs deployed.

Coming in at second with 160,242 OFWs deployed as October 2009, was the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which includes the debt crisis-stricken Dubai. The figure however, was 1.4 percent less than the 162, 466 OFWs who were deployed for the same period last year.

The third top OFW destination for 2009 was Hong Kong with figures pegged at 75,742 deployed OFWs. Qatar is fourth with 72,176, followed by Kuwait (38,729); Singapore (34,914); Taiwan (26,991); Italy (20,944); Canada (15,131); and Bahrain (12,800).

There 190,575 more land-based OFWs deployed as of October 2009, which were shared by different countries.

The figure for Taiwan was 22.1 percent below with that of previous year, this was attributed to the effect of the global economic crisis. Taiwan recorded the highest number of OFWs displaced by the global financial crisis, according to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Marianito Roque. The labor secretary said at least 4,197 OFWs were laid-off in Taiwan from October 2008 to February 2009.

But for 2010, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office had assured that Taiwan’s economy would pick up, and so is its need for foreign workers for its manufacturing and computer parts industries.

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Peso pegged at P46 on Friday’s closing

Roy — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:14:40 +0000

For the last 15 months, the peso was pegged at its strongest level after the closing at 46 to $1 on Friday. This was mainly attributed to steady growth of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remittances and stable consumer prices.

Last Thursday, the peso gained 25 centavos after settling at 46.25 to $1, which was the peso’s strongest level since closing at 49.925 to $1 in August 29 this year. It opened at 46.35 on Friday before appreciating and closing at 46 to $1. The volume of transacted dollars ballooned to $1 billion from $633.36 billion on Thursday.

Financial experts acknowledge the growth of OFW remittances, especially this coming Christmas season, as the main reason for the steady appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar. A currency trader said more dollars will continue to flow into the emerging markets, including the Philippines.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it see the amount of remittances by Filipinos abroad to grow by 4% to a record $17.1 billion this year from $16.4 billion in 2008.

From January to September, the money sent home by OFWs inched up by 4.2 percent to $12.789 billion, compared to $12.273 billion registered for the same period last year. In September alone, remittances jumped by 8.6 percent to $1.446 billion from $1.332 billion in the same month last year.

Inflation, on the other hand, climbed to a six-month high of 2.8 percent in November from its previous level of 1.6 percent in October. This was due to high food and oil prices. But the BSP said it is still well within the target they set. The agency sees inflation averaging between 2.5 percent and 4.5 percent this year, but emerging figures show that consumer prices is likely to average 3.23 percent this year.

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Two families received Model OFW Family Award

Roy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:05:30 +0000

Two overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families were recognized for their efforts in helping residents in their community gain employment or livelihood through promotion of entrepreneurship. The first OFW was from Lipa, Batangas, and the second one was from Baleno, Masbate. They were named this year’s Model OFW families.

The Model OFW Family of the Year Awards (MOFYA) 2009 winners are the Lubis family of Lipa, Batangas and the Bello family of Baleno, Masbate.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said, “The Lubis family represent the land-based OFW sector while the Bello family represent the sea-based OFW sector. These exemplify OFWs model families in the country who have demonstrated the best practices of OFWs and their families in overcoming the challenges of migration.”

The recognition was handed to them last Thursday by Vice President Noli de Castro.

In their evaluation of this year’s winners, the DOLE report said that the Lubises, with the initiative of its patriarch, Engr. Rodolfo Pita who had worked in Saudi Arabia for more than 30 years, invested their overseas earnings in various agri-business enterprises where they were able to provide jobs to more than 200 workers.

Aside from their various agri-businesses, the Lubis family also developed their first Gawad Kalinga Reunion Village which allows them to provide more employment opportunities to residents, as well as livelihood capital, and scholarship for their children. They were also able to plant more than 45,000 Narra and mahogany trees as their contribution to the “Greening of the Environment.”

Meanwhile, Captain Bello worked as a seaman for almost 29 years. He started as an ordinary seaman in 1971. His overseas earnings were invested by his family in various agricultural and retail business ventures which also allowed them to provide employment opportunities to the residents in their community.

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Lower call and text rates to selected countries from Globe

Roy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:54:24 +0000

To allow local residents more opportunities to spend more time talking with their families and friends abroad, Globe Telecom has reduced its international voice and text rates to major destinations by as much as 87%.

Alan Supnet, Globe head for overseas Filipino communities (OFC), said that the company is heeding the call of its OFC clients to keep in touch with their loves ones, especially this holiday season giving them an affordable way to communicate.

The regular call rate before was 40 cents or approximately P20 per minute for overseas calls, with the discounted rate, this was brought down to as low as P2.50 per minute, to selected countries at least.

Call rate isn’t the only one that was made affordable, cost of international SMS or text messaging was also brought down by Globe. It now cost P5 per ISMS to top 50 destinations. Globe postpaid and prepaid subscribers, as well as TM subscribers can already avail of this service. There is no need to register, enter access code, or use special cards to avail of the special rate.

Globe also designed previously, various products and services to help OFW families maintain strong communication ties with each other. Like the Globe tipIDD card where customer can call the US, Hong Kong and Canada for only P2.50 per minute; Singapore, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan for P5 per minute; Australia, Thailand, Italy, UK and Japan for P8 per minute; and Saudi Arabia and UAE for P10 per minute. Both prepaid and postpaid subscribers can use the said card.

Other products of Globe that allows affordable communication for OFW families are the Globe IDD Suki load and the IDD Sakto Calls. IDD Suki load can be bought from autoload retailers, a P20 load is already equivalent to a five-minute call to the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and P30 load will allow for three-minute call to Saudi Arabia UAE and Kuwait.

Sakto Calls on the other hand, charges on a per second basis. This is best for subscribers who are really budget conscious, and doesn’t really stay long on the phone.

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iRemit expands its overseas presence via new Greece branch

Roy — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:22:35 +0000

Expanding further its presence overseas and reaching to more Filipino overseas workers, the largest non-bank Filipino-owned remittance company, iRemit Inc. has entered a joint venture agreement with Greeceâ€™s Elite Exchange Remittance Services S.A. to provide remittance services to Filipino workers in the country.

iRemit, in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, said the Elite Exchange is a company under the supervision of the Bank of Greece and is engaged in money remittance and foreign exchange trading. Its head office is located in Ambelokipi, Athens, an area with a high concentration of Filipinos.

Statistics from the Philippine Embassy show that there are about 40,000 Filipinos in Greece.

iRemit has presence in 27 countries across Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and the Middle East. In the Philippines, it has almost 5,000 payout partners.

It was also reported recently that the company opened a new branch in Edmonton, Canada, its fifth outlet in the country. Located in West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world, the Edmonton branch targets Chinese Nationals in the area, while continuing to serve Filipinos working there.

In opening their Edmonton branch, iRemit entered into a special agreement with the Bank of China Ltd. (BOC), one of Chinaâ€™s four state-owned commercial banks which provide a range of high-quality financial services. The bank has numerous branches in every major continent outside of mainland China.

With the agreement, beneficiaries may claim their remittance within the same day from any of BOCâ€™s over 12,000 domestic branches.

Looking forward to explore more overseas opportunities, iRemit is also securing a license to operate in Italy and Macau. To tap a wider market, the company also launched three major products, which are the ShopNPay, Visa Card and IShop.

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Remittance firm opens new office in Canada

Roy — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:19:40 +0000

Local money transfer company I-Remit, Inc. just opened a new branch in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the companyâ€™s fifth branch in that country.Â The new branch is located in the Chinatown Hall, where many Asians immigrants in the country are also located.

The remittance company aims to capture overseas Chinese workers as aim it to continue serving the migrant Filipino market as well. Harris E. D. Jacildo, I-Remit president and chief operating officer said, â€œThis move will make us more accessible to both Filipinos and Chinese customers across Edmonton. This expansion initiative should create more synergy between our major core remittance services and our Chinese remittance business.â€

In its bid to capture the Chinese market, I-Remit entered into a special agreement with the Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) which is a bank owned by the government. The agreement with the said bank made possible the same-day processing of remittances. That means beneficiaries can get their remittance from any of the BOCâ€™s 12,000 branches in China on the same day they were sent by their relatives overseas.

The staff of I-Remit at Edmonton branch, according to Jacildo, is made up mostly of Filipinos although they also have Chinese nationals which were hired as marketing officers to cater to the needs of the Chinese market.

Of course, aside from the Chinese nationals, the company would still continue to serve the sizeable Filipino migrant population in Canada who are mostly highly-paid professionals working in the fields of health care, engineering and business.

Aside from its new branch in Canada, I-Remit is also scheduled to another branch in Italy, which are all part of the companyâ€™s expansion plans. At present, I-remit has branches in Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Middle East, while boasting of having 5,000 payout partners in the Philippines.

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Duty and Tax Privileges

annie — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:18:30 +0000

Under the law, certain individuals may be granted duty tax privileges. The Executive Order No. 206 (EO 206) has amended the Section 105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines. EO 206 provides duty and tax free privileges to returning residents, overseas Filipino workers (OFW), former Filipino or the Balikbayans. The extent of duty and tax free privileges given to individuals depends on their particular status:

Returning Resident- a Filipino who has gone abroad and is now returning to his/her home country is considered a Returning Resident. Duty and tax free privileges are only granted to those Returning Residents who have stayed abroad for a minimum of six (6) months without interruption prior to their return to the country.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) - a Filipino national who is working in a foreign country under an employment contract is considered an Overseas Filipino Worker or OFW. Similar to Returning Residents, duty and tax free privileges are granted to OFWs who have continued stay in other country for more than six (6) months.

Former Filipino- Former Filipino is defined as a person with Filipino nationality and has acquired foreign citizenship in other country and is now returning to the Philippines. Duty and tax free privileges are only granted to those who have stayed in other country for a minimum of six (6) months and have decided to come home and settle permanently in the Philippines.

Balikbayan is the other term for both the former Filipino and an Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Also, a returning resident who has stayed abroad for a minimum of one year is considered a Balikbayan. Therefore, duty and tax free exemption are also granted to Balikbayans.

These kinds of individuals are helping the economy of the country through the remittances that they are sending to their relatives in Philippines while they are still abroad. The government of the Philippines has decided to give duty and tax free exemption to these individuals to extend help and appreciation for the economic help that the Filipinos who have decided to strive in other countries have done.

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Record High OFW Remittances Proves Government Right

PinoyBusiness — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:26:12 +0000

â€œWe always knew this would happen,â€ Deputy Presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar commented on the increase in OFW remittances posted in May.

MalacaÃ±ang said that the record high remittances proved that the government was correct in being optimistic about the countryâ€™s economy this year.

Olivar said they are happy about this kind of numbers. â€œIt is just the foreign analysts who are surprised,â€ he added.

He made these comments as international financial and lending institutions have made several forecasts that the Philippine economy would contract this year.

The bleak forecasts are rooted on the assumption that OFW remittances would significantly decline.

The governmentâ€™s economic think tanks, however, opposed the foreign analysts and bet that the 0.8 to 1.8 percent growth forecast for 2009 remains reachable.

Reports from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas say that OFW remittances in May was at a new record-high of $1.48 billion, bringing the total remittances for the first five months of the year to $6.98 billion.

Olivar said that such is a vindication of our continuing faith. He added that the country also posted a lower trade deficit because of the growing recovery. â€œSo both, in terms of goods and services, good news for the month of May,â€ he said.

He did not express concern over the fact that more Filipinos are leaving the country to work abroad. He explained that it is not the first time that a country finds its fortune in other countries.

Olivar however, still believes that it is the private sector that will provide jobs in the long run.

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Search for outstanding Pinoys

Roy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:20:04 +0000

Have you heard of a Filipino lately whoâ€™s been making a name for himself or herself overseas? Know of someone who have brought honor to our country? Or do you even have a relative whoâ€™s contribution in his chosen field, you believe is worthy of recognition.

Then, you can help them get that much needed recognition through the Bank Philippine Islands (BPI) program of giving tribute to Filipinos who have brought glory and honor to the Philippines with their excellent achievements abroad.

BPI is inviting everyone to submit their nominations for this yearâ€™s BPInoy Awards, a tribute to exceptional overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in their respective fields.

The criteria that should be met by the nominees are:
-Â Â Â He or she has established a name and is currently active in his or her field;
-Â Â Â Has worked or lived overseas;
-Â Â Â Of good moral character; and
-Â Â Â Has not yet received similar awards from other banking institutions.

Individuals or organizations may submit their nominations, either via email to bpinoyawards-@bpi.com.ph or through snail mail to Paul Joseph V. Fonte, Marketing Department, Overseas Customers Division, Bank of the Philippine Islands, 6/F BPI Family Savings Bank Center, Paseo de Roxas cor. Dela Rosa St., Makati City 1226, Metro Manila.

The deadline for the submission of nominees is on June 30, 2009.

Two winners will be chosen from the nominees â€“ one from the Arts and Media or Sports category, and the other one from the Business or Science and Technology category. Nominations will be screened by the BPInoy Awards Steering Committee Nominations.

At stake for the winners are, a BPInoy trophy and P100,000 worth of cash to be donated to the charity of their choice.

Winners of the BPInoy awards in the past include renowned singer and musical artist Lea Salonga, fashion designers/entrepreneurs Monique Lhuillier and Josie Natori, BBC anchor Rico Hizon, entrepreneur Diosdado Banatao and heart surgeon Dr. George Garcia.

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200 more online terminals from Pacific Online

Roy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:48:59 +0000

The Pacific Online Systems Corp. is looking to add 200 new terminals by the end of the year. The exclusive online lottery system provider of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in the Visayas and Mindanao will be further expanding its operation nationwide, and it is hoping that by the end of 2009, it will have a total of 1,800 terminals from the its existing 1,600 as of December 2008.

Pacific Online owns LuckyÂ Circle Corp and Lotto Pacific Leisure Corp., which operates lotto outlets in SM malls and supermarkets. Lucky Circle sells seven instant scratch games, which are Mega Money, Fast Cash, Jack En Poy, Gold Rush, Pot of Gold, Red Hot 7â€™s and Double Dollars.

From the 68 outlets it has in December 2008, Pacific Online is hoping to see the number grow to about 120 operating retail outlets in the next 12 to 18 months.

â€œWith the variety of products lines being offered by PCSO, it is envisioned that this network of retail outlets will be able to provide professional excellent service to customers,â€ the company said.

Pacific Online entered the instant games business in mid-2007, and was able to introduce numerous instant ticket variants, and has been continuously gaining favorable public acceptance.

The company signed a memorandum of agreement with PCSO last February 2009 to distribute 30 million instant tickets called the Diamond AnniversaryÂ Series. They were already able to release the first batch of instant tickets last April and next batch is expected to be launched this month.

â€œThe instant games business is one of the fastest-growing segments of the worldwide gaming industry today and through this investment, the company seeks to take advantage of this area of growth in the industry where it operates,â€ Pacific Online said.

Pacific Online also entered into a separate MOA with PCSO last month, that will supply on a long-term basis, PCSOâ€™s requirement in connection with the National Instant Ticket Program. The said contract will start in December 2009. It will provide for the supply, initially of 500 millionÂ Scratch It tickets, to be released in several tranches consisting of different variations.

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BPI honors children of OFWs

Roy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:05:19 +0000

One of the countryâ€™s leading universal is once again launching its program which aims to honor the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their children. The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is once again holding The Search for Ten Outstanding Expat Pinoy Children which was introduced by BPIâ€™s Overseas Banking Group in 2007.

Teresita B. Tan, head of Overseas Banking and Channels Services Group of BPI said â€œHand in hand with providing financial and banking needs, we also aim to inspire the overseas Filipino by lauding the source of their motivation and hard work, their children.â€

Interested parties may get their nomination forms at any BPI and BPI Family Savings Bank branch nationwide, or download it from the bankâ€™s website at www.bpiexpressonline.com.ph or www.bpidirect.com.ph under Promo Page-Remittance

The program is open to all children of expat Pinoys (OFWs), aged 15 to 21 years old. The children nominees should have a parent who has a current work contract in another country, must be presently enrolled, must belong in the top 10 percent of his or her class, and must have a parent or relatives who are BPI depositors.

Nominees must write an essay entitled â€œAno ang papel ko sa pagpapaunlad ng ating pamayanan bilang anak ng isang Expat Pinoy?â€ (What is my role in the developing of our society, as a son/daughter of an Expat Pinoy?). The essay could either be in English or Tagalog, typewritten on a regular size bond paper, double-spaced and must have between 1,500 to 2,000 words.

Together with the essay, nominees would also submit the following documents: accomplished application form, proof of enrollment, diploma, or certificate of graduation, certified true copy of grades along with list of awards, if any, birth certificate, certification from BPI to prove existing account, and a nomination letter from principal, college dean, superintendent, parish priest, managers of BPI or BPI Family Savings Bank, or head of a civil or church organization.

At stake is a cash prize of P50,000 for the winners which will be announced in August. Applications will be received from June 1, 2009 to August 28, 2009. For mailed entries, they should be postmarked not later than August 28, and send to Paul Joseph V. Fonte, Marketing Department, Overseas Customers Segment, Bank of the Philippine Islands, 6/F BPI Family Savings Bank Center, Paseo de Roxas cor. Dela Rosa St., Makati City 1226, Metro Manila.

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Filipino Food Festival in Dubai

Roy — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:29:22 +0000

The flavors of Filipino cuisine will the main feature that will be offered to all food lovers at the Spice Island restaurants of the Renaissance Dubai Hotel, in an event that will start next week.

Organized in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, Philippine Business Council, and the Renaissance Dubai Hotel, the event will be the Filipino Food Festival which will showcase the best of Filipino cuisine. It will be held from June 9 to 23.

Renaissance Dubai Hotelâ€™s Director of Food and Beverage Hassan Yazbek, announced the promotion during a recent press launched and said, â€œIt is with great honor that we present the Filipino Food Festival at the Renaissance Dubai Hotel together with our partners â€“ Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Philippine Business Council. Not only do we have over 40 per cent of our work force, Filipinos, the Filipino cuisine is unique due to its global appeal to different tastes â€“ from Asian, American to Latin as reflected by its rich history and culture. The Filipino food festival which was organized three years ago was a great success and now that we are organizing it again this year, this serves as great news to our international clientele at Spice Island restaurant who are always looking for exotic flavors.â€

The said food festival will be featuring the hotelâ€™s resident Filipino Chefs, namely Chefs Ofelia Fuentes, Norberto Dagonoon and Rina Tecson who all came from the different regions in the Philippines.

Benito Valeriano, Consul General of Dubai said, â€œThe Filipino Food promotion at the Renaissance Dubai Hotel is very timely as it coincides with the Philippine Independence Day. It is my hope that the international community will take this opportunity to sample Filipino cuisine which is a melting pot of flavors â€“ of both east and west and for our compatriots to try the food that they have been missing.â€

To date, there are over 400,000 Filipinos in the whole UAE.

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RP’s driver’s license honored in Belgium

Roy — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:38:13 +0000

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has finally entered into an administrative arrangement with the Belgian government to honor the driverâ€™s licenses issued in the Philippines. Because of this, Filipinos who are living and/or working in Belgium can now exchange their valid Philippine driverâ€™s license with Belgian license without the need to take any written and practical examinations.

This arrangement has been under discussion for the least eight years, before it was finally implemented last April 22. Before the implementation, Filipinos living in Belgium were required to take written and practical examinations in either French or Dutch/Flemish to obtain Belgian driverâ€™s license. Those who wanted to take the exam in English are made to pay a translation fee of â‚¬50.

Filipinos who did not want to take the exam then were still allowed to drive around in Belgium, provided that they have an international driverâ€™s license issued in the Philippines.

The requirements for exchanging the Philippine driverâ€™s license to the Belgian driverâ€™s license are: a valid Philippine driverâ€™s license; Belgian identity card or work permit; one passport-size photo; and a fee of â‚¬16. Other requirements may also be asked by the Belgian authority as deemed necessary.

Likewise, Belgian nationals living in the Philippines can exchange their valid Belgian driverâ€™s license for a Philippine driverâ€™s license at any Land Transportation Office (LTO) in the Philippines.

For more information, Filipinos in Belgium can visit the Federal Public Service, Mobility and Transport website at the www.mobility.fgov.be or contact their local commune.

Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Cristina Ortega reported that husband and wife Alex and Jovelle Fernandez were the first Filipino expatriates to get their Belgian driverâ€™s license under the new arrangement last April 22. â€œThey had absolutely no trouble. They simply presented the requirement including their valid Philippine driverâ€™s licenses at their local commune, and a week later, they received their Belgian driverâ€™s licenses,â€ she added.

The LTO submitted to the Belgian Embassy a list of security features with which the Belgian official can check the validity of the driverâ€™s license.

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Singapore to open 5,000 jobs for Filipinos

Roy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:10:15 +0000

Singapore, in its expansion of the Resort World at Sentosa Island, will open about 5,000 new jobs which will be available for Filipinos, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said. The president sent a delegation last month to Singapore to explore possible job opportunities for migrant Filipino workers in the face of the global economic crisis.

The delegation that went to Singapore was led by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Jennifer Manalili and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Marianito Roque. They went to discuss available slots for Filipino workers with Tan Hee Teck, chief executive officer of Resorts World. Manalili said that they (Resort World) are expanding and there will be openings for workers for hotels, casinos and performers.

â€œUniversal Studios will also have a theme park so they told us they want to hire Filipino talents and performers. They noted that Filipinos are good in music and in dance so they might come here to conduct auditions either next month or in June,â€ she added. They, or a different delegation team, will be sent again to Singapore in May to finalize the discussions requirements for Filipino workers.

Resorts World hopes to open four of its six hotels by the early part of 2010, where they expect to fill up some 10,000 job vacancies. These vacancies are broken down as follows: 3,000 will be for the casino, 3,000 for the theme park operations and about 4,000 for hotels and other entertainment facilities.

Aside from Singapore, Roque also said that there are more than 100,000 jobs available in Qatar, while other emirates within the United Arab Emirates reportedly were also prepared to absorb Filipino construction workers who were laid off in Dubai.

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No jobs for low-skilled Filipinos in the UK

Roy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:44:49 +0000

While there are still job opportunities being opened up overseas, Filipinos may scratch the United Kingdom in their list of prospective country to work for. That is because the UK has closed its doors, not only to Filipinos in particular, but to all low-skilled foreign workers.

This means that hotel workers as well as other low-skilled workers can kiss their dream of working in the UK goodbye. This was based on the report given by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said, â€œAt present, most of the available semi-skilled, and low-skilled jobs in the UK are no longer open to non-Europeans, particularly hotels, restaurants, food catering, retails business, construction and manufacturing.â€

Roque said that at present, only highly skilled professionals would be eligible for visas in the UK, citing a report from London-based Labor AttachÃ© Jainal Rasul Jr.

In line with this unavailability of jobs for low and semi-skilled workers in the UK, Roque issued a warning to prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against alleged employment opportunities in the UK that are being offered through the internet. He said that there are many fraudulent recruitment proliferating in the Internet offering non-existent jobs in the UK.

â€œThe Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in London has recorded more than 200 emails from job applicants and recruitment agencies in the country requesting for verification of the legality of the job offers they received through the Internet,â€ Roque added.

According to reports, applicants received job offers through email, with work confirmation, employment contracts and scanned appointment letters. The email also instructs them to contact specified travel agencies, immigration firms, and solicitors in the UK who would purportedly assist them in processing their papers. They are subsequently asked to remit payment for their work permit, visa processing and other fees.

Of course, these were later found to be fake, non-existent and illegal. Roque announced that all visa applications for the UK will now be filed at the UK Visa Application Centre of the British Embassy in Manila, he added that the application should be done personally by the applicants.