Press Releases

NGOs lament slowdown in services due to DOLE-OWWA rift

The non-government organization Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino (Kakammpi) links the slowdown in basic services of OWWA to a rift between the OWWA head and Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas. According to Kakammpi Executive Director Fe Nicodemus, the personality conflict between OWWA Director Wilhelm Soriano and Secretary Sto. Tomas "is so overdrawn that service delivery to migrant workers and their families are dragged needlessly into the fray." "Not that there is a difference before and after the OWWA-DOLE leadership rift in terms of service delivery. But now we cannot complain too loudly when OWWA employees say there is no budget for such and such service," Nicodemus added. Read full story

OWWA-NGO reintegration program for OFWs hangs in the balance

Last April, government, through the OWWA, and migrant civil society groups forged an agreement to combine their reintegration programs for OFWs into the Comprehensive OFW Reintegration Program or CORP. A task force was formed to make the initiative a national movement. However, everything has been put on hold since the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which supervises OWWA's projects, added a new branch and an undersecretary for reintegration for returning migrant workers. The newly-created Reintegration for Returning Migrant Workers Office at the Department of Labor and Employment is headed by the new labor undersecretary Lucita Lazo, who was appointed on June 21. Lazo said the department is banking on the organization of migrant workers families for the success of DOLE's programs since government plans to channel its services through these families. Read full story

DOLE creates reintegration office

The newly-created Reintegration for Returning Migrant Workers Office at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will focus initially on organizing OFW families, a task it should have undertaken a long time ago. DOLE undersecretary Lucita Lazo, who was appointed on June 21, said the DOLE is banking on the organization of migrant workers families for the success of its programs since government plans to channel its services through these families. Read full story

Pact seen as act of desperation
Civil society groups question RP-Saudi employment deal

Amid explanations offered by labor officials, migrant civil society groups say that new arrangements made by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with its labor counterparts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reveals how desperate the Philippine government is to deploy more Filipino contract workers abroad. At a meeting of the Consultative Council on Overseas Filipino Workers (CCOFW) on August 7, members of the civil society network Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) expressed dissatisfaction with three important elements of the DOLE's agreement with the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs affecting unskilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Read full story

Batang Atikha
Children of OFWs form support group

A growing number of children of Overseas Filipino Workers based in Mabini, Batangas have organized themselves into Batang Atikha (Children of Atikha). Batang Atikha was initiated by the non-government organization Atikha, Inc. to help children of OFW families, aged 18 years and below, understand and confront the realities of the migration of their parents and other family members. "We aim to make the children aware that their parents left for work abroad because of structural problems in their community and in Philippine society. It's a tall order. So we start with the basics, teaching them to always ask why they were left behind," said Mary Grace Guerra, team leader of Atikha operations in Mabini. Read full story

Open skies pushed in Central, Northern Luzon

CLARK, Pampanga -Multi-sectoral groups from Central and Northern Luzon today urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare an "open skies" policy for Diosdado Macapagal International Airport here that will pave the way for the establishment of international flights to and from major travel destinations. Read full story

UPS exec commends CDC management for good governance

CLARK, Pampanga -- An official of a US firm operating the largest air carrier and package delivery service in the world at the Clark Special Economic Zone commended the officials of Clark Development Corporation for employing good governance at the state-run firm. Read full story

Preconvention Release July 4, 2002

District convention of Jehovah's Witnesses profiles Jesus Christ as role model

[CHIBA]-Thousands of delegates of all races and age groups will be gathering from July 26 to July 28, 2002 in Taiei town, a town in Chiba prefecture near international city of Narita, but not for a concert, a sales seminar, or a sporting event. In view of anxiety-inducing world events, many will come to find inspiration from ancient role models who took up a cause they believed in and persisted in it during similarly stressful times. These models will frame the three-day 2002 "Zealous Kingdom Proclaimers" District Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses. Read full story

ISNHS Hawaii Alumni Association Homecoming

The Ilocos Sur National High School (ISNHS) Hawaii Alumni Association will host a worldwide alumni homecoming from August 2-3, 2003. We are calling on all graduates of the Ilocos Sur National High School of Vigan city, Philippines to attend this memorable and exciting event. The Grand Ball will be on the evening of August 2, 2003, followed by a picnic in the morning of August 3, 2003. Tour of other Hawaiian islands will also be available for those who are interested. For more information please visit our website at www.isnhshawaii.homestead.com or e-mail florendom002@hawaii.rr.com.

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