POEA bans 21 foreign recruitment agencies, direct employers

Manila: 21 foreign recruitment agencies and direct employers were blacklisted while the licenses of 19 erring local recruitment firms were either canceled or suspended in a continuing bid by the government to rid the overseas placement industry of misfits, the Department of Labor and Employment said.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Bernard Olalia said cleansing the industry was part of the intensified regulatory exercise to protect Filipino workers seeking overseas employment, He added that of the suspended and canceled PRAs, there were those whose licenses were restored after their cancellation was reversed on appeal.

Olalia identified the 23 disqualified FRAs and direct employers as AV Global Harvest PTE Ltd., Isa Khouri Metal Industries Ltd. and Amir Khoury, Raffles International Christian School, Al Tauqueet Trading and Services Est/Al Tauqet Trading and Services Co., NooraSalem Saad Occie for Recruitment of Domestic Helpers Office, All Pro Recruitment Agency, Marwan Slim, Food Equipment Supplying Company Limited and Thaer H. Abdou, Wanasah Manpower Supply and Mohammed Naser Al Naser, Bader Contracting and Trading Company/Bard Cont and Trad, Speedy Tech Electronics Co. Ltd., Staff Buro Staffing, Candice Cruz and Allan John Wilton, Jalal Al Jalal Construction Est./ Al Nassr AhssaTrading Contracting Company/Jalal Al Jalal/Saad Saleh Al Jalal, Marhaba Shopping Center, Hadi Al Hamroor Contracting Est. and Fawzi Al Najrani Est./Fouzi Saleh Najrani Contracting, Yacht Tours Maldives Pvt. Ltd., Al Falax Electronics Equipment and Supplies Company/Al Falak Equipment, Agensi Pekerjaan YSL SDN BHD Lim Pooling and Saw Boon Foong, West Labour Supply and Abdalla Ali Adalla Alsari, Tsaheel Al Janoob Office for Recruitment, Al Bahli Manpower Recruiting Office and Omar Saad Al Hamad, and Special Manpower Supply.

The PRAs with suspension or fine from January to July 31 are Double M Marine Services, Danasan Manpower and Management Services, Summit Placement and Resources, Masters International Placement, Farland Personnel Management Corp., Corinthians Placement Services, Ankor Management and Services and Consultant, HBO International Manpower Services, Century High HR Inc., First Champion and International Entertainment Inc., Jamal Human Resource, Farland Personnel Management Corp., Boom International Recruitment Agency, Workgroup International Manpower Services, Osims Oriental Skills International, Health Carousel Philippines Inc., Mitch International Recruitment Agency, and Falcon Maritime and Allied Services.

The list of agencies with canceled licenses include Rufean International Resources, Ace Globe Management Consultancy Services Corp., Federal Overseas Manpower Inc., American Prime Manpower Services Inc., FilhighGNS Inc., Danasan Manpower and Management Service, Pacific Ace Human Resources Corporation, Highway Manpower Services and Promotion Inc. and M&P Employment Inc.

 

Philippines faces two million kilogram mango surplus

Manila: The Philippines has a surplus of more than two million kilos of mangoes following a bumper harvest, The country’s agriculture secretary said the extra mangoes were the result of a “dry spell caused El Niño” The El Niño phenomenon occurs naturally and has a major influence on weather patterns around the world, The government has launched a marketing campaign in a bid to sell one million kilos of the fruit in June before they begin to rot, In some areas mangoes are selling for 10 pesos

Dutch hostage killed while trying to escape from militants in Philippines

Manila: A Dutch photographer held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines since 2012 was killed on Friday by his captors when he tried to escape during a firefight on a remote southern island, the military said.

Ewold Horn, a wildlife photographer, was shot by his guards from the Abu Sayyaf group when he tried to flee during a clash between government troops and the militants, officials said.

Horn and a fellow photographer, Lorenzo Vinciguerra from Switzerland, were taken captive as they were sailing off an island called Tawi Tawi on a bird-watching trip more than seven years ago and later taken to Sulu. Vinciguerra escaped in 2014.

Body of the OFW who died in Kuwait arrives in NAIA

Manila: The remains of late OFW Constancia Dayag has arrived in NAIA on May 23, Thursday afternoon.

 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has endorsed the case to the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which will undertake an independent autopsy and perform toxicology tests on the remains to determine the cause of death of Ms. Dayag.

DFA has requested for the immediate release of the official forensic report from the Criminal Evidence Department of Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior.

As of the moment, the death certificate released by the Al-Sabah Hospital indicates that the cause of death is still under investigation. Therefore there is nothing to refute. Repeat, nothing to refute. Repeat, nothing to refute. Once the Kuwaiti report is released, we will double-check it with our own experts.

The Department will also request the permission of the family to bring the remains to the University of the Philippines, Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Forensic Morgue for a similar examination of the human remains of Ms. Dayag.

The DFA will continue to provide assistance to nationals and legal support on the case of the late Ms. Dayag. Furthermore, the DFA will provide Php100,000 financial assistance to the orphaned children of Ms. Dayag to help defray the cost of her funeral.

PHL mulls another Kuwait deployment ban after maid’s death, POEA: There is no deployment ban at the moment

Manila: The Philippines Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III (DOLE) is looking to reimpose a ban on the deployment of household service workers (HSWs) to Kuwait, following the death of another overseas Filipino worker in Kuwait

“It’s an option,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said Thursday night when asked if the government would reimpose the deployment ban on Kuwait after the death of 47-year-old Constancia Lago Dayag, an OFW from Agadanan, Isabela.

Bello said he received a report that the HSW was brought to the Al Sabah Hospital this week but was declared dead on arrival. Her body bore various contusions and hematoma, as well as signs of sexual assault.

In a separate text message, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) administrator, Bernard Olalia, noted that the body’s Governing Board (GB) may include the possible deployment ban in the agenda of its regular meeting.

The GB issues policies, such as deployment bans, which are related to the work of OFWsThe POEA chief added that at the moment, there is no deployment ban on Kuwait.

Philippine Clark airport suspends operations due to damages

Operations at Clark International Airport in Pampanga were suspended due to damages in the terminal’s structure caused by a strong earthquake that shook Metro Manila and parts of Luzon late Monday afternoon, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.

Jim Sydiongco, director general of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said that air traffic controllers at Clark have established a temporary control station on the ground near the runway to monitor the landing of incoming aircraft since the glass panels of its control tower broke during the quake.

55 dead in major measles outbreak in Philippines

Manila: A growing measles outbreak in the Philippines killed at least 55 people on January, officials said on Thursday, putting some of the blame on mistrust stoked by a scare over an anti-dengue fever vaccine.
As of January, there have been 1,815 measles cases and 55 deaths from the virus.
The disease can be deadly for young children and babies, There is now concern for 2.4 million unvaccinated children.

Typhoon Ompong: 5 Deaths Reported as Storm Churns Through Philippines

Manila: At least 5 people have died after a massive storm brought destruction to the northern Philippines, Typhoon Ompong “Mangkhut ripped through the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, and is now moving west towards China, Almost all buildings in the city of Tuguegarao sustained some damage, a government official said, and communications were down in places, More than four million people were in the path of the storm, which packed winds of 185km/h.  Thousands were evacuated amid warnings of 6m storm surges.

Chinese passenger plane goes off NAIA runway

Manila: A Chinese commercial passenger plane (Xiamen) went off the Ninoy Aquino International Airport runway amid heavy rains just before midnight Thursday, Some flights have been cancelled and diverted from (NAIA), all 157 passengers and crew of the flight are safe, airport officials said.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Philippines: Leptospirosis outbreak declared in Manila

Philippines health officials declared a leptospirosis outbreak in the Metro Manila area as the number of cases have increased dramatically in recent weeks.

the Department of Health said there was a significant increase in the number of leptospirosis cases in the said areas with 105 cases in just one month from June 10 to July 3, 2018. This is way higher than 76 cases during the same period last year.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the outbreak was declared in: the Quezon City barangays of Bagbag, Bagong Silangan, Batasan Hills, Commonwealth, Novaliches Proper, Payatas, Pinyahan and Vasra, Lower Bicutan, Western Bicutan, Maharlika Village and Signal Village in Taguig City; Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City, BF Homes and San Dionisio in Paranaque City, North Bay Boulevard South in Navotas City, Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City, and Concepcion in Malabon City.

DOH explained that while the public’s common knowledge of leptospirosis is that which acquired from wading through floodwater, there are other means that the leptospira bacteria may penetrate the body other than an open wound.