Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Another Filipino is facing the death penalty in Malaysia on charges of smuggling marijuana, and two more have been sentenced to life imprisonment on drug charges in Thailand.
Aida Dizon Garcia, a 51-year-old college lecturer from Quezon City, is being assisted by the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, according to Assistant Foreign Secretary J. Eduardo Malaya, spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Twenty-five Filipinos, mostly runaways or overstaying workers, will be repatriated from Qatar to the Philippines following talks between Vice President Jejomar Binay and top government officials in the Middle Eastern state, his office said Saturday.
Bacolod City - Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has vowed to bring up the case of a Filipina who is detained in Bangkok for illegal drugs during his scheduled state visit to Thailand this month.
CLARK FREEPORT—The carpet had been rolled out but the special guests weren’t around.
Officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (Ciac) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) were disappointed to find out that some 60 Filipino workers from Libya were not on board the Air Asia Berhad Flight 662 that landed at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
TAIWAN: Taiwan is threatening to freeze its intake of Filipino workers, after the Philippines refused to apologise for sending 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to mainland China.
Taiwan called Tuesday on the Philippines to step up cooperation on fighting cross-border crimes and avoid a recurrence of a row over Manila's deportation of 14 Taiwanese suspected fraudsters to China.
"It's time for the two sides to sit down and talk," Taiwan Foreign Minister Timothy Yang told reporters.
"A mechanism should be set up to jointly bust international crime. That way, we could also avoid a repeat of the recent row."
Philippine authorities arrested 14 Taiwanese and 10 Chinese nationals in December over an alleged scam to swindle mainlanders out of $20 million.
A spat erupted after all of those arrested were deported to China, despite protests from Taipei, which said they Taiwanese should have been sent back to the self-governed island to face justice.
Taiwan's foreign ministry said Monday the island's diplomatic representative in Manila would be recalled this week.
In a statement, it added: "The screening of applications for work here by various Filipino workers will be tightened" and the existing visa-free treatment for Filipinos travelling to Taiwan will also be called off.
Yang said "the retaliatory measures were aimed to safeguard our sovereignty and national dignity".
There are about 72,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, remitting hundreds of millions of dollars a year, helping boost the Philippines' economy.
"We'd like to maintain our friendly ties with the Philippines, but what it did first has harmed such ties. Therefore we decided to adopt the measures so as to safeguard national dignity and to display our discontent," the ministry said.
It said the measures will be reviewed contingent upon the Philippines' "goodwill" in the future.
The Philippines, like most countries, formally recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, but maintains trade and tourism ties with Taiwan.
Taiwan on Tuesday raised the screening period for Filipino workers and threatened to bar them from entry as a spat with Manila over the deportation of Taiwanese nationals to China deepened.
The diplomatic row erupted in December after Philippine authorities arrested 14 Taiwanese in an alleged fraud bust and deported them to China, despite protests from Taipei which wanted them returned to the island to face justice.
The new rules, effective immediately, raise to four months the maximum screening period for Filipino workers wanting to move to Taiwan. Screening for migrant workers currently takes up to 12 days.
Calling for "goodwill response" from Manila, Wang Ju-hsuan, the head of the island's Council of Labour Affairs, said Taiwan may "adopt even stricter retaliatory measures that may include a freeze of worker imports from the Philippines."
She urged local employers to turn to countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia as sources of overseas workers.
Earlier in the day, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Timothy Yang called on the Philippines to boost cooperation on tackling cross-border crime in a bid to avoid a recurrence of the row.
"It's time for the two sides to sit down and talk," he said.
"A mechanism should be set up to jointly bust international crime. That way, we could also avoid a repeat of the recent row."
Taiwan's foreign ministry said Monday the island's diplomatic representative in Manila would be recalled this week.
In a statement, it added: "The screening of applications for work here by various Filipino workers will be tightened" and the existing visa-free treatment for Filipinos travelling to Taiwan will also be called off.
Yang said "the retaliatory measures were aimed to safeguard our sovereignty and national dignity".
There are about 72,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, sending hundreds of millions of dollars a year back to the Philippines.
"We'd like to maintain our friendly ties with the Philippines, but what it did first has harmed such ties. Therefore we decided to adopt the measures so as to safeguard national dignity and to display our discontent," the ministry said.
It said the measures will be reviewed contingent upon the Philippines' "goodwill" in the future.
The Philippines, like most countries, formally recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, but maintains trade and tourism ties with Taiwan.
The Philippine Nurses Association of United Kingdom and Ireland (PNA-UK) warned "kababayans" to be wary of job offers that go through a dubious process.
PNA-UK President Michael Duque said prospective Filipino nurses needs to be cautious in dealing with recruiters.
“We are concerned about these improper recruitment procedures and do not want our Filipinos nurses tricked into parting with huge sums of money for nothing,” Duque said.
Duque said the association has noticed an increase in the request for assistance and verification of the authenticity of job offers.
Majority of the information provided dismisses the job offer as highly irregular and involves suspicious proceedings.
“We want Filipino nurses to join us here in the UK to help in the health service, but we want them to be very wary of fraudulent actions both by individuals and business entities, British and Filipino,” Duque said.
He explained that the association recently documented a modus operandi where prospective applicants are sent a message of job interest by email.
Once an applicant replies to the job offer, the alleged employer will further request for the applicant’s complete and detailed CV to start the processing of documents and papers by his appointed solicitor or attorney-in-fact.
Following this, an email containing a detailed Contract of Agreement and a Certificate of Employment will be sent to the applicant with the instruction to sign and send back by email to the employer and his attorney/solicitor who will be supposed to review the applicant’s papers.
He said the Contract of Employment itself is highly attractive and appealing with an offer of a high salary, loads of bonuses, benefits, and a comfortable work-load or duties and responsibilities.
The solicitor will email the applicant with a Certificate of Good Moral Character application form and instructions on how to complete this important document, without which the whole process of job recruitment cannot proceed. This significant document (Certificate of Good Moral Character) needs to be processed before anything else.
The solicitor’s email clearly identifies himself as independent of the employer and often times assert that he works for the High Courts or from a prominent Solicitor’s Firm. The solicitor’s email will also contain specific instructions on how to pay his fees before he can further process your application.
Request for payment are often made through wire transfer or money transfer.
Simultaneously, the employer may also email the applicant pictures of his family and engage in a friendly exchange of information by email on a daily basis.
The employer may also, from time to time, follow-up on the applicant’s documents and question the delay in the processing.
PNA UK advises that applicants should exercise common sense in dealing with these situations.
The following basic guidelines have been outlined to help the applicant:
· Research further details through the internet. Use names, telephone numbers, addresses, company names in the syntax of the term.
· If you have friends and relative in the place or country where the employer is, ask them to check the details for you or even visit the employer for a friendly chat.
· Check the details of the employer and his collaborator with the local authorities.
· Call the business establishment to verify their legitimacy using telephone numbers found in the internet, websites or telephone directory. Do not call to verify using the contact numbers found in their email, chances are these are routing-numbers.
· Check and verify with the Philippines Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) for any existing legitimacy of the job offer.
· Avoid sending sensitive information about yourself (i.e. bank and credit card details, passport details, national insurance numbers, social security, etc.)
· If highly suspicious, end all communications and report to the local authorities.
Some 40 desperate OFWs – most of whom are women who had with them about 15 infants and children – are camped out again under Khandara Bridge in Jeddah hoping for a quick way home to the Philippines, despite the Saudi Arabia government announcing a six-month window for overstaying foreign workers.
“Mahabag naman kayo! [Have pity!]," Migrante Jeddah Chair Bob Fajarito implored for Filipino compatriots living in tents under the shadow of the Khandara overpass.
“These women and children got so tired of waiting for that ‘amnesty’ and became so desperate as to brave the elements in order to go home through the only way they know," Fajarito explained.
Jeddah has been reeling under a cold spell, with temperatures ranging from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius, and also beset with heavy rainfall and flooding since late December when the OFWs started to camp under the Bridge.
“In fact, they were forced to remain standing for the remainder of last night because their tents [were] flooded [due to heavy rains]," reports Fajarito.
Their health situation, especially that of the children, is aggravated by the lack of food supplies, according to Fajarito.
Official neglect
Asked whether any representative from the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah ever visited them, the women answered in unison, “Wala pa [No one yet]."
Khandara Bridge has been the usual place where various overstaying foreign workers converge in order to return to their original point-of-origin through the regular arrests and deportation made by the local Immigration Police.
Previous batches of the ‘stranded’ – the general term given to OFWs who have either run away from their abusive employers, or Filipino pilgrims who overstayed their Umrah or Hajj visa – have camped out in the same manner and were repatriated. The stranded include ‘undocumented’ children of both OFWs and pilgrims.
“The problem this time is that the Philippine Consulate seemed so oblivious to the fact," Fajarito laments. “Bakit pinababayaan sila nang ganito? (Why are they being neglected like this?)"
Promised visit
According to Fajarito, Consul General Ezzedin Tago had talked with Migrante Jeddah officials on Jan. 11 and supposedly promised to send his staff to check the OFWs camped under the Khandara overpass.
“Yet Friday came, and still nobody came," Fajarito lamented. “It’s just as frustrating as their ‘amnesty logbook,’" referring to the record book at the Philippine Consulate where ‘stranded’ Filipinos sign up to express their willingness to avail of the ‘amnesty’ program offered by the Saudi government.
“Those who signed up were told that they would just be called by telephone," he explained, referring to OFWs who had signed up for the ‘amnesty’.
Migrante said nothing concrete has come out of it and they are losing hope that “the said ‘amnesty’ would just be a missed opportunity."
More than 21,000 prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Aug. to Dec. last year as part of the government’s intensified campaign against human trafficking, the Bureau of Immigration said.
In a statement posted on its website, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the OFWs — all women, the youngest being 21 years old — arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
“The OFWs, all women, have complained of maltreatment and abuse from their employers and of unpaid salaries and unreasonably long working hours. The OFWs stayed at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC). The youngest among the repatriated OFWs was 21 years old," the DFA said.
The department said the OFWs “were all very happy to be back in Manila."
“They (OFWs) said they were very grateful to the efforts of the Embassy in saving them from the quagmire they were in," the DFA said.
Lebanon is one of five countries covered by Philippine labor deployment ban. The others are Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Jordan. The Philippine government issued the ban to Lebanon in 2006.
According to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Beirut is currently negotiating a bilateral labor cooperation agreement with the Lebanese government to ensure protection of the welfare of Filipino workers.
“Some stipulations being negotiated include the minimum wage, reasonable rest periods and decent working and living conditions for the Filipino workers," it said.
The DFA said it shouldered the airline tickets of the OFWs through the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) fund. “The DFA, through the Embassy, made strong representations with the Lebanese government resulting in the waiver of deployment cost and immigration penalties."
The Philippine embassy provided the OFWs with food, toiletries, medical provisions and appropriate assistance while waiting for their exit documents to be processed and for their expedited repatriation, the DFA said.
A total of 74 OFWs have already been repatriated from Lebanon this year, with the first batch having arrived last Jan. 13.
The DFA said it continues to work closely with the Philippine Embassies and Consulates General around the world in facilitating the immediate repatriation of distressed OFWs.
The Philippine Embassy in Canberra has opened its communication lines to Filipinos with relatives in Queensland, the northeastern state of Australia that was recently devastated by flash floods after two weeks of heavy rains.
In a release on Thursday, the Embassy through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said those in the Philippines may contact the Embassy and that it will try their best to reach their relatives in Queensland.
The Embassy may be contacted through telephone numbers +61-2-62732535, +61-2-62732536 and +61-2-62735718, fax number +61-2-62733984 or email address cbrpe@philembassy.org.au.
Getting in touch with relatives in Queensland will be difficult for now as power and communication lines are still down in most of the Australian state, the Embassy noted.
In the same release, the Embassy said it has identified point persons who may be contacted for those who wish to send cash donations or donations in kind. (Click here for contact information details on sending donations to Queensland flood victims.)
In a separate release, the Australian Embassy in Manila said the Australian state and federal emergency services are “working hard to provide relief to flood-affected communities."
“While we have no specific information on the number of Filipinos affected by the floods, we would advise any Philippine nationals in the flood-affected areas to monitor the local media and follow the instructions of Queensland authorities," the release added.
The Australian Embassy also noted there is a “serious risk" of further flooding over the period January 12 and 13.
Embassy monitors Pinoys’ conditions
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy said it continues to monitor the situation of Filipinos in flood-affected areas of Queensland, amid reports that some of them have sought refuge in evacuation centers, or are staying with friends and relatives from other areas. (See: DFA: Pinoys in Australia safe amid floods)
Philippine Charges d’Affaires Mary Anne Padua said she has instructed Honorary Consul Allan Grummit to visit the evacuation centers as soon as possible to determine the condition of Filipinos who may have sought temporary shelter there.
The Embassy has likewise called on Filipino community leaders and members, as well as those with work permits in the affected areas, to check on the others’ conditions.
There are about 18,000 Filipinos in Queensland.
“We have all been affected in one way or another by the devastating floods, which affected almost the entire State of Queensland. In this condition, being Filipinos, I know each of us can survive. We have to brace together, assist and support each other," Grummit earlier said.
The DFA said those in flooded areas have been instructed by the Australian authorities to stay in the evacuation centers until the floods recede.
Rivers overflowed and caused flash floods in Queensland after more than two weeks of heavy rain, affecting more than 200,000 people and leaving 15 people dead. More than 70 people remain missing, according to the DFA.
MANILA, Philippines—Some 150 Filipina workers have been languishing in a Dubai prison cell since last month for working part-time at a wedding reception in violation of the United Arab Emirates' immigration laws.
The women were arrested while serving as part of the support and catering staff during the reception held at the Dubai World Trade Center on December 10, an overseas Filipino worker, who witnessed their plight firsthand, said Thursday.
“Their families have to be informed about what happened to them. But the problem is they're incommunicado, and the Philippine authorities don't have access to them,” said Nerissa, who asked that her surname be withheld.
Nerissa had been detained for a week on a separate absconding charge, and met the other Filipinas in a large cell that accommodated 200 women prisoners. Upon her release on January 11, she promised the other Filipinas to give word about their case to the Philippine authorities.
“It's not that the (Philippine) government doesn't want to help them, but the officials can't reach them,” Nerissa said in an interview at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
On December 23, the Dubai-based newspaper The National reported that originally160 Filipinas and an Indonesian woman had been arrested but 10 of the Filipinas who were on their husband's visas were later released.
The paper quoted Benito Valeriano, the Philippine consul general in Dubai, as saying “we have very little information about” the women, and that consulate officials were still waiting for a response to a letter sent to the authorities asking for a list of names and other particulars about the women.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Eduardo Malaya said “a number of those” arrested had been released, although he could not say how many.
“Consulate staff members have made representations with Dubai authorities for the immediate resolution of their cases against the others who are still under detention,” he said in a text message to the Inquirer.
Nerissa said the Filipinas shared the cell, lined with bunk beds, with other nationals, including some Uzbeks, Chinese, Pakistanis and Indians. They had simple amenities like a TV set, a toilet and an air conditioner.
“But they were being treated harshly and were being shouted at all the time. And you can't really argue with the policemen because they don't speak English well,” Nerissa said.
She said there was no indication up to when the women would be detained. “Their only request is that if they're going to be deported, then let them be deported,” she said.
Nerissa added that there were fears that they would be held for up to 70 days, although this could not be confirmed. She cited the case of one of the Filipinas who purportedly paid 50,000 dirhams (slightly less than P600,000) in exchange for her freedom.
Filipinos based in Malaysia have complained to the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur about being victimized by well-laid financial scams.
In a statement, the embassy said the swindlers often target women overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with well-paying jobs in reputable companies. They also use bogus documents and bogus names of Malaysian officials to support their spurious claims.
The Filipinos have been deceived into parting with their hard-earned money by "Internet friends" who befriend them first. These "Internet friends" gradually foist on them variations of the following scams:
- There is a valuable package or bundles of foreign currency notes under the Filipino's name in Malaysia which must be claimed immediately;
- There is a lucrative job offer awaiting the Filipino as his/her credentials and experience made him/her qualified for the position needed by the company; and
- There is an SOS e-mail received by the Filipino from the alleged friends of the "Internet friend" stating that the friend is in trouble and is detained by authorities in Malaysia. This "Internet friend" allegedly needs the Filipino to bail him out of trouble. This is done after the person manages to make the Filipino believe in his profession of love and everlasting friendship.
The swindler tells the victim to remit money as a precondition for receipt of the goods, job contracts or marriage/engagement proposals.
The embassy warns OFWs of the said scams and to contact and seek advice from the nearest Philippine embassy or consulate before committing to dubious internet offers.
MANILA, Philippines—They keep the economy afloat and so deserve a medical facility of their own.
Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado Arroyo, have proposed the establishment of a special hospital for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their dependents.
With many of them sick or ailing when they return to Manila, overseas workers would best be served in a special hospital, they said.
“Many OFWs are in immediate need of medical attention or hospital confinement due to various physical or mental illnesses sustained abroad,” the Arroyos said in House Bill No. 1474.
They proposed to name the facility the Migrant Workers Hospital and leave its control and supervision to the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (Owwa), the government agency overseeing overseas workers’ needs.
The Arroyos said the hospital would complement the package of health services provided by Owwa to OFWs and their dependents.
It would provide comprehensive health care services to workers who are Owwa contributors. Even would-be overseas workers who had secured approved job orders would be served by the hospital.
The facility “shall complement the existing package of services under the Health Care Program so as to include preventive, diagnostic, curative and rehabilitative programs.”
It will also have a system that will ensure the effective monitoring of patients’ conditions and collect relevant data crucial for the formulation of policies.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration recorded a "downtrend" in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the first ten months of 2010. POEA Deputy Administrator Stella Banawis said there was a 3-percent drop in the number of OFWs deployed from January to October.
"Negative 3.0 percent. The preliminary data showed that there is really a downtrend," Banawis said. "So we are actually projecting a decrease this year based on the trend although it is still preliminary."
She said that only 1.079 million OFWs were deployed from January to October this year compared with 1.112 million during the same period last year.
Banawis said that the lingering effects of the global financial crisis could be blamed for the decrease in OFW deployment.
"I think it is still the effect of the crisis. (The numbers for) Canada and Australia have not risen," she added.
She said that the mandatory insurance policy for OFWs might have also affected deployment while the local situation in other countries, like the increase of Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, also affected the deployment of OFWs in those places.
However, Banawis said the POEA noted a 10.7-percent increase in the number of accredited employers from January to September. The POEA accredited 15,049 employers during that period in 2009 and registered 16,665 this year.
There was also a 31.5-percent growth in terms of job orders, Banawis said.
"These job orders have a two-year validity so it does not mean that all will be processed this year. Normally, we approve thousands, up to 500,000," she added.
Immigration team formed to catch foreigner from trafficking Filipinos outside the country, stated by Ronaldo Ledesma last Teusday
The Trafficking in Persons Unit (TIPU) will be composed of the bureau's intelligence operatives, Ledesma said.
Ledesma said the primary objective of the BI would be to support government efforts to have the Philippines removed from the Tier 2 human trafficking watch list of the US State Department.
He ordered BI intelligence chief Faizal Hussin to submit the names of operatives to be assigned to TIPU. The unit, which will be supervised by Hussin, will be under intelligence officer Epipanio Lambino Jr.
Lambino said at least 10 immigration agents would be needed to make the unit effective in gathering intelligence information on foreigners involved in human trafficking and in coordinating with other law enforcement agencies in conducting operations against the suspects, among others.
MANILA, Philippines—Some 2,500 Filipino migrant workers are set to pursue legal action against their employer in Madagascar, an island-nation in the Indian Ocean, and its affiliate Manila placement agency for alleged unfair labor practices and breach of contract.
At least 300 of the contract workers of the construction firm Kentz Engineers and Contractors have returned to the country.
Next Thursday, they are scheduled to file a formal complaint before the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration against their employer and its undisclosed local affiliate.
Their co-workers are set to return to the country shortly.
Reynaldo Ubasa, one of the leaders of the group, alleged they were "made to work for more than eight hours a day with no overtime pay."
In a statement, Ubasa also cited "discrepancies and delays" in the payment of their salaries.
"The construction firm we worked for cheated us of our salaries, prompting us to fight back," said Ubasa.
The firm also prevented the Filipino workers to "communicate with the outside world, cutting out Internet connection, and seek help in the Philippines," he disclosed.
During the past two months, the Filipino workers staged a series of strikes at their construction site in Madagascar, to no avail.
Terry Ridon, national chair of the militant League of Filipino Students, has taken up the cudgels for Ubasa and his co-workers.
Last week, Ridon bumped into Ubasa's group at the Johannesburg international airport shortly before they took a flight bound for Manila.
In an e-mail, Ridon told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "our OFWs are suffering abroad under pitiful conditions while the Aquino government leisurely watches them return to the country in tears, deceived and unemployed."
"Worse, the government had cut the budget for assistance to distressed migrant workers. It also made more problems for OFWs with its compulsory insurance policy," Ridon said.
The LFS leader asked Malacañang and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to "respond immediately to the problems of these OFWs."
MANILA, Philippines—Unlike the long holiday season in the Philippines, Christmas in Singapore is a one-day affair, said Katrina Mateo, who has been working in the city-state since 2007.
The holiday decor on Orchard Road, the city-state’s most popular retail and entertainment hub, is elaborate “but since the majority of Singapore inhabitants are Muslims and Buddhists, Christmas here is a subdued holiday, said the 29-year-old from San Pablo, Laguna, who lives abroad with her husband Reden.
“So subdued that the first year we lived in Singapore we decided to spend Christmas back home because we felt we could not take the loneliness,” Kat says, laughing.
Kat, who worked as a copywriter in a Makati-based media company for three years, decided to leave her job in early 2007 to follow Reden, a former officemate who had been offered a technical writing job in Singapore.
Simple affair in Singapore
Come Christmas of 2008, Kat and husband Reden were able to adjust well to Singaporean life that they decided to spend the holidays in the city-state.
“Of course we still missed the festive Filipino Christmas and our loved ones, but we did not have to deal with the usual holiday stress back home,” Kat says with a laugh.
One benefit: They did not have to spend a lot on holiday-related expenses and did not have to worry about staggering credit card bills come January.
Kat recalls only having to prepare Christmas dinner on the 24th and eating it with Reden and their Filipino housemates. On the 26th, it was back to work for them.
“Christmas is a one-day affair in Singapore, and we had to get used to that. We are far from our families and loved ones anyway, so it was not something to make a big deal out of,” Kat says.
The next year, Kat’s parents decided to spend Christmas with them. Kat’s father Joe and mother Mayen Zuño booked tickets to Singapore as early as mid-2009.
Kat did not know then that her beloved mother was already suffering from cancer. In October 2009, Kat resigned from work and went home after learning that her usually vibrant mom was very sick and had to undergo chemotherapy sessions. Her mom died a month later.
Kat went back to Singapore in December 2009. Her dad and three siblings—sister Lia, brothers Miko and Paolo—arrived later to spend Christmas with her and Reden.
“It was sad because Mommy was not there with us, but we did okay,” Kat says, adding that her dad and siblings had to “squeeze themselves” in the apartment they shared with five other Filipinos.
While 2009 ended on a sad note for Kat and her family, the following year brought good tidings in the form of a most-awaited development.
“After two years of patiently waiting, I am finally pregnant with a son,” Kat, who is due to give birth in March, happily reveals.
Christmas was a simple lunch this year. “But now, of course, we have the best Christmas gift ever,” she says with a smile.
Kat notes that the three Christmases she spent in Singapore have taught her a very important lesson: “Here, you have to concoct your own festivities and make your own Christmas celebrations as happy as possible, because unlike in the Philippines, your foreign home won’t be able to do that for you.”
100 relatives in the US
On the other side of the world, the Retardo sisters tell a different Yuletide story.
Instead of having to go all the way home to the Philippines to spend the holidays with their loved ones or enduring the loneliness of spending it alone in a foreign land like most migrant Filipinos, the Retardos of Huntington Beach, California get to celebrate Christmas “Pinoy-style.”
“We are one huge happy family here,” Karen Retardo, a 37-year-old nurse, says.
Her younger sister Kaye, a professor at the California State University Long Beach (CSULB), explains that they have over 100 first degree and immediate relatives in the United States, and “another 200 second-, third-, and fourth-degree relatives.”
“We have fun Christmas celebrations here with our family, eight to 12 families come together on Christmas Eve for Noche Buena at an aunt or uncle’s house. Each family brings one to two dishes,” Kaye, 33, who also consults for hospitals, says.
Kim, another Retardo sister, describes Christmas as “a big event for the big family we have.”
The Retardos’ mom Edy Antonio-Retardo has all seven of her siblings in the US, who attend the clan Christmas party with their own families. Kim adds that their other aunts and uncles—cousins of their mom—also attend the special event, making the guest list even longer.
“I consider myself blessed that the majority of our family and relatives are here,” Karen says.
Aside from Christmas, the Retardos get together with their relatives on New Year, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, birthdays, weddings, and the newly created “annual Antonio Clan sports fest.”
Next year will be more special for the Retardo sisters as their younger and only brother, Kristoffer, will be joining them in the US after graduation.
“After my dad passed away, it has been my family’s ultimate dream to be together. And now it is going to be a dream come true,” Kim says.
MANILA, Philippines—Some 6,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Afghanistan will lose their jobs by the end of the year if the government fails to lift the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to the war-torn country.
To prevent the mass repatriation of OFWs from Afghanistan, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has filed a resolution urging the Department of Labor and Employment to rescind its order prohibiting the deployment of OFWs to Afghanistan and for the Department of Foreign Affairs to recall its order banning travel to that country.
Though it may be one of the most dangerous countries in the world, Afghanistan has become a temporary home to some 6,000 Filipino workers who, although they entered the country illegally, have found a living there amid war and chaos.
Proposed House Resolution 515 noted that despite the total travel and work ban imposed since 2007, and despite continuing security concerns, OFWs have secured employment in Afghanistan.
Majority of the OFWs are employed in US bases, camps and other military facilities maintained by the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Afghanistan.
