The F Magazine June issue is now available with Jose Isidro N. (Lito) Camacho on the cover.
Jose Isidro N. "Lito" Camacho is the current Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse Asia Pacific and Chairman of the Board of Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc.
Camacho also served in the Cabinet of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo briefly as Energy Secretary, before becoming the Secretary of Finance in 2001 until he resigned from government service in 2003.
The Labor Day and Mother's Day Issue (MAY 2011) of Bagong Bayani Magazine with RAMON PADIERNOS, Philippines' Pride in the High Octane World of Digital Technology on the cover, is now out and available for FREE, as usual!
BAGONG BAYANI (MODERN-DAY HERO) MAGAZINE is published monthly in English and Filipino by Salomon Publishing Singapore Pte. Ltd., this glossy, laminated and perfect bound magazine is distributed for FREE, at the Philippine Embassy, Filipino Stores and Restaurants, Remittance Centres, Churches, MRT stations amongst its distribution points.
Salomon publishing is encouraging everyone to share the magazine to the Filipino community here in Singapore.
Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. welcomed a recently released US State Department report that the Philippines has made significant progress in combating human trafficking even as he pledged the BI’s continued vigilance in stopping human trafficking victims from leaving or entering the country.
David said the improvement of the Philippines’ standing in the human trafficking scorecard based on the Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessments is a clear and encouraging sign that the BI’s relentless drive against trafficking has paid off, despite criticisms that the bureau has been overzealous in doing its job.
David commended BI personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for doing a very good job during the past several months in stopping the departure of thousands of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were victimized by illegal recruitment and human trafficking syndicates. He also acknowledged the accomplishments of his predecessor, former BI officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma, for instituting the measures and policies that enabled the bureau to offload the biggest number of trafficking victims in the agency’s history.
Statistics showed that from August to December alone, immigration officers at the NAIA and other airports stopped more than 27,000 passengers, most of them OFWs disguised as tourists, from leaving.
The combined efforts of all member agencies of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) resulted in the conviction of 21 human traffickers by the courts from July 2010 to March this year.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it expects the Philippines’ record to improve when the State Department releases this June its next report on human trafficking.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the 21 convictions during the past nine months were a far cry from the 25 convictions in the past 7 years.
During the assessment period, 9 sex traffickers were convicted, with prison sentences ranging from 6 years to life imprisonment. One immigration official was slapped with criminal charges while 19 immigration personnel are facing administrative raps for trafficking-related activities.
According to the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, the Philippines has made ‘significant progress’ in its anti-human trafficking campaign since the release of the State Department’s 2010 report.
Last June, the DOJ ordered prosecutors to make trafficking cases a priority while the Supreme Court later issued a circular instructing courts to expedite the disposition of trafficking cases.
Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) barred from leaving the country 34 prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Thailand.
In a report to Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo A. David Jr., BI airport operations division acting chief Lina Andaman Pelia said the passengers were offloaded last April 7 as they were about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Bangkok.
Pelia said the passengers were prevented from boarding their flight after intense questioning by immigration officers forced them to confess that they were actually OFWs disguised as business travelers.
“They were offloaded for not having the required clearances and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Pelia said. Immigration Officer Marlene Pedrealba, who heads the NAIA-BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) added that the passengers admitted during the interviews that they were going to work in Bangkok.
“In fact, many of them are former OFWs who had worked in Dubai,” Pedrealba stressed.
It was Pedrealba’s team that interviewed the 34 passengers after they were referred to the BI by the PAL supervisor on duty at the counter where the “tourist workers” had checked-in for their flight.
David commended the TCEU members for their vigilance even as he exhorted them to step up their vigilance and be on the lookout for similar passengers departing in large groups.
The names of the passengers were not divulged as the anti-human trafficking law prohibits the public disclosure of both the traffickers and their victims.
Investigation revealed that the OFWs were going to work for the Super Giant Touring Carnival owned by Apirom Properties Company Ltd., an affiliate of the Big Fun World company based in Dubai and where many of the passengers had already worked.
The passengers were allegedly traveling on a business visa that was provided by a company in Dubai which was supposed to process their work permits in Thailand.
Singapore on Friday named an orchid with bright golden yellow petals after President Benigno Aquino, an honor accorded to visiting heads of state.
President Benigno S. Aquino III graces the orchid breed naming ceremony at the National Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens Friday
The island-state's National Parks Board named the orchid Ascocenda Benigno S. Aquino in a ceremony at the Singapore National Orchid Garden on Friday morning.
"This is a vigorous and free flowering hybrid. It bears flowering sprays with 10 to 12 flowers each. The flowers are 7 to 8 cm across. Petals and sepals are bright golden yellow with many distinct reddish-brown spots and tessellations," the board said in a statement.
President Benigno Aquino 3rd holds a picture of an orchid named after him—Ascocendra Benigno S. Aquino 3rd—during an orchid breed-naming ceremony at the National Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Friday
Aquino's late revered mother, former President Corazon Aquino, also had an orchid named after her but it was not in bloom this season.
Malacañang has created a new, high-level team to strengthen the government’s ability to respond to the needs of overseas Filipino workers faced with political conflict and natural disasters in the countries where they toil.
Executive Order No. 34, signed on April 6 by President Benigno Aquino III and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. establishes the Overseas Preparedness and Response Team under the Office of the President. It replaces the Middle East Preparedness Team that was formed in 2002 to deal with the evacuation of thousands of Filipino workers in the Middle East during the crisis in Iraq.
The EO mandates that the OPRT be composed of the executive secretary as chairperson and the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns and the secretaries of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employment, National Defense, Justice, the Interior and Local Government, and Budget and Management as members.
The presidential adviser on migrant workers is Vice President Jejomar Binay.
The high-level crisis team has been tasked to draw up strategies and programs and to formulate policies to appropriately respond to crisis situations affecting Filipinos abroad. It shall develop and adopt interactive operating arrangements among agencies to effect maximum coordination.
The panel may call upon any department or agency of the government or private-sector group and coordinate with bilateral and multilateral partners in the formulation and implementation of plans, programs and policies.
“Natural disasters, civil unrest, armed conflicts and similar crises in foreign countries expose overseas Filipinos to immediate hazards and risks,” Ochoa said in a statement regarding the EO.
“So, it is only imperative that we establish a measure and a system that would ensure the safety and welfare of our countrymen abroad,” he added.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo A. David Jr. urged immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to step up their vigilance and intensify the agency’s campaign against human trafficking.
David made the appeal during a dialogue with the bureau’s head supervisors and personnel assigned at the premiere port last Monday.
David directed Lina Andaman Pelia, BI airport operations division chief, to institute measures that will not only stop victims of illegal recruitment from leaving but also prevent the smuggling of illegal aliens.
He said the campaign against human trafficking should also target the syndicates that use the Philippines as a transit point for smuggling illegal aliens to other countries.
“Although we should be proud of our success in stopping thousands of undocumented OFWs from leaving, more efforts should likewise be exerted prevent the entry of illegal aliens who are later smuggled abroad by the syndicates that recruited and victimized them,” the immigration chief added. Immigration officers at the NAIA have been offloading thousands of passengers since August last year when it launched its intensified drive against human trafficking.
Most of the offloaded passengers were prospective OFWs bound for Asian destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hongkong, and the Middle East but did not have the required overseas employment certificate from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
David said the BI will soon be deploying more immigration officers to the NAIA to augment the personnel who process and screen passengers.
He also stressed the need to conduct more training programs that will bolster the capability of BI personnel in profiling suspected illegal aliens and detecting fraudulent travel documents.
“Deploying more immigration officers will not serve its purpose unless we are sure that they have the capability and the know-how to perform their jobs,” he added.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz declared the Philippine Embassy’s full support for the inclusion of the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) in the New 7 Wonders of Nature, a global polling campaign that “highlights and celebrates the beauty of the planet.”
“The Philippine Embassy supports the campaign to have the Puerto Princesa Underground River recognized as one of the new seven wonders of nature and enjoin all Filipinos and nature lovers to vote for our overwhelming choice,” the Philippine envoy said.
The PPUR was declared as one of the 28 official entries in this global polling search, which includes the Amazon River (Brazil), Komodo (Indonesia), Grand Canyon (USA), Maldives, Halong Bay (Vietnam), Uluru (Australia), Jeju Island (Korea), to name a few.
Puerto Princesa’s Assistant City Administrator/Tourism Officer Rebecca Labit visited Singapore in February and sought the support of the Filipino community in Singapore during the monthly Filcom meeting at the Embassy to ensure the entry of the PPUR in the New 7 Wonders of Nature. No less than President Benigno S. Aquino III has endorsed the PPUR campaign.
The nationwide campaign for this worldwide search began on 01 March 2011 and will end on 10 November 2011, the last day of voting.
The Philippine Embassy appeals to all Filipinos and their friends in Singapore to vote for PPUR by logging on to New 7 Wonders or via SMS by typing PPUR and sending it to 2861.
To help weed out fake doctors, dentists and the like, the Professional Regulation Commission on Thursday launched an online verification system that would allow interested persons to check if an individual is a licensed professional or not.
“With the system … the days of con men producing fake documents, including unscrupulous persons posing as professionals to defraud the public are over,” Baldoz said in a statement.
Baldoz and PRC commissioner Alfredo Po led the rites launching the OVFP at the Department of Labor and Employment main office in Intramuros, Manila.
“The OVFP is a system that allows online verification of the status of professionals. Employers or any person can check with the system, which can be accessed through the PRC website, the authenticity of the license of any professional, or if the latter is in good standing,” Baldoz said.
“The public can now also verify online if, for instance, the doctor or engineer they are dealing with is licensed,” she added.
Baldoz urged the public to report to law enforcers those individuals or groups that, upon verification with the OVFP, were proven to be unlicensed, “including those who were producing fake documents.”
The PRC also launched on Thursday its Online Renewal Application System (ORAS) that would allow Filipino professionals, including those abroad, to renew their professional identification cards (PICs) without having to go to the PRC itself.
PRC chairman Nicolas Lapena said Oras was intended primarily for professionals working overseas “who usually resort to filing their applications through authorized parties.”
“The system is designed to save our professionals time, money, and effort, adding that the transactions covered include the renewal, reprinting and duplication of the PIC,” Lapena said.
A 41-year-old heartbroken Singaporean woman filed last Valentine’s Day charges of violation of the law on violence against women and children against her Filipino boyfriend for failing to fulfill his promise to marry her.
Ho Hwee Fang, single and resident of Saint Michael’s Road, The Richmond, Singapore, filed the complaint at the Basista police station and reported that she is suffering from emotional and mental anguish because of her boyfriend, identified as Michael Valdez.
Investigators said the charges against Valdez were later filed at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in San Carlos City, Pangasinan. Police investigation showed that last October, Valdez proposed to marry her and they agreed to settle down in Singapore and also in the Philippines.
Ho and Valdez agreed to get married first in the Philippines while she is preparing for their marriage in Singapore. The love struck would-be bride prepared everything for their supposed marriage last Feb. 8. She arrived in the Philippines and found that Valdez had run away and left word that he would not marry her anymore. Valdez is still missing.
As a result, the victim said she was stressed, very upset, and could not eat or sleep and didn’t know what to do. She was ashamed to face her family and friends after her boyfriend dumped her for no apparent reason.
Not so good news about the Philippines compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors.
source: BloombergBloomberg: The Philippines has overtaken Indonesia and Thailand as the country facing the greatest threat from terrorism, according to FTI-International Risk, a security consultancy.
While the Philippines has made progress in containing the threat from armed groups such as the Abu Sayyaf, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and New Peoples’ Army, it lagged behind other countries in the region, FTI-International Risk’s Chairman Steve Vickers said in a report released today.
The U.S. State Department renewed its travel warning for the Philippines on Nov. 2, citing an October bus bombing that killed 10 people and warning attacks could extend “to include Manila.” Philippines ranks 130 out of 149 countries in the 2010 Global Peace Index compiled by the Sydney-based Institute of Economics & Peace. Thailand ranked 124, and Pakistan 145.
“Pakistan, southern Thailand and southern Philippines are the places where, unless you have a very compelling reason, you should not be going without professional support,” Vickers, who formerly commanded the Hong Kong Police Criminal Intelligence Bureau, said in a phone interview today.
Indonesia’s counter-terrorism program was successful in 2010, he said. Little progress had been made in tackling an insurgency in southern Thailand because the government there was distracted by violent protests in Bangkok, the FTI report said.
FTI-International Risk is a subsidiary of Palm Beach, Florida-based FTI Consulting Inc. that offers investigation and security consultancy services.
Isolated Trouble
The trouble in the Philippines is largely isolated in the south of the country, and while the government has made progress in suppressing the Abu Sayyaf, “in quiet times, you see them going back to what they do best, which is small-scale kidnapping and ransom,” Vickers said. “Some of it is purely criminal and has no link to terror groups,” he said.
Edwin Lacierda, a spokesman for Philippines President Benigno Aquino, said the report overstated the threat.
“It’s a matter of perception,” Lacierda said at a regular televised briefing. “The threat is not as grave as the think tank assesses it.”
The southern Philippine island of Mindanao is home to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and a stronghold for the military wing of the Communist Party, the New People’s Army, both branded terror organizations by the U.S.
Between 2005 and 2010, 1,536 people were killed in terror attacks in the Philippines, including those staged by the two groups, according to the U.S. National Counter-Terrorism website.
Two days ago, suspected Muslim militants killed five businessmen in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, Xinhua news service reported, citing an official.
Xstrata Attacks
Communist rebels have staged attacks on mining assets in the Philippines, derailing the government’s plan to attract overseas investors. At least two attacks on Xstrata Plc’s Tampakan copper project in Mindanao were staged in 2008.
The NPA has a policy of imposing taxes on state and private infrastructure projects within the areas of its operations, Satur Ocampo, a co-founder of the National Democratic Front, an alliance of organizations including the New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines, said in a 2009 interview. He declined to give an estimate of the tax collected.
A study three years earlier by Philippine Institute for Development Studies put the levy at between 5 percent and 10 percent.
Bombing cellular phone towers and other infrastructure is a way for rebels to assert their authority, Ocampo said.
‘Plain Banditry’
“It’s one form for the revolutionary government to demonstrate its political and military authority, to deliver a message to the contractors,” Ocampo said. “Of course, the government claims this is plain banditry.”
President Benigno Aquino’s government said in December the government will ensure security in mining sites and that the NPA’s extortion threatens investment.
The armed conflict in Mindanao between the government and the Muslim rebels resulted in an economic loss of more than $10 billion between 1975 and 2002, according to the World Bank.
The International Risk report’s findings “might affect the new investors” who rely on risk consultancy firms, said Earl Parreno, an analyst at the Institute for Political and Economic Reforms in Manila.
Aquino, who started his six-year term in June, vowed to fight corruption and bolster investments as he seeks to expand the economy by at least 7 percent starting this year. His government plans to pitch to investors more than 700 billion pesos ($15.9 billion) of road, port and railway projects.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2011 Foreign Service Officers (FSO) Examination.
The FSO Exams will be held on the following dates:
All parts of the examination will be conducted in the Philippines.
Applicants must meet the following basic criteria:
The list of additional requirements and the application form for the examination may be downloaded from the Embassy website (click on the links below).
Those interested may submit their duly accomplished application forms, together with all necessary supporting documents, in person at Window 1 of the Embassy no later than 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 2 February 2011. Application forms may also be submitted in person to the DFA Main Office until 5:00 pm on Friday, 11 February 2011.
Applications will not be accepted beyond the set deadline.
To download the Examination Announcement and list of requirements, click here.
To download the 2011 FSO Examination application form, click here.
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 Philippine Bureau of Immigration said.
Immigration officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma said the 21,709 persons who were offloaded from their flights all had tourist visas but intended to work upon reaching their destinations, putting them at risk with abuses, exploitation and even incarceration.
The BI started its drive against the so-called ‘tourist workers’ in August after Ledesma was appointed OIC.
The campaign, which was launched on orders of President Benigno Aquino III and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, aims to protect undocumented OFWs, most of whom are victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking syndicates.
Suspected tourist workers are barred from boarding their flights once they fail to show the necessary clearance and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Lawyer Maria Antonette Bucasas, BI airport operations division chief, said most of the offloaded passengers were bound for traditional OFW destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Middle East.
Bucasas reported that of the total offloaded passengers, 11,990 were intercepted at the NAIA 1 terminal, 6,397 at the NAIA 3, and 3,322 were at the NAIA 2.
Ledesma said some offloading cases are being investigated by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) headed by Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who is also undersecretary in charge of the immigration bureau.
“Hopefully, the investigations will result in the successful prosecution and conviction of the illegal recruiters and human traffickers who victimized and enticed these passengers to leave without proper documentation," Ledesma said.
He vowed to pursue without letup the BI’s drive against trafficking not only at the NAIA but in other major ports of the country of as well.
The government’s anti-trafficking drive was prompted by a US State Department report released last year listing the Philippines in Tier 2 of its human trafficking watch list. The US government has threatened to suspend all non-humanitarian aid to all countries with serious trafficking problems including the Philippines.
Bob Arum and Shane Mosley said it’s a go, the fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
But Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, said they’re still tying some loose ends, and that the Filipino superstar will make his final decision after the holidays.
“A hundred percent it’s going to be Mosley. But we’re not yet where we want to be,” said Koncz.
Pacquiao must be trying to spice up the contents of the contract before he finally says yes.
“But we’re not too far,” said Koncz who also spoke to fanhouse.com and said, “We have yet to hear from Mr. Arum. I haven’t reached out to him and he hasn’t reached out to me. It’s the holidays, and we’re in no rush. We’ll speak to Arum shortly in the next few days and make our final decision probably by the new year,” said Koncz.
“When Bob Arum was here (in the Philippines), certainly Mr. Mosley consumed most of the time during our conversations, and that would mean that he got the bulk of our attention. But that doesn’t mean that we picked him. Most of our time was spent discussing Shane Mosley, however, it was also asked that Bob Arum return to Las Vegas with a counter proposal.”
“It’s a go. Bob (Arum) and (his representative) James (Prince) came to an agreement on the money minutes ago. Bob is drawing up the contracts and I will sign either on Wednesday or Thursday,” said the pride of Pomona, California.
Arum said he wants everything done and over with as soon as possible because he has to work on the dates, the promotion and the press tour that should take both fighters to Los Angeles, New York, Washington and San Francisco.
Arum said there would be a stop in Washington because US Senator Harry Reid is setting up a rare meeting between Pacquiao and the US President, Barack Obama.
“The President wants to see Manny,” said Arum.
The meeting between the two of the world’s most powerful figures was supposed to take place right after Pacquiao’s fight with Antonio Margarito last November.
Arum said he expects a tough fight for Pacquiao, who will face Mosley at 147 or 148 lb.
“We came to a meeting of the minds,” Arum told ESPN.com about his meeting with Prince in Las Vegas.
“[Top Rank matchmaker] Bruce Trample says it’s a very difficult fight. I believe it will be an exciting fight. Shane knows how to fight and how to deal with the speed. Manny is in for a hellacious fight. I really believe styles make fights,” Arum said.
Mosley said he’ll knock Pacquiao out.
“Come on, man. I’m a bigger guy than him and he gets hit. And you saw how I hurt Floyd. Manny is going to come forward and I will hit him on the chin at some point. His defense is not like Floyd’s. Manny will come at me, and I will knock him out,” he told ESPN.com.
But it’s not a hundred percent that’s going to happen.
To bring down the cost of sending money to the Philippines, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Wednesday he is pushing for the creation of an “OFW Bank."
Binay — also the Presidential Adviser on OFWs’ Concerns — wrote to President Benigno Aquino III pushing for the proposed bank as an “alternative yet viable" remittance institution here and abroad.
“The bank will provide fair competition towards the reduction or lowering of remittance or transaction costs and provide a productive outlet for our overseas Filipinos’ savings as bank investors and shareholders," he said in the letter posted on the Office of the Vice President’s website.
Binay said the move was in response to OFWs’ (overseas Filipino workers) clamor for an OFW Bank, as financial intermediaries and money brokers are presently charging exorbitant fees for money transfers.
Government financial institutions will initially fund and underwrite the bank, according to the Vice President said.
Eventually, investors and stockholders will own and control the OFW Bank, Binay said.
Money sent home by OFWs rose to $15.46 billion in the first 10 months of the year, up 7.9 percent from $14.23 billion in the same period last year, central bank data showed.
A chunk of the remittances came from the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.
The idea for an OFW Bank was raised in 2006 as a way of consolidating the financial assets and operational capabilities of government institutions, like Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Philippine Postal Corp.
The project was supposed to create a financial institution for OFWs, one that is inexpensive and more focused toward its OFW-oriented direction and services. Because of the global recession, it was shelved.
Instead, LandBank and DBP launched separate remittance programs for the lucrative OFW market estimated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration between eight million and 11.5 million land- and sea-based employees.
The money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) totaled $1.673 billion in October, a new monthly record signaling the advent of money transfers for the Christmas season, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday.
The remittances in October brought to $15.456 billion the amount of money remitted by OFWs in first 10 months of the year, up 7.9 percent from $14.231 billion in the same period last year.
BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement the remittances in October grew by $142 million or 9.3 percent from $1.531 billion booked a year earlier.
The remittances in October also eclipsed the $1.623-billion record registered in June.
"Remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks grew 9.3 percent in October 2010 to reach $1.7 billion, the highest monthly level posted during the year," Tetangco stressed.
"The sustained remittance flows into the country were due to the sustained robust demand for skilled and professional Filipinos," he added.
The remittances that accounted for 84 percent of the total and coursed through banks came from the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.
More job opportunities
Job orders that have been approved totaled 578,535 in the first 11 months, according to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
These orders were for the service and production sectors as well as professional, technical, and related fields in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
More Filipinos would be deployed after the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported employers in Algeria plan to hire more workers for infrastructure projects, according to the BSP.
The construction of a military base in Guam next year will also open more job opportunities for OFWs, the central bank said.
"Looking ahead, the deployment outlook for Filipinos overseas also remained upbeat, given continuing bilateral talks with some host countries aimed at matching manpower requirements with the competencies of Filipino workers," the BSP chief said.
Global remittance networks
There are continuing efforts to improve the variety and coverage of the global remittance networks, enabling OFWs to transfer money using more innovative financial services.
"This, combined with the increasing presence of bank and non-bank money transfer conduits, both locally and internationally, as well as the expanding range of products and services offered by financial intermediaries to overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries, contributed to the strong inflow of remittances," Tetangco explained.
In 2009, remittances went up 5.4 percent to a record $17.348 billion from $16.426 billion in 2008 exceeding the revised 4-percent forecast by the central bank.
As part of its efforts to honor overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the government is giving returning OFWs a free ride to bus terminals where they can get a ride to their home provinces during the holidays.
Radio dzBB's Denver Trinidad reported Monday the free rides are part of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration's "Pamaskong Handog (Christmas offering)."
The report quoted OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon as saying the returning OFWs will be ferried from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to different bus terminals.
On the other hand, Dimzon said she has ordered OWWA personnel at the NAIA terminals doubled to attend to the needs of returning OFWs.
On Monday afternoon, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will personally lead officials in welcoming OFWs returning home for the holidays.
Aquino is expected to hand out raffle prizes to lucky OFWs, the report said.
President Benigno Aquino III will go to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Monday to welcome returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The move would symbolize the government's high regard for OFWs, whose remittances sustain the economy, radio dzBB reported Sunday.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Carmelita Dimzon will be with the President.
With luck, three OFWs will get cash and non-cash prizes in a raffle, according to dzBB.
His administration will make working abroad an "option" instead of a necessity for Filipinos, the President earlier said.
During the campaign for the May 10 elections, Aquino lamented that poverty continued to force many Filipinos for better paying jobs abroad.
Malacañang announced it was retaining the holiday schedule provided for under Proclamation No. 1841 of 2009 “Declaring the Regular Holidays, Special (Non-working) Days, and Special Holiday (for all Schools) for the Year 2010, saying the law was “relevant” for the occasion.
In an interview aired over dzRB on Sunday, Presidential Communication and Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said the government concurred with the law also known as the “holiday economics” law which provides that non-religious holidays be moved to the nearest Monday.
The rationale behind this law is to give Filipinos a longer weekend with which they can use to bond and strengthen family relationships as well as spur domestic tourism.
Under Proclamation No. 1841, December 24 (Friday) and December 31 (Friday) have been declared as “additional special (non-working) days” while December 27 has been declared a non-working holiday as it falls on the Monday nearest Rizal Day, a regular holiday every December 30.
With this holiday schedule, a pocket of three working days from December 28 (Tuesday) to December 30 (Thursday) remains for the remainder of the year after Christmas.
"In the spirit of the holiday season, ang sabi ko sa ating collectors, examiners at appraisers, lalung-lalo na dito sa arrival area na bigyan naman ng konting konsiderasyon ang ating mga kababayan," said Customs Commissioner Lito Alvarez.
Balikbayans or OFWs will be allowed by the BoC to bring in one electronic product free of duties and taxes.
Based on customs regulations, ad valorem tax is imposed on an electronic product with more than P10,000 value.
Alvarez admitted that the law on duties and taxes is outdated and needs to be amended by Congress.
OFW Rodrigo Cabuena had just arrived from Palma de Mallorca in Spain. He bought family chocolates and clothes as presents for his family because he knows how difficult it is to bring in electronic products in the country.
Aside from the long thorough search of his belongings, BoC members would also bombard him with several questions.
“Alam nyo po naman ang trabaho namin saka yung sahod namin, minimum wage earner lang po kami doon. Ngayon, kung pagbabayarin po kami nun, medyo mabigat yun,” Cabuena said.
Alvarez reminded OFWs that they must honestly fill up the Customs Declaration Form and bring the receipt of the electronic item they want to bring into the country
source: abs-cbn
