26th August 2006
22 August 2006 — Legal Officer Patricia Oliver (2nd L) of the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Airport Assistance Officer Nestor Burayag (1st R) assist OFW Glena Cacundangan (3rd L) and her accompanying nurse (1st L) upon their arrival at the NAIA-1 at 3:00 p.m. aboard Etihad Airways flight EY427 from Cairo via Abu Dhabi. OFW Cacundangan of Urdaneta, Pangasinan suffered a stroke in Cairo on 11 August 2006 while accompanying her Saudi employers there for a vacation. The Philippine Embassy in Cairo coordinated with OFW Cacundangan’s employers on her hospitalization and eventual return to the Philippines. The OWWA facilitated her return to Urdaneta directly from the airport. (Photo by Mark Santos, DFA-PISU.)
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25th August 2006
Oplan Sagip program of Philippine government through the DFA, OWWA and IOM successfully repatriated the 50th batch of Filipino workers from war-torn Lebanon. As of the moment, there are still more than 20 thousands of OFWs remaining in the area, it was learned. (Please see photos below courtesy by Mark Santos, DFA photo news as forwarded by Ms. Turiano.)
23 August 2006 — Officials from the DFA, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) led by OWWA Deputy Administrator Angelo Jimenez (left, standing) assist the 15 Filipinos in completing their immigration and customs documents, and explain the Government assistance available to them following their arrival at the NAIA-1 at 2:40 p.m. aboard Etihad Airways flight EY427 from Abu Dhabi. The 15 Filipinos form the 50th batch of Filipinos repatriated from Lebanon and the 20th batch flown by the IOM as part of its ongoing assistance to the Government’s efforts at bringing home Filipinos from Lebanon. (Photo by Mark Santos, DFA-PISU.)
22 August 2006 — Officials from the DFA, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) led by OWWA Deputy Administrator Angelo Jimenez (1st, L, at the back) and OWWA Airport Assistance Officer Nestor Burayag (L) assist the 15 Filipinos in completing their immigration and customs documents following their arrival at the NAIA-1 at 9:43 p.m. aboard Emirates Airways flight EK334 from Dubai. The Filipinos form the 49th batch of Filipinos repatriated from Lebanon and the 19th batch flown by the IOM as part of its ongoing assistance to the Government’s efforts at bringing home Filipinos from Lebanon. (Photo by DFA-PISU.) 
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24th August 2006
(Forwarded by Ms. Turiano filed under DFA news)
23 August 2006 — Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Bahnarim A. Guinomla reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Embassy conducted a Field Registration for the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) and Consular Outreach Service on 20 August 2006 for Filipinos based in Istanbul and nearby areas. Ambassador Guinomla said that the OAV Field Registration and Consular Outreach were held at the Lion Hotel in Taksim and at the Istanbul Anadolu Vocational School and Hotel in Etiler, to serve as many Filipinos in the area as possible. The Ambassador explained that Istanbul, 500km. west of the capital Ankara and Turkey’s commercial, tourism and cultural center, is where most of the 3,000 Filipinos in the country live and work. Ambassador Guinomla stated that during the whole-day event, the Embassy’s Consular Outreach Team processed the papers of 61 new OAV registrants and five transferees, issued 27 new passports and notarized/legalized 12 documents. The team also issued 66 Philippine Embassy cards, which serve as additional identification and documentation for Filipinos in Turkey, and may be used in lieu of a passport in some important transactions requiring identification such as remitting money to the Philippines. The Ambassador likewise said that the Embassy consular team also responded to several consular, assistance-to-nationals and other queries as well as received documents for further evaluation and processing in Ankara, and onward release to the applicants via regular mail. At the Anadolu Vocational School and Hotel, Ambassador Guinomla watched the championship games of the basketball tournament organized by the Ugnayan Services, a Filipino community organization. The Ambassador provided the trophy for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). The games were held at the venue at the same time the OAV Field Registration and Consular Outreach were being held in another room. This arrangement brought a large turnout of Filipinos who came to watch the game and, at the same time, avail of the Embassy’s services, the Ambassador said. The Embassy OAV and Consular teams were led by Ambassador Guinomla and Consul General Alfonso Ver. The OAV Field Registration team was composed of Mrs. Eva Crisostomo, Mr. Segundo Dasmariñas, and Mrs. Caroline Ver, while the Consular Outreach team was composed of Mrs. Celia Aragon, Ms. Lorraine Espiritu, Ms. Marieta Tan and Mr. Douyvelito Tangcay.
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24th August 2006
(Forwarded by Ms. Turiano filed under DFA news)
22 August 2006—The Philippine Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reiterates the advice to Filipino nationals in the Kingdom to respect and observe the laws, regulations and traditions of their host government. Charge d’ Affaires, a.i. Nestor Padalhin conveyed this advice in the course of his meetings with the Filipino community in view of the number of Filipinos who are reportedly involved in various activities contrary to Islamic laws and culture. In his report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, CDA Padalhin said the Embassy is monitoring the cases of no less than 337 Filipinos in the Central and Eastern Regions alone who are serving sentences for various offenses. Of this number, 197 are females with 165 of them charged with immorality. Of the cases involving males, the Embassy said 69 Filipinos were charged with alcohol/liquor related offenses followed by 30 cases of various drug related offenses. The Embassy also reported the recent deportation to the Philippines of some 46 Filipinas straight from the Women’s Jail after serving their jail time. Another 8 Filipinos, who were serving light jail terms including 7 nationals jailed for alcohol related offenses, benefited from a Royal pardon that facilitated their early deportation. The Embassy recalled that some of the common violations are for activities which are legal in the Philippines but are not allowed under Saudi laws, regulations and traditions. The common pitfalls involve alcohol and morality. However, the rest of the offenses violate even Philippine laws such as prostitution, prohibited drugs and, in some cases, gambling. The Embassy added that restrictions on public interaction of men and women particularly unmarried couples who socialize publicly such as eating in restaurants and shopping together are clearly in violation of local Islamic laws and therefore run the risk of being jailed and, in extreme cases, deported. CDA Padalhin said the Embassy has repeatedly warned the Filipinos in the Kingdom that the consumption, production and purchase of alcohol is illegal and those who chose to ignore this again run the risk of serving jail time. CDA Padalhin added that the Embassy has always emphasized to the Filipino citizens in the Kingdom that if only they could strictly adhere to local laws and tradition, fully aware of these limitations when they came to Saudi Arabia, then the number of Filipinos serving jail sentences could be significantly reduced. CDA Padalhin pointed out that the Embassy is giving its full attention and assistance to major cases of Filipino nationals.
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22nd August 2006
By Joy B. Miranda
As this blog has turned more than a month now, I was just glad there has been some changes made, like, as you can see it is now more detailed and categorised, easier to manage, considering how tight my schedules at work and how adamant I am at trying to work some more. Well, with this undertaking even if I only get fewer sleep as required in a day, for as long as you are with me, then this will go on worthy of my time. So keep up with me, feel every story and get involved!
By the way, under news category, there is a sub-news category for all the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) news, (many thanks to Ms Analyn Turiano, the Cultural Attache and Information Officer of Philippine Embassy in Greece.) All other government press releases will be filed in this sub-news category.
For the past week Ms Turiano has sent me DFA Press Releases which I was not able to post but would be, for today, posted all together stories about our kababayans in Lebanon. Just please click on the following links below for DFA Photo news.
ph5461.pdf
ph550.pdf
ph549.pdf
department-of-foreign-affairs.doc
department-of-foreign-affairs2.doc
department-of-foreign-affairs3.doc
department-of-foreign-affairs5.doc
department-of-foreign-affairs6.doc
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