SINGAPORE – A devoted Filipino maid inherited 6 million Singapore dollars (about US$4.3 million) from her late employer after more than 20 years of service, a newspaper report said Wednesday.
“I am the luckiest maid in Singapore, with or without the money,” the 47-year-old single woman — identified only by the pseudonym “Christine” — told the Straits Times in an interview.
The maid refused to be named in public for fear of possible threats to her life in the impoverished Philippines, where wealthy people have been kidnapped for ransom and some killed …

MANILA — The Philippines said Wednesday it had banned Filipinos from travelling to work in 41 countries and territories that had allegedly failed to provide enough safeguards to protect them from abuse.
The Department of Labour and Employment in a board resolution posted on its website said the blacklisted countries failed to sign international conventions protecting foreign workers.
Neither have these countries signed bilateral agreements with the Philippines “on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers,” the resolution said.
They also do not have their own laws protecting foreign workers, the …

by JasonandMahalia Shoup
September 7, 2011 (Wednesday) at 10:47am
Bago ko simulan ang aking makabagbag-damdaming pagbulusok ng aking saloobin ukol kay James Soriano, basahin muna ang kanyang mabilis na pinahing artikulo na iniwasto naman (grammatically) ni Migs Bassig sa link na ito:
http://migsbassig.blogspot.com/2011/08/editing-james-soriano.html
Kung gusto niyo naman nag cached version ng pinahing article na:
Language, learning, identity, privilege
Ithink
By JAMES SORIANO
August 24, 2011, 4:06am
Ito ang link:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GMVBu5Hmx9kJ:www.mb.com.ph/articles/331851/language-learning-identity-privilege+http://mb.com.ph/articles/331851/language-learning-identity-privilege
Ngayong nabasa niyo na, magsisimula na akong mag-himutok. Hindi naayong palampasin lamang at limutin ang artikulong ito. At dahil sa kahihiyan ng Manila Bulletin, agad itong nawala sa internet dalawang araw …

Pilipinas nalugmok ka sa kahirapan
Naiwanan ka na ng kaunlaran
Kapayapaan hindi pa rin matagpuan
Kahit natapos, paghahari ng isang ngalan.
Naglingkod sa iyo ang isang ina
Puno ng pag-asa, puno din ng kudeta
Sunod sa dikta ng “masa” at simbahan
Ganap na liwanag di naman natagpuan.
Pinasakay ka naman ng isang heneral
Ang lipad sa ibang bansa ay madalas
Kaysa sa mga probinsyang hirap ay dinaranas
Kayraming scam, katotohanang di nailabas.
Lumabas ang nag-angking anak ng masa
Sumigaw, “walang kaibigan kapag nagkasala”
Subalit siya ang nahatulang nagkasala
Dahil sa korapsyon at jueteng payola.
Siyam na taon kang pinaikot sa kamay
Isang munting nilalang, malago ang galamay
Gabineteng …

Malaysian police arrested this week two suspects in the killing of a Filipina helper in Petaling Jaya last month, a Malaysian news site reported Saturday.
Star Online quoted Petaling Jaya district police officer in charge Arjunaidi Mohamed as saying a love triangle appeared to have led to the killing of the Filipina, who was not immediately identified in the report.
“We believe that both men, who were in a relationship with the deceased, resorted to killing her because they were jealous,” according to the report, citing Mohamed.
He said the two men were …

Filipinos are certainly getting into mainstream America and into the world. With an estimated 4 million Filipino-American population (as of 2007), Filipinos are an emerging group in a diverse society in the United States.
Filipino talents like Manny Pacquiao, Charice Pempengco, Arnel Pineda, Lea Salonga, and Monique Lhuiller are doing a great job pitching in!
David Letterman, apparently used Filipino-Americans in one of his segments.
Here’s the recap:
Top 10 Reasons Why There Couldn’t Be a Filipino-American US President
By David Letterman
10. The White House is not big enough for in-laws and extended relatives.
9. There …

By JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS
Published: June 22, 2011
One August morning nearly two decades ago, my mother woke me and put me in a cab. She handed me a jacket. “Baka malamig doon” were among the few words she said. (“It might be cold there.”) When I arrived at the Philippines’ Ninoy Aquino International Airport with her, my aunt and a family friend, I was introduced to a man I’d never seen. They told me he was my uncle. He held my hand as I boarded an airplane for the first time. …

“Pwedeng mag-padala?” It’s sort of like this. A Filipino tradition which is now used by drug syndicates. How do you fight this? Simple common sense. Better, refuse any type of “padala” even from anybody. If you choose to bring it with you, inspect the “padala” especially, the “maleta”. This is not just for OFW’s. This is also for all of you–Overseas Filipinos. Sabi nga: “If it’s too good to be true? Hindi yan totoo.”
It’s sad that three OFW’s will be executed in China. I was reading the news about it …

Pag hindi ka tinutugis nang mga impaktong pirata sa Somalia
Nanakawin naman mga food supplies nyo nang mga lecheng tiga Libya.
Nakalibre ka nga sa mga sira-ulong employers sa Saudi na itutulak ka sa tuktuk nang gusali
Karipas ka naman nang takbo sa nang-re-rape mong boss sa Hongkong na hindi tuli
Maligaya ka na sana dahil sa Japan maganda ang disiplina
Masisiraan ka naman nang bait sa taas ng tsunami at mala-delubyong lindol nila
Kaya nag-decide kang pumunta nang Canada. Buti pa, dun na.
Anak nang patola, hindi naman tanggap ang iyong diploma.
Tago ka ngayon sa Amerika.
Kung …

MANILA, Philippines – After being initially turned down, China has finally agreed to allow Vice President Jejomar Binay to visit Beijing. This is a last ditch effort to salvage the lives of three Filipino OFWs who are set to be executed due to drug trafficking in China.
The message was relayed through the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, stating China’s readiness to receive vice president Binay.
The vice president will leave Friday morning at 7:15 a.m. and is set to meet up with the president of the Supreme Court and the Chinese Executive …

Twenty-seven Filipinos are homebound on Saturday after they expressed their intentions to be repatriated following the ongoing political crisis in Egypt.
“They will comprise the first batch in the voluntary repatriation being conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Cairo and the DFA in view of the on-going crisis in Egypt,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Ed Malaya said in a text message to abs-cbnNEWS.com on Thursday.
The repatriates are composed of 13 women, 9 minors and 5 men. Three are nurses from the Dar Al Fouad Hospital, while the rest are …

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson insists his son, Ilocos Sur congressman Ronald Singson, is not a drug user.
Singson made the declaration in an interview with “Tapatan” after several representatives called for the expulsion of his son from Congress, following the declaration of family lawyer, John Reading, that the Ilocos Sur congressman will plead guilty to the charge of drug trafficking in a hearing set on Jan. 26.
Singson said the plea was mere “legal strategy.”
“He was supposed to go back to prison. Nalulungkot kami na mag-new New Year siya duon …

LOS ANGELES – Dozens of Filipino hospital workers in California sued their employer Tuesday alleging they were the sole ethnic group targeted by a rule requiring them to speak only English.
The group of 52 nurses and medical staff filed a complaint accusing Delano Regional Medical Center of banning them from speaking Tagalog and other Filipino languages while letting other workers speak Spanish and Hindi.
The plaintiffs are seeking to join an August complaint filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Kern County federal court over the hospital’s enforcement of …

Below you will find a YouTube post, which appears to be a tense conversation between a distressed OFW and Labor Attache Romulo Salud that is currently circulating the internet. Read though and listen to the conversation:

This reminds me of my days in Saudi Arabia and UAE where distressed OFW’s (especially first timers) have no clue on what to do when distressed. Over a decade past, POEA requires prospective OFW’s to undergo Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) where its goal is to educate migrant workers on how to deal with their …

Contributed by Ellen Taleon
Buried under tons of rocks and rubbles
Two thousand feet down in the bowels of the earth
Brave men of the number 33
Valiantly tried to seek light in the darkness.
The blackness closing in
The dust and sweltering heat suffocating.
Seventeen days had passed
And nobody knew which hole
They had dropped to and vanished.
Until that one fateful day
Their cries echoing, reached the ears of people
Who were seeking them, trying to know
If they were dead, ripe for salvaging
Or alive and worth saving.
In a race against time
Men once again proved that
Deep within each one …

Sorry folks kung mainit ang ulo ko today. Woke up this morning. Surfed FB, then I stumbled on this OFW site: Tagpuan nang mga OFW. They were using my OFW Logo. “Ah ok!” so I said to myself.

So, I “liked” the page and browsed. But I found not a single credit to reyna elena dot com, not even a link. Now, I don’t remember getting any email from anyone who wants to use the logo. You see, I spent more than P10,000 for this logo. It’s well documented on …

By: Bear’s rumbling thoughts
(reader request that be posted in B7)
My sister was nagging me on whom to vote for on May 10 for the Malacañang post. I haven’t really convinced myself yet, even for VP and senators. There should be something I need to do in order to counter asymmetric information so that I’ll be properly informed given that I am not in the Philippines to actually observe the campaign. The only thing I heard of are the muds that are being thrown left and right against various candidates and …

(Photo Credits: Life)
Unfortunately, when you’re a Philippine passport holder, you still don’t get the same respect like any other nationalities. How can one small country like the Philippines fight back? Hmpt! Grrr! Ok. Maybe that’s the wrong question. How can we prove to other nationalities that we deserve the same respect like any one else?! Better? (Maybe start with a clean and honest automated elections?!) Then again gaining international respect and recognition takes a collective national effort. Right?
I remember Brazil back in 2004, when the United States imposed …

I received this news via Barrio Siete post office about Bermuda immigration minister David Burch, who made an offensive and generalized comments against Filipinas in Bermuda:
The Filipino community is to confront Immigration Minister David Burch after claiming he has made “offensive” remarks about women.
The Association of Filipinos in Bermuda (AFB) is to meet next week to issue a statement countering the Minister’s comments, while Dominicans are also understood to be upset at Senator Burch’s remarks at a press conference.
The Senator this week announced new visa requirements for citizens of the …

So, Adam Carolla or Adam Corolla (kelan kaya i-re-recall tong si Adam nang Toyota noh?) lambasted the Philippines as a nation of whores. Tse! Hindi kami pokpok! Tarantado! Nabasa mo lang ang blog nang victorina! Yon ang blog of whores! Hmpt!
But there’s another story that’s a bit unnerving for me, although it’s a good story if you think about it. Why? Because it imposes something good.
But this is not something of a good news, especially if you’re seated sa business class with a glass of shoktong, taz bubuksan mo ang …

Adam Corolla is a struggling Italian-American radio host. And like so many radio host who wants instant fame, they look for their victim that they could lash out for that popularity. End result of course would be high radio ratings where they could charge higher advertising rates. See the connection?
Adam Carolla’s target was Manny Pacquiao. Yes, our boxing icon Manny Pacquiao who we don’t want to be in politics. He was calling him illiterate and for implying that the Philippines is a nation of whores!
Adam Carolla made a name as …

While all of you are busy campaigning online or offline for your candidates, there’s a midnight flight that’s not being noticed. You have to thank these journalists for keeping an eye on them, like Neal Cruz on As I See It.
And if you’re currently doing an mba, behind this drama presents a good strategic management discussion. Of course, you might have to include busines ethics if indeed this is a midnight deal. Read on and you’ll know why.
What’s the current chika? It is about Bahrain’s Gulf Air adding extra flights …

Life in the barrio B.C., that’s boring community, is truly boring. Only the sons, daughters and friendsters of the politicos move up to taste barbecue. Us, los indios have no futuro. Some of my relatives died of kamote overdose. Us the survivors, have to work twice as hard and haw-haw de carabao to even smell pugak pugak de tambutso in the city. Now, that’s a big deal when you go back to the Barrio. In fact, it’s a must that you carry one lata of biskwet. Ave Maria, I never …

Here Are a Few Tips
A good education more often than not, paves the way for a good future. Due to steep competition in most professions though, a bachelor’s degree is oftentimes not enough to secure a job or climb high-up in the corporate ladder. Going abroad for graduate school offers a student a much wider horizon, in terms of training, experience, cultural integration, even communication skills. Most employers will put a premium to these. If you’re considering graduate school, here are few tips. Bear in mind though that I can …

There’s a new name to watch on the US Figure Skating and it’s nice to hear that he’s Filipino. His name? Christopher Caluza, from San Diego and he is the only Filipino in the 2010 US National Figure Skating Championships placing 8th in the Jr. Men’s. Nice huh? I was watching this video on YouTube where he has a note that he hopes that his video gets to be seen in the Philippines. Well, I thought we’d do him a favor, so this entry. Watch him practice here right before …