Maniolas

Singapore AFP PHOTO SINGAPORE—An abusive campaign by Singaporeans opposing a planned Philippine independence celebration has shone a light on antiforeigner sentiment in the city-state, home to large numbers of guest workers accused of taking jobs from locals and causing overcrowding. The Philippines marks its 116th year of independence on June 12, and a group of Filipino residents in Singapore is planning an event on June 8 at a shopping complex along busy Orchard Road. It became a hotly debated topic after commentators on anonymously run local websites and Facebook pages heaped racial abuse on Filipinos and attacked the choice of venue, saying it should be held on the Philippine Embassy grounds instead of the public Orchard Road area. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who attended a “Singapore Day” celebration in London on March 29 attended by 9,000 people, condemned the “thuggish behavior” of people who harassed the organizers of the Philippine event, calling them a “disgrace to Singapore.”   Work of trolls Blaming “a few trolls” for the online attacks, he wrote on his Facebook page: “How would we have felt if British netizens had spammed our website and abused Singaporeans living in Britain?” A spokesperson for organizer Pilipino Independence Day Council Singapore (PIDCS) referred to a previous statement which said they were “heartened, grateful and happy to receive support from Singaporeans.” She declined to comment on whether the event would go ahead as planned on June 8. Police say they have not yet received a permit application for it. Read More …

Philippine Daily Inquirer 7:49 am | Saturday, April 26th, 2014 Passengers walk past a thermal scanner at the medical quarantine area at the arrival section of Manila’s International Airport in Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health (DOH) already has the contact details of the last four Etihad Airways passengers that it has been tracking down so they can undergo testing for the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV). “We’re now in the process of initiating contacts with the four passengers based on the contact details we received,” said Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, manager of the DOH emerging infectious diseases program. “At least now we already have the data to work on, unlike yesterday when we had nothing at all,” Lee Suy said. The health department and the Task Force MERS-CoV have been hunting down all 414 passengers of the Etihad Airways Flight 424 from Abu Dhabi which carried the male Filipino nurse who was initially diagnosed positive for the disease. However, further tests conducted on the nurse showed him to be negative for the virus. According to Lee Suy, the initial problems encountered in finding all the plane’s passengers were caused by the incomplete or wrong information that the passengers themselves had provided. Health Secretary Enrique Ona reminded returning Filipinos from the Middle East not to make any misdeclarations in filling out the health declaration checklist given to them on arrival. He said the government was Read More …

Luisita farmers blast ‘bogus’ land distribution. Irate farmers from Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac burn effigies of President Aquino, his sister Kris Aquino, and uncle Peping Cojuangco Jr. at a rally in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform office in Quezon City on Thursday, April 24. The farmers were protesting the alleged “hoax land distribution” and the alleged violence perpetrated against farmworker-beneficiaries in the dispute-ridden, Cojuangco-owned sugar estate. GMA News President Benigno Aquinon III’s sister, Kris, laughed off a protest by about 100 Hacienda Luisita farmers who burned her in effigy in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) compound on Thursday. “Alam ko na pag sinusunog-sunog ka, humahaba ang buhay mo, kaya okay lang, carry,” Kris said in a Friday report on GMA News TV’s “Balita Pilipinas”. “I’m in a good place right now, so they can burn me anytime they want, go ahead!” she added. Aquino also joked that she feels like an important person after the effigy burning. “Leveling! [U.S. President Barack] Obama level na ‘ko,” she laughingly said. Kris wonders why the protesters burned her effigy, given that she no longer a board member of the Central Azucarera De Tarlac, the sugar mill company of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) owned by the Cojuangco clan. “I was a board member of the Azucarera before, pero I left kasi hindi ko ma-attendan yung mga meeting, so my sister Viel (Aquino-Dee) took over,” Aquino said in an interview aired on “Saksi” Thursday evening. Two years after the anniversary Read More …

By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:45 pm | Friday, April 25th, 2014 Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Here’s good news for Filipinos wishing to work or permanently settle in Canada. The Canadian government is forging ahead with a new immigration system that will offer “express entry” to qualified immigrants, according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. Citing a report from Leonida Romulo of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Toronto, Canada, Baldoz said that Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander recently made an announcement regarding Canada’s active recruitment model for economic migration officially called “Express Entry,” formerly referred to as “Expression of Interest.” “This model is considered to be a major step forward in the transformation of Canada’s immigration system into one that is fast, flexible, and focused on meeting its economic and labor needs,” Baldoz said. Under the scheme, candidates who receive a valid job offer or nomination under Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program will be quickly invited to apply for permanent residency—a key distinction between Express Entry and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which is only used to fill temporary labor and skills shortages. The immigration system is to be launched in January 2015. On the other hand, Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s maritime provinces, recently introduced the New Nova Scotia Nominee Program—Regional Labor Market Demand Stream, aimed at selecting individuals who meet the labor market needs, wish to join the labor market with full-time and permanent positions, and wish to live in Nova Scotia. Read More …

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih (C), 23, is assisted out of the hospital in Sragen district in central Java island February 5, 2014. Sulistyaningsih, 23, who was allegedly tortured by her Hong Kong employer left hospital on February 5 after a month, tearfully expressing the hope that her case would prevent future abuse of “small people like us”. AFP HONG KONG—Time magazine has named an Indonesian maid allegedly tortured by her Hong Kong employer as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, shining a spotlight on the city’s treatment of its migrant workers. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih reportedly suffered months of abuse in a case which has renewed concern over the treatment of domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city and sparked angry protests. Time magazine hailed Sulistyaningsih’s bravery in speaking out against her employer and pushing for laws that better protect maids in Hong Kong. The 23-year-old was delighted at the news, telling AFP: “I give thanks to God, I am very happy and I hope more attention will be given to the fate of migrant workers throughout the world. “I also hope that there will not be any more migrant workers who experience what I went through.” Time’s recognition of Sulistyaningsih brings international attention to the treatment of migrant domestic workers in the city, said Eman Villanueva, spokesman for the Hong Kong-based Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body. “The inclusion itself only proves that the issue of migrant domestic workers, the slavery, the exploitation and abuse is something that the international community Read More …