vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 3 months, 4 weeks ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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SMS-based alert system for OFWs in distress

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | February 15, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Filed under: Science and Technology

A TENTH of the Philippine population is currently overseas, working in more than 192 countries around the world. With the government pursuing an aggressive labor export policy, some 2,600 Filipinos leave the country daily for various jobs and destinations abroad. Last year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) deployed 981,667 migrant workers, an increase of 5.15 percent from 2004.

Estimated at more than 1.3 million of them, however, are undocumented — illegal migrants who face the risk of abuse and various forms of discrimination in their host countries. Add to this the fact that more than 70 percent of annual overseas deployment now comprise women, particularly those working in the global services industry, who are increasingly becoming vulnerable to employment often referred to as "dirty, dangerous, demeaning and unregulated."

Last year, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported about 22,000 cases of distressed migrants that the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) attended to. The figure may be minuscule — less than one percent of the total number of overseas Filipinos — but the DFA admits that cases of abuse and violations of human and migrant rights are largely underreported, not reported, or documented but not acted upon.

Presently, the task of protecting our migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos is in the hands of 83 embassies and consulates, 33 Philippine overseas labor offices and 32 welfare officers, including Filipino workers resource centers in 17 countries.

With new technologies though, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have developed an ingenious way to address their work-related concerns, especially when their lives, safety or well-being are in danger. Yesterday the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) launched and activated an SOS SMS information system for distressed OFWs, a cheap, 24/7 text-based mechanism capitalizing on the ubiquity of the mobile phone to enable them to relay and report situations that warrant immediate relief, action, or intervention by the Philippine government and NGOs working for migrant workers’ welfare.

CMA’s Ellene Sana says the SOS SMS project, done in coordination with its various NGO partners worldwide, as well as the DFA-OUMWA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), is significant as "(it) gives government agencies and NGOs the opportunity to respond and/or intervene in a timely, adequate and efficient manner, particularly where either the OFW’s life, safety or well-being is a critical consideration."

OFWs in need of help or assistance can simply send the following message:

SOS <space> message, name of sender

to +63 9209 OFW SOS (+63 9209639 767). The message is received by the SOS SMS system where it is logged and stored in a central database housed in a computer maintained in Quezon City. Once sent, the text message gets auto-forwarded to designated recipient cellphones at the CMA, DFA-OUMWA and OWWA where it is verified and eventually given appropriate action.

The SOS SMS reporting system, says Sana, is also a useful research tool as it logs critical message details to serve as initial case-file documentation that will help in developing research leads, classifying and analyzing OFWs’ various problems and related concerns.

Sana also expects the SMS-based system to aid CMA and its partners in formulating recommended remedies — in the form of executive, administrative or legislative action — and focusing its advocacy work aimed at identifying gaps with respect to migration attitudes, policies and practices.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2006 and is filed under Science and Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 people have left comments

Hoy Arroyo, our local economy is not providing jobs to Filipinos. Use your economic common sense and invite foreign companies to set up businesses in each and every province in the Philippines. I would rather work in the Philippines than be maltreated abroad.

BEHEAD THE CORRUPT NOW!!!!!

STOP COMPLAINING FILIPINOS AND DO SOME ACTION!

ryebosco wrote on February 16, 2006 - 4:31 am | Visit Link

DFA, mahiya naman kayo. Kung ano-anong pinag-aaralan niyo sa Foreign Service Exam, ang pinaka-importante lang naman talaga ay kung paano mabibigyang proteksyon ang mga OFW. Nag-uunahan kayo sa mga foreign postings pero pag kailangan kayo ng kababayan niyo, ang karaniwang nagagawa niyo lang ay ang mabilis na pagbalik sa Pilipinas ng bangkay.
SA US$10B na OFW remittances, ano ba naman yung buwan-buwan bistihan niyo sila o tawagan man lang at tiyakin yung kalagayan nila?
Pag kinailangan ng hustisya, ipaglaban niyo naman. Kaya tayo lalong naaapi dahil alam ng mga iyan na halos wala tayong ginagawa kapag sinaktan o pinatay ang ating mga kababayan. Alam nila na ipapatuloy pa rin ng pamahalaan ang pag-bugaw sa kanyang mga mamamayan para makamit ang pinakaaasam na OFW remittances (na kung wala ay mas bagsak pa tayo kaysa sa Bangladesh dahil sa dami ng pagnanakaw ng mga pinuno ng bayan).

lc wrote on February 16, 2006 - 10:23 am | Visit Link