Ban on Travel to Israel, Gaza Strip Lifted

Filipino workers and tourists can again travel to central Israel and the Gaza Strip after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lifted travel alerts on December 14. Manila imposed the travel ban on Israel and Gaza last month after the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules over the Gaza Strip. About 41,000 Filipinos work in Israel, many as caregivers, and the ban had raised fears that they would not be allowed to return if they left.

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/59637/dfa-lifts-ofw-travel-ban-to-gaza

Not Romney's Fault Pacquiao Lost

Mitt Romney visited with Pacquiao in his dressing room before the latter's fight on Dec. 8, wishing him well in the bout. “Hello Manny. I ran for president. I lost,” Romney told the fighter, who was later knocked out by his opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez.

Read more: http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2012/12/09/mitt-romney-visits-pacquiao-in-dressing-room-before-fight/

Donaire KO's Mexican Opponent

Nonito Donaire, known as the "Filipino Flash,” knocked out Mexico's Jorge “Travieso” Arce in the third round during WBO World Super Bantamweight fight in Houston Texas on Dec. 15. Donaire floored Arce twice before finishing him off with one of his signature left hooks in the third round to end the fight. The official time was 2:59 of the third round.His win gave the Philippines two wins out of three in a championship-level series against Mexicans this year, with Brian Viloria defeating Hernan Marquez last November, and Manny Pacquiao losing to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Read more: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/286629/sports/boxing/nonito-donaire-knocks-out-arce-of-mexico-in-third-round

Pacquiao KO'd; Mom Blames Pastors

Juan Manuel Marquez Marquez finally scored a victory over Pacquiao via sixth round KO, Saturday in their fourth fight, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with a punch that will be remembered as one of the best ever thrown and landed. Pacquiao was piling on rounds until that one moment in the sixth round. Pacquiao was up three rounds to two going into the sixth round. A short right to the chin during a close-quarters exchange toward the end of the sixth round felled Pacquiao. He was out cold for two minutes.

His mother Dionisia blamed his son's religious choice. "That’s what he gets for changing his religion,” Dionisia Pacquiao said in an interview in General Santos City. She said Pacquaio had been losing sleep because of night Bible studies with “Protestant pastors.” Pacquiao left the Catholic Church last year and went with a Bible-based movement whose members called themselves Christians. They are not Protestants, but Mommy Dionisia refers to them as Protestants and she is furious every time they come to her son’s mansion in General Santos City and crowd around him.“Since the Protestant pastors came into his life, he has not focused on his boxing,” Mommy D said. “They always pray, with Manny losing sleep.”

Read more: http://gmanews.tv/news/story/285661/sports/boxing/juan-manuel-marquez-knocks-manny-pacquiao-out-in-the-sixth http://sports.inquirer.net/75919/mommy-dionisia-urges-pacquiao-to-be-catholic-again

Filipino Worker Dies from Injuries in Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Blast

A Filipino worker who was badly burned in an explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico on November 16 has died from his injuries, reports ABC Radio Australia. His death brings to three, the toll from the blast off the coast of Louisiana. All three fatalities were Filipinos.

Welder Avelino Tajonera, 49, died a few hours after his wife and three children arrived at a Texas hospital to see him. The body of Ellroy Corporal, 42, has been recovered and will be repatriated next week. Jerome Malagapo, 28, was lost at sea. Nine of the 22 workers doing maintenance work on the non-producing platform were Filipinos working for a sub-contractor. Rig operator Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations reportedly has a history of safety violations.

OFWs Can Now Work in Jordan

The Philippines has lifted a five-year-old ban that kept OFWs from working in Jordan, reports Yahoo News/L‘Agence France-Presse. The ban, imposed amid concerns over poor working conditions, was lifted after the Philippine and Jordanian governments reached two agreements this year aimed at protecting the workers, including a minimum monthly salary of $400. The ban on Jordan was imposed in 2007 due to "the growing number of distressed Filipino workers" who sought help from Philippine diplomatic offices there.

Undocumented OFWs Face Phone Card Woes in Saudi

Undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia may soon have problems connecting with their families in the Philippines following the implementation of Saudi’s new SIM card registration policy, reports Inquirer.net. Saudi Arabia’s Communication and Information Technology Commission has a new regulation requiring phone users to input their national identification number (Iqama) immediately after entering their prepaid card number to load-up or transfer balances. Failure to do this would cause disconnection of SIM card services. Thousands of undocumented workers, including Filipinos, who do not have updated identification numbers will be affected by the policy.

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/58859/filipino-illegals-face-hard-time-in-saudi

Italy Urged to Let Pinoys Use Middle Names

The chairperson of the House committee on overseas workers affairs on Tuesday urged the Italian government not to implement a directive asking overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to drop their middle names. Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, chair of the House committee on overseas workers affairs said the Italian Ministry of Labor should let OFWs use their full names because removing their middle names will have “legal and cultural ramifications.”

The Italian Ministry of Labor last October issued Circular No. 29 asking Filipinos living and working in Italy to omit their middle names from official documents so as not to confuse them with their first names. Italians do not use middle names. Filipinos in Italy —estimated to be around 123,000 based on a 2010 estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas —have earlier expressed opposition to the Italian agency’s directive.

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/283999/pinoyabroad/news/italian-govt-urged-to-allow-pinoy-workers-to-use-middle-names