New Law Bans ‘Enforced Disappearances’

A new law criminalizing enforced disappearances in the Philippines is the first of its kind in Asia and a major milestone in ending a horrific human rights violation, hailed Human Rights Watch. President Acquino signed the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012, which closely reflects international legal standards on enforced disappearance, or the detention of a person by state officials or their agents followed by a refusal to acknowledge the detention or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts. People held in secret are especially vulnerable to torture and other abuses, and their families suffer from lack of information.


UK Visas Must Now Be Paid Online

All applicants in the Philippines for visas to the UK must now pay online in U.S. Dollars, using either Visa or Mastercard, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) announced. The UKBA will no longer accept any other methods of payment, reports Migrationexpert.co.uk from that date. Applicants who have paid online must still go to the visa application center to submit their documents and provide their biometric data, including fingerprints and digital photograph. They must book appointments online after completing their online application form.

Sin Tax Law to Raise Money for Health Care

President Aquino signed the sin tax reform bill into law, paving the way for higher cigarette and liquor prices in the coming weeks, reports Philstar.com. The measure is expected to generate additional government revenues worth P33.96 billion ($825 million), of which P23.4 billion ($568 million) will come from cigarettes, P6.06 billion ($146 million) from distilled spirits and P4.5 billion ($109 million) from fermented liquors. Eighty percent of the incremental revenues, minus support for tobacco farmers, will be set aside for universal health care under the National Health Insurance Program, and 20 percent will be for nationwide medical assistance and health enhancement facilities.

Filipinos Set Up Theater Group in Singapore

A group of Filipinos in Singapore have formed their own theater group and are now reaping praises for their debut production, a local staging of the Filipino classic “The Romance of Magno Rubio."

Entablado Theatre Company (ETC) is a new performing arts group that hopes to represent the estimated 180,000 Filipinos living in Singapore. Singer Babes Conde, a former member of the band, New Minstrels, founded the group along with performer-choreographer Filomar Tariao, who now teaches at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, technical director Nadina Jose, and marketing director Celia Defato.

Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/12/06/12/pinoys-singapore-form-theater-group

Hong Kong Employer Finds Filipina Worker Dead

A 40-year-old Filipina domestic worker was found dead at her employer’s house in Central last November 29. Leonora Castillon Depeno, reportedly has been dead for about a week before she was found. The employer was reportedly not in Hong Kong when the incident occurred. Depeno was found inert on her bed at her residence on Kotewall Road, the Hong Kong Police said. Police also stressed “there were no suspicious elements detected” and the case was classified as “dead body found.”

Read more: http://hongkongnews.com.hk/employer-finds-filipina-worker-dead/

Relief for Undocumented OFWs in Italy

Undocumented overseas Filipino workers in Italy should avail of its "Sanatoria," which allows Italian and other European employers to acquire a work permit for undocumented immigrant workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on December 14. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Sanatoria gives undocumented OFWs a chance to regularize their stay. She also noted that a non-European employer who is holding a long-term permit to stay can also apply for regularization of their undocumented employees.

Read more: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/286129/pinoyabroad/news/dole-urges-undocumented-pinoys-avail-of-italy-s-sanatoria

Hundreds of Pinoys Fly Home from Syria

Some 270 Filipino immigrant workers who took shelter in the Philippine embassy compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, returned home in mid-December with assistance from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This brought the number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria by IOM at the request of the Philippine government to 1,206 since the conflict began in March 2011. Fighting between government forces and rebels closed Damascus airport, and most airlines are no longer flying to the Syrian capital. The embassy had to bus the immigrants to Lebanon and IOM flew them home in a chartered aircraft from the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Read more: https://www.iom.int/cms/render/live/en/sites/iom/home/news-and-views/press-briefing-notes/pbn-2012/pbn-listing/270-filipino-workers-return-home.html

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