News Roundup 24 January 2023
Jan 24, 2023 • 4 min Read
Gov’t ‘tricked’ by POGO auditor, senators say | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The government may have been duped — or allowed itself to be duped — by entering into a P6-billion contract with a private firm that was tapped to audit the earnings of state-sanctioned offshore gaming operations, senators said on Monday.
At a joint hearing of the Senate committees on ways and means and public order, the lawmakers concluded that Global ComRCI, the third-party auditor chosen by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to examine the revenues of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) was not suited to the task.
“Bottom line is based on the documents and all of that, the third-party auditor is not credible, not capable… not qualified,” said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate ways and means committee.
“They do not even have simple things like (office) address and business permit so how do you expect us, the Filipino people, to believe that what they are supplying to us in the form of information is accurate?” he said.
“Like I said, it’s either you were tricked or allowed yourselves to be tricked,” he added, addressing Pagcor officials.
Full Story at: Gov’t ‘tricked’ by POGO auditor, senators say | Inquirer News
Marcos’ official foreign trips a bit much, says Hontiveros | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s official trips to other countries are a bit much, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Tuesday.
While Hontiveros noted the potential benefits of an official trip, she said that several Filipinos are still reeling from the impact of domestic concerns.
“There are always possible benefits. Hindi ko naman tatawaran ‘yun sa kahit sinumang presidente pero numerically kasi medyo parang sobra,” Hontiveros said on ANC Headstart.
(I won’t take that away from any president but numerically, it seems a bit much.)
“In seven months, eight trips samantalang nasusunog tayo sa mga domestic issues, lalo na domestic economic issues,” she added.
(In seven months, he’s had eight trips while we are burdened by domestic issues, especially domestic economic issues.)
Full Story at: Marcos’ official foreign trips a bit much, says Hontiveros | Inquirer News
Senators suggest Kuwait deployment ban after killing of OFW | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Senators on Tuesday raised the possibility of suspending worker deployment to Kuwait again over the killing of an overseas Filipino worker whose burnt body was found in the desert over the weekend.
The Department of Migrant Workers, however, said that the executive branch is only considering a review of the 2018 bilateral labor agreement with Kuwait, which is similar to what they did with the country’s agreement with Saudi Arabia.
“I think we need to reimpose the deployment ban against Kuwait because while we have mentioned [some of] those who died while they were working there, there were many others who also died while working in the Gulf state,” Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, chair of the labor committee, said.
Senate Majority Joel Villanueva also noted that the Senate should look into or study if the deployment ban would be needed.
Full Story at: Senators suggest Kuwait deployment ban after killing of OFW | Philstar.com
DMW might review labor agreement with Kuwait after killing of OFW | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople floated on Tuesday a possible review of the Philippines’ labor agreement with Kuwait to better secure overseas Filipino workers there following the brutal killing of yet another Filipino domestic worker.
“We will reach out to the Kuwaiti government. Maybe it’s time to review the 2018 bilateral labor agreement so that it would be similar to the bilateral agreement with Saudi Arabia which has more safeguards for our workers,” Ople told reporters in a chance interview at the Senate.
The Philippines and Kuwait inked an agreement in 2018 guaranteeing certain rights of workers, including their right to keep their passports and mobile phones which are typically confiscated by employers in Gulf states.
This agreement was signed after the Philippines banned the deployment of workers to Kuwait following the discovery of the body of Filipino domestic worker Joanna Demafelis in her employers’ freezer that same year.
The killing of another Filipino domestic worker, Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende, triggered the Philippines to halt deployment to Kuwait again in January 2020, which was lifted the following month as charges were filed against her employers.
But the death of 35-year-old Filipino domestic worker Jullebee Ranara’ — whose burnt body was found in the desert over the weekend — will not lead to a deployment ban.
“But, yes, we are looking at additional safeguards and reforms to make sure that our workers bound for Kuwait are better protected,” Ople said.
She noted that the Kuwaiti government has been swift in taking under its custody the 17-year-old son of Ranara’s employers, who is the suspect in the OFW’s killing.Full Story at: DMW might review labor agreement with Kuwait after killing of OFW | Philstar.com
