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Parents of Jeanelyn Villavende will not accept any blood money offers from their child’s Kuwaiti employer

The parents of Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Jeanelyn Villavende vowed that they would not accept any money being offered by the Kuwaiti employer of their child.

The Kuwaiti employer of Jeanelyn Villavende is the suspect on the demise of the OFW and the government of the Philippines is now doing their best to prosecute the accused.

However, the employer of Villavende could escape facing punishment if ever that the family of the victim accepts the “Diyah” or blood money being offered by the suspect.

But according to Abelardo Villavende, the father of Jeanelyn, no amount of money could replace the life of their daughter.

According to Mr. Villavende, it would be a big insult to her daughter if they’re going to accept the blood money.

They’re also hoping that the Kuwaiti employer of his daughter would face capital punishment.

The suspect cannot force the family of the victim to accept the Diya as Mr. Villavende already opposed any kind of compromise.

One website said that the case of Villavende could cost the suspect KD10,000 (1.6-1.7-M pesos) worth of Diyah.

Netizens praised Mr. Villavende for refusing to accept any money from the Kuwaiti employer despite not having a good standard of living.

“Tama lang na hindi tatanggapin ng minsan naman magkaroon ng ngipin ang batas natin jan sa pinas at matoto nadin yang mga halimaw na ibang lahi,” netizen Tiguman Rose said.

Department of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin said that they’re going to hire the “best Kuwaiti lawyers” to give justice to Villavende.

“They think they own the person [that’s why] they treat them as a slave? I told them (Kuwaiti officials), ‘Don’t ever tell that to me again. If you use that as an excuse, I will slap you.” Locsin said in a radio interview.

“An Arab is a very smart person. They know that no matter what you pay, they are not slaves,” he added.

 

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Hidilyn Diaz wins two bronze medals in 2019 weightlifting championship in Thailand

Filipina Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz won two bronze medals in the 55kg category of the 2019 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships held in Pattaya, Thailand on Friday.

Diaz lifted a total of 214kg besting the fourth placer Zulfiya Chinshanlo by a kilogram.

Meanwhile, China’s representative in the said contest Liao Quiyun got the gold medal after lifting a total of 227kg while he silver medalist who’s also from the same country lifted 22kg.

The Filipina athlete is seeking for a gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila in December 2019 and also in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Ikaw ‘yun Lord. Grabe. Noong na-mental block na ko, wala na ang 93kgs pero ginabayan mo ako Lord. Salamat sa ginawa mo Lord. Sobrang blessed ko sayo.” Diaz saiy.

Diaz gathered the attention of the netizens a few months ago after she complained about the lack of funding from the government despite receiving 4.5-M pesos from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

It is okay to ask sponsorship sa mga private companies towards Tokyo 2020? Hirap na hirap na ako, I need financial support.” Diaz said.

“Sa tingin niyo ba okay lang kaya nahihiya kasi ako pero try ko kapalan mukha ko para sa minimithi kong pangarap para sa atin bansa na maiuwi ang Gold Medal sa Olympics,” she added.

To solve the problem of the Filipina weightlifter, PSC vowed to help Hidilyn.

In August, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go helped Diaz to get a 2-M pesos sponsorship deal with Phoenix Petroleum to help her to prepare for the 2020 Olympics.

“Nagreklamo siya. Sabi naman ng PSC, hindi nila kayang sagutin lahat kasi may ibang requirements sa pagti-training, sa mga coaches niya, medyo mahal, so sabi ko hanap ako ng mga kaibigan na puwedeng tumulong,” Go told reporters.

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President Duterte plans removal of recruitment agencies and building hospital for OFWs

President Rodrigo Duterte is planning to remove the recruitment agencies if they keep mistreating the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

On July 12, the chief executive said that he wanted the government to handle the recruitments of overseas workers under the Department of OFW.

According to him, some recruitment agencies are taking advantage of the poor Filipinos who only wanted to escape poverty by working abroad.

“Kaya kayong mga recruitment, bilang talaga ang araw niyo. ‘Pag hindi ko kayo nadala sa usapan na maganda, brasuhan tayo, government supervision, and control because what has happened and has been happening is not acceptable to the Filipino now.” Duterte said during the Araw ng Pasasalamat for OFWs event at Camp Aguinaldo.

The President urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silverstre Bello III to work for the faster passage of the law that could create the Department for OFWs before December.

Christopher “Bong” Go who’s also present during the event informed the President that he already filed a bill that would create the Department of OFWs.

In response, Duterte said that he would quickly sign it once it reaches his office.

“Kaya apurahin ko ‘yang Department of OFW. Bawal na ang recruitment sa abroad…sa labas. Kung gusto nila, diyan sila maglagay ng mesa. So under the supervision of government at walang horrendous charges,” Duterte said.

“By December… buong Pilipinas ‘to. Bawal na ‘yang recruitment diyan sa labas…napunta ka doon. Doon ka makipag-deal, may listahan doon, mamili ka na lang kung sinong gusto mo,” he added.

OFWs may also receive better healthcare after the President bared his plan to create hospital exclusively for OFWs.

He’s also planning to assign police attachés to countries with many OFWs so they could quickly contact the government if the Filipino workers are being maltreated by their employers.

“The police attaché will connect you to…dito sa Pilipinas kung ano ang problema. And they will be trained to help you in legal matters of how to do it in the meantime that you are not here to solve the problem,” he said.

President Duterte is popular among OFWs and winning the majority of the overseas voters in the 2016 presidential elections.

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“Yari!” OWWA to hunt down the controversial married OFW who’s in a relationship with an Engineer

Several days ago, an episode of Raffy Tulfo in Action made the blood pressure of the netizens skyrocket after they featured a Filipina OFW working in Saudi Arabia who’s married and have 5 children committing a forbidden relationship with another guy working at the same country.

The complainant, Charlie Lozada told Raffy Tulfo that his wife, Sheerlyn left him because of another man who’s working as Engineer.

During the episode, Tulfo called Sheerlyn and her boyfriend Edwin Madredio to try to fix the issue.

However, Sheerlyn insisted that she’s gonna chose her current boyfriend than her family that she left in the Philippines.

The situation even became worsen when Edwin challenged them to deport him.

Because of this, Tulfo asked the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy administrator Arnel Ignacio to help them to solve the problem of Charlie.

During the phone call, Ignacio also couldn’t hide his anger over the attitude showed by Sheerlyn and Edwin.

“Hindi na kita babatiin ng magandang hapon sir Raffy, dahil nangigigil ako sa naririnig ko eh,” Ignacio said.

To discipline the two, Ignacio vowed that they’re gonna use all his connections in Saudi Arabia to hunt down Sheerlyn and Edwin.

He also agreed with the suggestion of Tulfo to let the Saudi authorities handle the case of the two.

“Kaya ang mga OFW natin nasisira dahil sa mga kalokohan na yan, maghahamon pa ng deportation? Alam ba nila ang parusa sa asawa na nakikipag relasyon pa sa iba?”

“Ngayon palang tatawag ako doon, ipapahanap ko yang dalawang yan at sa dami ng kaibigan ko doon, hihingan ko ng tulong lahat yon, silang dalawa ang mawawalan ng karapatan.. maghihirap sila,”

In Saudi Arabia, adultery is considered forbidden and they can face harsh punishments.

 

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South Korean President Moon lauds Duterte: “I take my hats off to President Duterte’s leadership

President of South Korea Moon Jae-In during a joint press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) in Seoul lauded President Rodrigo Duterte for his effective leadership.

Moon said that the leadership of Duterte gave a boost to the economy of the Philippines which resulted in his popularity among the Filipinos.

“I take my hats off to President Duterte’s leadership which has enabled rapid economic growth and social stability, drawing great support from the people of the Philippines in the process,”

“The Philippines is currently working to realize national Vision 2040 under President Duterte’s
outstanding leadership,” he added.

He thanked President Duterte for his promise to protect the lives of the South Korean nationals in the Philippines.

President Moon Jae-In and President Rodrigo Duterte Photo: PCOO

Moon vowed that they would participate in the upcoming projects of the Philippines.

“In particular, I look forward to seeing the Korean companies’ participation further expanded in the fields of transportation, energy, and infrastructure through our cooperation in the new industries such as info-communications as well as science and technology. We will create the growth engine for the future together,” he said.

“President Duterte and I agreed to designate the year 2019 as the year of mutual exchanges between Korea and the Philippines to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations,” he added.

The South Korean leader also said that he’s hoping that more Filipinos are going to visit his country.

“I hope to see more people from the Philippines visit Korea as well,” Moon said.

1.6-M South Koreans tourists visited the Philippines last year, while 450,000 Filipinos traveled to South Korea.

“The people of our two countries will visit each other more frequently and enhance the understanding in communication among them,” Moon said.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte praised Moon for focusing on attaining peace with North Korea.

“I commended President Moon for his vision of bringing peace, stability, and prosperity to the Korean peninsula. His selfless dedication is demonstrated by the historic Inter-Korean Summit (in April), which resulted in the (signing of the declaration),'” Duterte said

“The Philippines is hopeful that positive developments over the past several months will continue and contribute positively toward the goal of the denuclearization in [the] Korean peninsula,” he added.

In response, Moon said that the support of President Duterte would contribute to South Korea’s mission to maintain peace in the peninsula.

“His support will be of great help to us on our journey to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Our two countries will further strengthen our cooperation and that goes beyond the Peninsula to uphold peace in the region, he said.

According to the sources, South Korea offered $1-billion worth of official development assistance (ODA) to the Philippines.

The Philippines also sacked $5-B worth of trade deals from South Korean businessmen.

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Duterte to OFWs: “Maniwala kayo sa Diyos pero h’wag kayong maniwala sa lokohan ng simbahan.”

President Rodrigo Duterte lashed at the Catholic Church again in front of the Filipino Community in South Korea on Sunday, June 3.

He told the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) that they should keep their faith to god, however, he said that the people must avoid believing the political opinions of the Catholic Church.

“Maniwala kayo sa Diyos, pero huwag kayo maniwala dyan sa lokohan ng simbahan.” Duterte told his audiences at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hilton Convention Center in Seoul.

Duterte even mocked the church and showed a copy of the book “Altar of Secrets” wrote by Aries Rufo.

President Duterte introduces the Altar of Secrets to two OFWs in South Korea. Photo: PCOO

The controversial book is about the alleged dark secrets of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and its scandal which kept secret for a long time.

“Tignan mo ang Adam and Eve, kung yan ang Diyos ng Katoliko, torpe yan. Maghanap ka ng Diyos na tama.” he said.

Duterte even joked that after his term, he would found a new religion which everyone can do everything which can make them happy.

“May bago tayong relihiyon paglabas natin. Iglesia ni Rodrigo tayo.” he said.

“Walang limit, may obligasyon ka sa sarili – to make yourself happy.” he added.

The Catholic Church criticized President Rodrigo Duterte several times on his strict style of governance.

Several priests slammed Duterte for its war against illegal drugs and his other actions.

However, despite being a Catholic country, President Duterte’s popularity remained high.

President Duterte is in South Korea for a three-day official visit.

 

 

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Ozamiz councilor Ardot Parojinog arrested in Taiwan after 10 months of hiding

Ozmiz City councilor Ricardo “Ardot” Parojinog was finally arrested by the Taiwan Police in Pingtung Country on Wednesday night.

Parojinog evaded the authorities for 10 months, after his brother Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog Sr. for trying to resist the raiding team led by Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido.

According to the report of ABS-CBN News, the fugitive has been located after his former colleagues who earlier arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) revealed his current location.

Later on, PNP gave the information to the Taiwanese authorities which resulted at the end of the 10-month hiding of the City Councilor.

PNP is now preparing their team that would be sent to Taiwan to transport Parojinog back to the Philippines.

Malacanang is not yet giving any comment on the arrest of Parojinog.

Parojinog is expected to face cases for possessing illegal drugs and heavy firearms.

Two weeks ago, authorities confiscated several high-powered firearms and bombs from the two houses of Aldong.

They seized 2 antitank rockets, 2 rocket-propelled grenades, several rifle grenades and different firearms.

Ozamiz PNP also confiscated 2 packs of suspected illegal drugs and several grenades at the farm which allegedly owned by the Parojinogs.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte set a bounty of P5 million in exchange for some information about the whereabouts of Parojinog.

He even said that the soldiers who are off duty could hunt Parojinog down so they could get the reward.

“Kaya kung wala na kayong magawa, off duty, suroy-suroy mo diha sa bukid, hunting-in ninyo iyan kasi that’s P5 million,” Duterte said.

Duterte also said that he would pardon the colleagues of the Ardot, if they would give them the location of the councilor.

“I do not care if he’s really a complicit of Ardot. Kung kasama niya, dadalhin niya iyong ulo, abswelto ko na siya,” he said.

Department of Justice also released a lookout bulletin against Ardot.

The 2017 Ozamiz police raid is considered as one of the bloodiest anti-illegal drug raids in the history of the Philippines which resulted to the death of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog, Susan Parojinog and fourteen others.

Meanwhile, Ozamiz Vice Mayor Nova Parojinog-Echavez and Reynaldo Parojinog, Jr. who both survived the raid are now detained in PNP Custodial Center.