Aside from Libya and Bahrain, another country in the Middle East that is undergoing political crisis is Yemen. Opposition groups in Yemen are said to be planning a protest this Friday (March 25, 2011 ) to pressure President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign.
Even a Reuters report stating the willingness of Yemen President to resign by the end of the year did not placate the growing demands of protesters for his resignation.
In the light of these developments, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a travel advisory to Yemen that was raised to Level 2 this month. There is also an ongoing deployment ban in the said country.
Furthermore, to assure the safety of all Filipinos in Yemen, the Philippine Embassy in Sanaa there advised them to stay at home or limit their outside activities this Friday and Saturday.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) today assured that Filipino workers who have been repatriated from Libya and other countries can still avail of their health insurance coverage in case their legal dependents in the country are hospitalized.
"We want to assure our OFW-members that should hospitalization needs arise, they may still avail themselves of their PhilHealth benefits, provided the period of confinement is within the effectivity period of their coverage," Rey Aquino, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Aquino said said that OFWs may still use the unexpired portion of their PhilHealth coverage as indicated in their enhanced member data records.
He, however, said that the overseas Filipino worker's contribution should be updated and their premiums are paid regularly and on time by his employer to be able to avail of the benefits.
"Employers of sea-based OFWs must ensure that they remit their employees’ premiums regularly and on time, including their counterpart contributions as employers, to ensure that these OFWs or their legal dependents, are able to avail themselves of their PhilHealth benefits when they need these most," he said.
The PhilHealth's Overseas Workers Program (OWP) covers all land-based overseas Filipino workers whose jobs are covered by appropriate job contracts with overseas-based employers. Sea-based OFWs, meanwhile, are covered under the employed sector.
Among the in-patient medical care benefits that OFWs and other PhilHealth members may avail of are allowances for hospital room and board fees, drugs and medicines, X-ray and laboratory fees, as well as allowances for the use of operating room complex and for the professional fees of attending physicians.
These benefits may be availed of in accredited institutional health care facilities in the country.
The PhilHealth said it has more than two million OFW-members.
The government of Taiwan has finally lifted the restriction in visa and work applications of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) after the Philippines and Taiwan finally reconciles.
The good news was sent to former senator Manuel Roxas II who recently visited Taiwan for the second time to finally settle rift which is affecting the employment status of the Filipinos there.This development is also posted in the offical website of the Philipppine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) at www.poea.gov.ph
“To express our good faith in response to your visits and the most recent measures taken by your government, we are lifting the restrictions on visa applications for all Filipino workers, effective immediately, and will resume the method used to process their work permits prior to February 7, 2011,” Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang said on a letter sent to Roxas.
The summer season has started and its first month brings lots of exciting events for Filipino jobseekers. Many of the events lined up this month may give one the job opportunities he or she has been waiting for. You may also forward or share this information to someone whom you know may benefit from these events.
Here are some of the events this March you might want to attend:
Singapore is an attractive destination for many Filipino workers because there are many job opportunities waiting for them in this Asian country with a tiger economy. Its proximity to the Philippines is also a plus factor why many Filipinos want to go there. So this is good news for those who wants to be an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the land of Singapore: a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)-licensed agency is looking for qualified Filipino workers in the hospitality industry to fill up great job opportunities in Singapore.
Sacred Heart International Services is in urgent need of: 5 Banquet Managers, 15 Banquet Waiters, 15 Pastry Chefs, 15 Room Attendants, 25 Waiters, 25 Waitresses, and 10 Western Cooks for immediate deployment to Singapore.
They are inviting qualified applicants to send in their résumés and other credentials. The agency informed through their job advertisement in WorkAbroad.ph that a very competitive compensation package and outstanding benefits awaits successful applicants.
The final interview for the said job openings will be on: March 21 - 23, 2011.
