EMONG'S JOURNALS

There might be a bit of a caveat here. The bill seeking to establish a national identification (ID) system for all Filipinos here and abroad recently passed the first reading at the House of Representatives, making it a few steps nearer into becoming a law. Once passed into law, the National ID System will require all Filipinos residing anywhere in the world to register their personal information into the central system to be managed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The system, in effect, shall streamline all government transactions and unify all basic needs of the citizens. To date, the Philippines is one of only 9 countries in the world without a national ID system. There are 196 countries in the world. How the National ID System works A registered Filipino will be issued a non-transferable national ID card with a number that shall be valid for life. Filipinos residing or working overseas are to register for their IDs at the nearest Philippine embassy o...

If you don't know it yet, the acronym "TNT" means a Filipino who is "Tago Ng Tago" (always hiding) from U.S immigration agents. The U.S. Department of Justice had identified eight so-called "sanctuary cities" where the majority of undocumented immigrants are hiding, and threatened to cut government funding on these cities if they will continue to not cooperate with federal authorities on President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. According to ABS CBN News , Trump has vowed to strip federal funds from the state of California; New York City; Chicago; Philadelphia; Clark County, Nevada; New Orleans; Miami-Dade County, Florida; and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The federal fund is roughly $29 million in law enforcement aid under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, which helps local governments pay for everything from forensics labs to drug courts. Sanctuary Cities "Sanctuary cities" in general offer s...

Deportation of illegal immigrants from the United States just got easier. US President Donald Trump just overhauled the government's deportation process with the signing of two new memos that dramatically expanded US deportation powers and would "take the shackles off" of immigration agents. The guidelines are part of Trump's wider security plan and making good his promise to crack down on illegal immigrants. Condo Vibes Below are the key features of Trump's new immigration/deportation policy: 1. Widening the net. Nearly all of America's 11 million undocumented immigrants, to include those who violated immigration laws, will be subject for deportation. 2. Widening the enforcement . The new order deputizes local law enforcement agencies to arrest undocumented immigrants. 3. Beefing up. The number of agents assigned at the Enforcement and Removal Operations Office will turn triple with the hiring of more personnel. 4. Expedited removal. ...

Filipinos who want to work abroad as domestic helpers may now apply through a website called "Helper Choice" where employers and maids meet and match at no charge to the helper. By using this website, applicants will no longer have to go to a recruitment agency to find work abroad. This eliminates precarious recruitment practices where women sometimes end up in debt bondage and forced labor. In this app, the helpers have the luxury of choosing their boss. And because there are no third parties involved in the application, the helpers will no longer have to pay for high placement fees and processing fees. In a news article from Coconuts Manila , Helper Choice was named runner-up in Pitch With Purpose, a competition for women entrepreneurs with social-themed businesses held in Houston, Texas this month. The app is already available in seven countries - Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. For more details you can visit t...

Our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) get an early Christmas treat from Google Philippines with the launching of the single, "Miss Ko Na," on Tuesday. “Miss Ko Na,” is a new song specially created for the OFWs which touches on what they really miss most while working away from their families. A joint effort between five Filipino artists and thousands of OFWs, the lyrics were crowdsourced from our Filipino workers worldwide while the melody was composed by Bands Spongecola, Itchyworms and Kjwan, and artists Ebe Dancel and Mikey Bustos. The single was launched at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City on Tuesday, a day after the celebration of National Heroes Day. Watch the song on YouTube HERE . (Photo: YouTube screenshot)  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

A Filipino nurse working in Singapore who two years ago denied posting ugly comments about Singaporeans on Facebook finally pleaded guilty to three charges on Wednesday, August 26. What started as a Facebook rant from Ello Ed Mundsel Bello, 28, quickly aroused a swift of backlash of disgust from the locals of Singapore in 2014. According to Channel News Asia , Bello was convicted on one count under the Sedition Act, for promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility, and on two counts of providing false information to police. An additional charge under the Sedition Act, and another for lying to police, will be taken into consideration during sentencing. In his Facebook post, Bello called Singaporeans "loosers (sic) in their own country". "We take their jobs, their future, their women, and soon, we will evict all SG loosers out of their own country", Bello added, saying that Singapore would be the "new Filipino state". The Filipino also stated that...

THE new, "more stringent" rule of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to conduct more physical checks by opening more balikbayan boxes has spawned a lot of comments from the lawmakers. Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina earlier reminded the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) abroad that: "The contents of a balikbayan box must not exceed US$500.00 in value. Canned goods, grocery items and other household effects must not exceed a dozen a kind, while apparel, whether used or new, must not exceed 3 yards per cut. Only one consignment per sender during a one-month period is allowed," "Home appliances are not allowed unless these are consigned to returning Filipino residents and overseas contract workers….We will seize these prohibited shipments and revoke registrations of forwarders or consolidators if we find any violations." The new BOC directive aims to clamp down on balikbayan boxes on suspicion that these are being used as a smuggling channel. Here are ...

STARTING January 2016, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will be issuing the new e-passports and they will look like these: A. On the first pages of the passports (at the back of the cover), an image of the Philippine Eagle and its wings will be featured prominently. B. The third page will contain the lyrics of the National Anthem and the preamble of the 1987 Constitution. C. Inside the passport, the visa pages will display famous landmarks of the Philippine regions such as the Metro Manila skyline, the Mayon Volcano of Bicol, the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Cordillera Administrative Region, among others. Aside from these new designs, the 2016 passport will also have innovative security features such as: the use of a latent image which would be visible only when the document is viewed at a certain angle ultraviolet ink only visible under UV light  watermark the use of a different security background design for every visa page to prevent VISA p...

H ere's another case of a Filipina caught smuggling large amounts of suspected drugs in a foreign country. A 29 year old tourist, whose identity is temporarily withheld, came from Manila and was arrested by Hong Kong customs officers when they found 1.8 kilograms of cocaine in her suitcase. The seized illegal drug has a street value of HK$1.7 million (roughly PHP 9.7 million). Vice Consul Charles Macaspac said the Filipino woman had already been extended consular services. Heavy briefcase According to news website The Sun-HK , the Filipina tourist arrived from Manila on February 2. But upon baggage examination, Customs officers found an "abnormally heavy" briefcase inside her hand-carried suitcase. When inspected, the briefcase contained false compartments that yielded 1.8 kilos of suspected cocaine. She was charged with one count of trafficking of a dangerous drug, the report said. Last December, another Filipina identified as Monica Eden was arrested ...

T he old Philippine peso bills will soon be demonetized, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The agency said that they will start withdrawing the old bank notes from circulation starting January 1, 2015. They will be completely phased out on January 1, 2016. This means that the old peso bills may still be used to buy goods and services in 2015 but they will no longer be accepted  for payment starting January 1, 2016. What to do with the old peso bills? BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said the public can still exchange their old bills for the new generation currency bank notes at banks and BSP offices and branches around the country from January 1, 2015 until end-2016. Filipinos who live abroad will still have a chance to exchange their old notes. They may register online starting October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 through the BSP website. They will be given a year from their date of registration to exchange the old bank notes at BSP offices a...