Filipina, 11 Others Nabbed in Malaysia Drug Bust

Filipina, 11 Others Nabbed in Malaysia Drug BustTwelve foreigners were arrested in the past week when they tried to smuggle in drugs worth RM2.17mil via the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) and KL International Airport (KLIA).

The attempts were seven unrelated incidents.

The 12 foreigners – five Nigerians, four Iranians, one Pakistani, a Benin national and a Filipina – aged between 23 and 41, have been remanded until Friday for further investigations.

Federal Narcotics director Comm Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said inter­national drug traffickers have reverted to using KLIA and LCCT as the main entry points into the country.

In the seven separate raids, police seized over 10kg of heroin and almost 5kg of syabu.

Continue reading at The Star

Pinays in Malaysia Lose RM20,000 to Burglars

Four Filipino women reported total losses of more than RM20,000 to burglars who broke into their rented house in Bintawa last Sunday.

The four Filipino women, aged 20s to 30s, were working at a night entertainment place at Sungai Maong.

When they reached home after work around 3am, they found the house had been broken in through the back door.

It was in a mess; three rooms had been searched and the thieves took RM18,000 in jewellery and two laptops.

They made a police report and police are investigating.

Continue reading at Borneo Post

Pag-IBIG Holds Membership Drive in Kuala Lumpur

The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly known as the Pag-IBIG Fund, in cooperation with the Office of the Labor Attaché of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, organized the Pag-IBIG Fund overseas Filipino workers (OFW) Day held at the Filipino Workers’ Resource Center (FWRC) in Kuala Lumpur on August 21.

The event was part of Pag-IBIG’s information and membership campaign for OFWs as mandated by law in Republic Act 9679, otherwise known as the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009. The new law, which took effect in January 2010, requires all land- and sea-based OFWs to become mandatory members of the Fund.

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pag-IBIG Fund Darlene Marie B. Berberabe headed the Pag-IBIG Fund team to Kuala Lumpur that included Senior Vice President for Housing Operations Sector Ophelia L. Dela Cerna, Vice-President for International Operations Group Amado Isabelo Dizon III, Special Assistant to the Corporate Head II Nanette T. Abilay, and Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP) Information Officer in Singapore Eric E. Elloso.

The team also brought along with them accredited real estate property developers from the Philippines to market their various middle- and low-cost housing projects in Quezon City, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna and Bulacan.

Pag-IBIG members can avail themselves of a housing loan when purchasing the housing units built by Borland Development Corporation, Charles Builders Group of Companies and Homemark Incorporated. Charles Builders Group of Companies gave away flat screen television sets and air-conditioner units for those who purchased housing units from them during the one-day event.

In her opening remarks, Labor Attaché Dr. Alicia D. Santos thanked the OFWs who attended the Pag-IBIG Fund OFW Day. She urged them to invest with the Pag-IBIG Fund as part of their savings and reintegration plan in preparation for their eventual return to the Philippines for good.

In her message, Pag-IBIG Fund President and CEO Atty. Berberabe urged OFWs to register and invest with the Fund. She invited them to avail themselves of the many Pag-IBIG Fund programs, among others, housing loan, savings program and short-term loans.

Continue reading at Philippine Star

Filipinos Cheated of RM46,000 for Work Permits

Twenty-six Filipinos have been cheated out of their passports and RM46,000 by a local “agent” who offered to help them get their work permits from the Immigration Department.


 The group, comprising 18 men and eight women, is now unable to return to Manila without their passports.

 Filipino Dennis Maglasang Sabeliano said they handed over the money and their passports to the agent after a meeting on June 14.

 “He promised us that he would solve our work permit problems,” said Sabeliano, adding that there had been no news of their permits after nearly two months.However,

he claimed that the agent returned earlier this month, asking for another RM4,050 for medical checks required for the work permit, which the group handed over to his “worker”.

 Continue reading at The Star

Rising Fee of Hiring Maids in Malaysia Leaves Employers Reeling in Disbelief

Hiring maids can hit the pockets hard and deep as checks with maid agencies show that the initial outlay for a foreign maid can be as high as RM12,000

This is a 50% increase from RM8,000 just two years ago.

The payment now includes between four to six months of advance salary for the maid.

Desperate and unable to afford the steep fees, many employers are falling prey to illegal agents, who are taking advantage of the situation to make a quick buck.

These agents either promise them lower rates and then disappear along with the maids after collecting the deposit, or conspire with the maids to misbehave or refuse to work as soon as the three-month guarantee period is over.

The employers are no longer entitled to a refund once the guarantee period is over.

When asked, most agencies said they did not have any Indonesian maids.

Continue reading at The Star

Filipino in Malaysia Feared Dead After Leaping Bakun Dam Reservoir

A Filipino worker is feared dead after he took a 45m dive into the Bakun Dam reservoir from a crane towering over the main dam wall.

Rescuers have been frantically searching for Michael Angelo, 32, for 48 hours but there was still no sign of him yesterday.

The incident happened not far from the water-intake section of the dam’s reservoir, adjacent to the 210m dam wall on Tuesday evening.

Police search and rescue personnel from Belaga town and divers from the Fire and Rescue Department in Bintulu have searched the reservoir and its banks.

Belaga police chief Inspector Bakar Sibau went to the site to investi- gate the incident yesterday after receiving a report from Bakun dam manager Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd.

Sarawak Hidro managing director Zulkifle Osman told The Star that the Filipino was married to a local woman from Bakun and he had worked there for the past 10 years as a sub-contractor.

“On Tuesday afternoon, he was assigned to work near the water-intake area with two other workers. They were dismantling a steel cabin on top of a crane.

Continue reading at The Star