Here is the video where OPM Hitmen performed a collection of 1980s Philippine TV advertisements jingles to their Dubai audience during 25th February concert at Al Nasr Leisureland that brought about laughter and smiles to the audiences who can relate.

Anejo Rhum
Hope

The OPM Hitmen visited Dubai the second time for another concert on 25th February 2016 at Al Nasr Leisureland, barely four months after their first concert in the city.

The audience had fun and were all transported into a mesmerizing air of OPM-landia by well-acclaimed OPM singers Richard Reynoso, Chad Borja, Renz Verano and Rannie Raymundo.

Of their songlist, one was composed by the group especially dedicated for Filipino living away from the beloved Philippines.

Take time to listen to their song "Uwian Na", and let your patriotism and love for the Philippines take control of your thoughts and heart for awhile.

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• OFW voters have one month to cast their votes from April 9 at 8am to May 9 at 1pm (UAE time), including weekends at the Consulate
• Registered voters must bring their passports or copy of their passports and valid Emirates ID.
• They can go to http://dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph to check if they are on the list of qualified voters.
• Registered OFW voters can choose a president, vice president, 12 senators and a party-list representative
• A training on conducting the elections will be held in the Consulate in March.
• Dubai has 122,185 certified Filipino voters
• Dubai tops the list among 85 Philippine Diplomatic posts worldwide
• OFWs are urged to vote to send a strong message to policy-makers back home
• The Consulate is awaiting approval from COMELEC to receive voters in another location apart from the Consulate in Al Ghusais.

"Hopefully we get a good percentage to cast their votes so that our politicians and leaders will pay more attention to Filipinos abroad," Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

"We'd like our governance style to be more dynamic, participative and more inclusive. How do you do that? Only when people say something as to what they want their leaders to be.

"If they do not vote, that means they don't have any opinion as to what they want for themselves and for their country," he added.

Filipinos abroad contribute around 8.5 per cent to the annual Philippine gross domestic product (GDP).

Money they sent back home in the first 11 months of 2015 alone stood at $22.83 billion. Of this amount, $1.581 billion emanated from Filipinos in the UAE, which is the third biggest source of remittance after the US and Saudi Arabia.

Katrina Tamayo, a traveling consultant from Happy Trip, said 20 Filipinos who transacted with them in exiting to Kish and Qeshm are now being assisted for a trip back home to the Philippines as fresh visas for them in Dubai can no longer be processed since last week.

Tamayo said their visa applications for people who are in Kish or Qeshm received an “error” in the immigration system. 

This, she said, was based on a new immigration rule of the UAE, which was only “verbally” shared with Happy Trip.

“As per a new UAE immigration rule, passengers of any nationality who have entered Iran (Kish, Qeshm, etc.) for visa change or any other purpose on expiry of their most recent UAE visa, will not be issued with new UAE visas of any category (Tourist, Employment etc.) for 6 Months,” according to the copy of the memorandum issued by the management of Happy Trip obtained by Kabayan Weekly.

 “Please note we have received this information verbally from the Immigration office without any prior notification as a sudden change in immigration policy. We are informed this is a Federal rule concerning all Emirates and will immediately apply to all passengers currently in Iran,” the memo read.

The memo also said that they are “unsure” if the new Federal rule will be implemented across all emirates, and if so, for how long, but noted that they are still receiving approvals for tourist visas from their Dubai trade license and can assist with applying for visitors via Dubai immigration.

To this, the management advised Filipinos to exit in Oman instead.

“We strongly urge all Filipino National visitors on UAE Tourist Visas approaching expiry of their UAE visas to apply for our Oman (Buraimi) by Bus Visa Change Service minimum 14 days prior to the expiry of their UAE visa, and to plan their exit minimum 7 days prior to the expiry of their Visa as seats on the Bus Service are limited to 50 per day (as of this moment) and allocated on a first come first serve basis,” it said.

Tamayo, for her part, said that the public may also exit to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, for those who are already in Iran, Happy Trip said that they will assist with booking tickets to their home country.

“They would have to present their confirmed Dubai-Philippines (or home country) ticket at the local Kish or Mahan (Qeshm) Air counter prior to confirming their seat on the Iran-Dubai flight. We recommend booking the Dubai-Philippines sector at least 4-5 days in advance to ensure the passenger is able to find a seat on the connecting Iran-Dubai flight accordingly (with minimum 4 hours connecting time between flights).

“As per current Kish Air and Mahan Air Policy, we are not permitted to book the passenger’s return flight from the UAE and the same can only be done locally in Kish or Qeshm at the airline office. 

As reported by Jamie Marie Elona
Source: http://kabayanweekly.com/dubai-based-travel-agency-confirms-no-visa-will-be-issued-for-people-who-entered-iran/

The last time I can recall having experienced showers of hail in Dubai was still in 2005 but I was inside the hypermarket, hearing the loud thuds of ice hitting the high roof.

New deployment of household service workers (HSWs) from the Philippines to the UAE will have to wait until the issues on policies between the two countries will be resolved

Source

In a report from newspaper Khaleejtimes:

Philippine labour attaché in Dubai Delmer Cruz hopes to break the deadlock soon. He said: "I am hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon but we (UAE and Philippine governments) are still in the negotiation phase, and like in any other negotiations, we don't know exactly when this will be concluded."

Hiring of Filipino domestic workers has been put on hold since June 2014 when the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in the UAE suspended their consular role in verifying and attesting contracts when the Ministry of Interior introduced a unified contract for domestic workers.

The Philippine government asserted that it is mandated to verify the contracts to protect their workers. The Philippine government also wants the setting of a minimum wage for Filipino domestic workers at $400 (Dh1,468), while UAE does not have a set minimum wage. It also demands that HSWs should be at least 23 years old and they get a weekly off, and salaries must be deposited in a bank and HSWs should not be required to pay placement fees to recruiters.

"The next round of talks is set in the first quarter of 2016 but there is no specific date yet for the meeting." Cruz said. "In Saudi Arabia, there was no minimum wage but we were able to reach a common ground after we had an agreement with the Saudi government that the Philippine labour office will not ... deploy a new maid if the salary is less than $400.

Cruz also believed that having a solution on the issue "will help mitigate the cases of runaways".

Source: Khaleej Times

From the Philippine Consulate Dubai website, here are things you would want to know regarding your Philippine passport. Also below are the procedures on how to renew your passport at the Consulate.

Is my Passport Valid?

A passport is usually valid to be used for travels, applying for visas or any transaction if it is more than six months prior to expiration date.

Will I have fines for holding an expired passport?

None. However, the inconvenience and problems resulting to holding an expired passport is your responsibility.

How will I know that I hold an E-Passport?

Passports issued by Philippine Consulate Dubai from  2011 are already E-Passports. It is maroon in color and bears the E-Passport logo

When should I renew my passport at the Philippine Consulate Dubai?

According to the PCG Dubai website, it estimates that the next available appointment is about two months from appointment date.

The earlier an appointment, the better to avoid the inconvenience especially if there are processes that need the passport, such as travel, visa renewal, a new job, etc.

Where can I get an appointment?

One can take appointment in Dubai PCG website in this link:  http://dubaipcg.checkappointments.com/ . 

Otherwise, one can go to the Consulate office during working days. The que will start 9 in the morning. On that day, you can not renew as you will be given an appointment date only. You then return to the Consulate office on the appointment date for the renewal.

I urgently need my passport but it is about to expire, and I dont have time to wait for renewal, what can I do?

Please take your appointment and be sure to renew your passport as scheduled.
Meanwhile, apply for a temporary passport extension. Comply with the requirements, including bringing proof of urgency. 

Who does not need a passport appointment?

Pregnant women, senior citizens, the disabled, infants and children five years (5 years old) and younger do not require an appointment. The spouse, parents, siblings of those exempted from the appointment system are not included in the exemption.

When will I receive the new passport?

It may take 6-8 weeks from renewal date for your passport to be available, but could take a shorter period. It is advised to start monitoring your passport starting two weeks from your renewal date.
You can monitor online the availability/ release date of your passport in this link: http://dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph/available-passport-for-release-2016

What do I need to bring to the claim my new passport?

Please bring with you your old passport and receipt. If you lost the receipt, inform the Releasing area staff. If you are not personally claiming your passport, send an authorization letter, a copy of ID of the person claiming it in your behalf, along with your old passport and receipt.

How will I renew my Philippine passport at the Consulate?

Here are the procedures as per the Consulate's website:

Philippine E-passport Application Form

1. Passport Data page
2. Passport Visa page

1. Appointment; NOTE: Appointment is not required for children ages 5 years old and below.
2. E-passport Application Form. accomplished by the accompanying parent(s);
3. Copy of child’s passport, Data and Visa page, (1 copy);
4. Copy of accompanying parent(s) passport’s data page, (1 copy); 5. Personal appearance of child and parent(s).

1. Parents do not need to get appointment for the passport application of their infants. E-Passport Application Form, accomplished by either parent (if out of wedlock, by mother);

Report of Birth Form

2. Report of Birth Form, (6 copies);
3. Original English Birth Certificate duly authenticated by UAE Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (6 copies);
4. Photocopies of the Passport of each parent, (6 copies, data page only);
5. DFA authenticated NSO Marriage Certificate or NSO Report of Marriage, (6 copies)
6. Personal appearance of Filipino parent(s) and infant/child;

• If married in the Philippines, parties must present original DFA authenticated (red ribbon) NSO Marriage Certificate.
• If married abroad, parties must present original DFA authenticated (red ribbon) NSO Report of Marriage. For those who have not filed a Report of Marriage please see requirements for Report of Marriage. 
• For those married at the Philippine Consulate-Dubai, the Original Marriage Contract may be submitted. However, if the marriage occurred more than one year ago, applicant must present an NSO copy of the same.

1. Police Report on Lost Passport (with English Translation) plus 2 photocopies;
2. Duly accomplished Affidavit of Loss (downloadable forms) plus 2 photocopies;
   
3. Three (3) photocopies of lost passport and NSO Birth Certificate authenticated by DFA