By Vir B. Lumicao
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| Jonalyn was often fed only boiled onions by her former employer in Hong Kong |
A former domestic helper who returned home after just three
months in Hong Kong because she could not take starvation and long working
hours has completely changed her fortunes, but in another foreign land.
Jonalyn Tayoto, 37, now runs her own immigration consultancy
near Nagoya , capital of Japan ’s Aichi
Prefecture , a manufacturing and
shipping hub in central Honshu
Island
In a recent visit to Hong Kong, Tayoto recounted her brief stint
in the city in 2014 as a domestic helper for a wealthy family in Kennedy Town
From the start, she said she had to endure maltreatment by her
female employer, such as not being given food, being made to work long hours
and putting up with daily scolding.
The female employer and her children suffered from severe skin
allergies, yet she was not allowed to wear gloves even if she had to handle
utensils and clothing that they had used. Such was their skin condition that when
the children took off their clothes, the fabric stuck to their sores, Tayoto
said.
In addition to her duties in her employer’s flat, she was
sent once a week to work in the house of her female employer’s mother across
the harbor in Yaumatei.
Tayoto said she was under constant watch by her female
employer, especially when the latter noticed her husband being nice to her.
“Kapag namamalengke kasi ako, sinasamahan ako ng lalaki para
ituro kung ano ang mga bibilhin ko. Pagdating ko sa bahay ay mainit na ang ulo
ng babae,” Tayoto said.
She slept on the couch but would move to the floor when the
employer’s mother visited. For food, she was given a little serving of rice or
noodles to eat once a week, but very often she would only have boiled onions,
residue from boiling the bulb for the essence that she administered to the couple’s
child as a cough remedy.
Tayoto had a good meal only once a week on her day off when
she visited Social Welfare attaché Beth Dy at the Consulate. The two became
fast friends after talking on a tram one evening and Dy became excited on
learning she had worked with the Department of Social Welfare and Development office
in Basud, Camarines Norte.
One day, Tayoto decided to quit after she got a scolding over
a dress that was burnt with a hot iron, not by her, but by the employer’s own mother.
She complained to her agency, whose owner tried to appease
her by making her a Manila-based partner in recruiting helpers for Hong Kong .
But Tayoto eventually parted with the Hong
Kong operator because he was allegedly envious of her success in
recruiting people for other places. Their parting was acrimonious, with the
agency owner allegedly harassing her with various lawsuits.
Tayoto eventually decided to go to Japan Hong Kong experience had taught her to survive
on little food, so, she stocked up on flour and sugar to ensure she would always
have pancake, her staple.
The Filipina said she used to cry about her predicament until
the hotel owner saw her crying, and on learning about her problem, offered to
pay her rent.
While working at the hotel, Tayoto began assisting and
advising Filipino migrants on immigration issues, a job she used to do when she
was still in the recruitment business.
Seeing her growing clientele, the hotel owner asked a friend
to lend his immigration consultancy license to Tayoto so she could work legally
and open an office.
She immediately set up a company, Forza Consultants, and
used the business to obtain a visa. She says her company is now attracting
enough business to pay for the hefty operating costs, which include the use of
the license, rent and staff salaries. She gets to keep about half of the
earnings.
On her last visit to Hong Kong
recently, Tayoto met with the agency owner with whom she had a falling out. The
man begged her to partner with him in the Japan
Having experienced dealing with cunning business people before, she
was not about to fall for the sweet talk again.
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