The SUN HK : PCG seeks official confirmation of reports that missing Filipina flew to Poland

By Vir B. Lumicao

Hinaloc (left) with a friend in photo taken last year

A Filipina domestic helper who was reported by police as missing a week ago is likely to have gone to work in Poland, unconfirmed information from her friends indicate.

Police said that so far they have no update on the whereabouts of the worker, Gemma Baflor Hinaloc, who went missing after leaving the home of her employer on Lyttleton Road, Mid-Levels on Dec 19.

Two days after the police appealed for information on the woman, some people posted on social media that Hinaloc was already in Poland. At least one Filipina worker said they were spending quarantine together in Poland.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Another worker, a long-time acquaintance, said the missing woman reportedly treated one of her friends to a farewell lunch before slipping away.

Consulate officers have reportedly sought Immigration’s confirmation of reports that the woman had left Hong Kong, but were told that the official answer would be coursed through the police.

“It was the Hong Kong police who issued the appeal for information on the missing person, so, if the Immigration confirms she has indeed left Hong Kong, then it will be the police who will issue another statement saying she has already left,” a PCG officer said.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

One of Hinaloc’s acquaintances, the founder of a Guardians chapter in Yuen Long where the missing Filipina used to be a member, told The SUN the worker could now be in Poland. She said this was what she was told by a chapter member who was with the helper on Dec 19.

“Isa sa mga member ko ang nagsabi na kasama nya ang dating chapter treasurer ko noong Sunday at kumain pa raw cla na parang farewell lunch, at sinabi rin ng treasurer ko sa member ko na nasa Poland na nga po raw si Gemma,” said the informant.

(One of my members said that she was with my former chapter treasurer last Sunday [Dec 19] and that they had what was like a farewell lunch, and my treasurer told my member that Gemma is now in Poland.)

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

The informant said Hinaloc had been telling her friends she was applying for a job either in Canada or Malta.

But her disappearance, which was reported by her employer to the police, surprised many of her friends and acquaintances. Some said she should have informed the employer, so as not to place other Filipino workers in a bad light.

Welfare Officer Virsie Tamayao said she tried to call the worker’s relatives in Bohol after reading the appeal for information on Hinaloc’s whereabouts issued by the police, but they were not answering the phone. She said she also left a text message, but got no reply.

Press for details

Tamayao said according to information that she had gathered, the helper had served the employer since 2015 and that she had already received her long service pay.

People at the Consulate said it’s rather strange that in this case a person was reported missing and none from her relatives or friends has come forward to express concern about what might have happened to her.

Pindutin para sa detalye

As of now, it seems only Immigration could say for sure whether Hinaloc has left Hong Kong. Alternatively, the runaway Filipina herself could announce wherever she may be now to spare people from wondering or worrying about her condition.