Namatay ang alaga

Dalawang alalahanin ang bumagabag kay Selma M. kamakailan habang nagbabakasyon sa Pilipinas. Una, ang matanda niyang alaga ay biglang pumanaw noong Jul 2, samantalang sa Jul 11 pa ang takda niyang pagbalik sa Hong Kong.

Bagamat nalungkot sa pagkamatay ng alaga, natakot din si Selma sa maaaring mangyari sa kanya pagbalik niya mula sa bakasyon. Una, baka hindi daw siya papasukin ng Immigration, o sapilitang i-deport dahil patay na ang kanyang amo. Pangalawa, “Sakaling maghanap ba ako ng bagong employer ay papayagan ba ako na sa Hong Kong na hintayin ang aking bagong visa?

Pinayuhan naman siya na wala siyang dapat ikatakot dahil kahit gamitin pa ng Immigration yung polisiya nila na puwedeng manatili ang isang kasambahay na naputulan ng kontrata ng hanggang 14 na araw ay may lusot pa rin siya dahil sa Jul 16 pa magtatapos ang palugit na panahon, at puwede niyang gamitin ito para maghanap agad ng bagong amo.

“Makiusap ka na lang na i-extend pa visa mo para makapag process ka ng bagong kontrata,” ang payo sa kanya.

Pwede din daw niyang subukan na mag-apply na ng bagong trabaho sa online dahil ikukunsidera naman siyang “finished contract” kaya mas madali siyang makakuha ng amo.

Bukod dito, maraming mga employment agency ang hindi na maniningil sa kanya ng placement fee, at malamang na hindi na rin siya papauwiin ng Pilipinas para doon hintayin ang kanyang bagong visa.

Gayunpaman, pinayuhan din siya na humingi agad ng payo sa mga NGO katulad ng Mission for Migrant Workers para mas sigurado ang kanyang mga gagawing hakbang. - DCLM

Labatt Nida takes up post, ‘will stay until replacement comes’

By Vir B. Lumicao  

It'ss Labatt Nida's second posting in HK

Newly arrived Labor Attaché Nida Romulo says she will do as the Home Office has told her to do – to be the Philippine labor attaché in Hong Kong until her replacement comes.

Labatt Nida disclosed this in an interview with The SUN on Jul 17, her third day in office. She was sent by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to head the Hong Kong post as a replacement of Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre, who was recalled for still unknown reasons.

But she could be caught in a bind come Aug 1, when Labatt Jolly is supposed to return to his post as head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, as ordered by Bello in a Jun 27 memo.

The only thing that could prevent that happening is if Labatt Jolly somehow fails to fulfill conditions set for his resumption of office: secure an exemption from a ban on the transfer of government personnel ahead of the May 2019 election, and get all the paperwork done.

Romulo, who served as a deputy to two former labor attaches in Hong Kong, Bernardino Julve and Romulo Salud, before being posted as labur attache in Toronto, does not seem perturbed by the confusion that is emanating from the Department of Labor and Employment in Manila.

“Ang order po sa akin is to come to Hong Kong as labor attaché, so, I’ll be the labor attaché until my replacement comes. Kung ano po ang mandate ng opisina namin ay gagawin ko po iyon,” Romulo replied when told about the possibility that there could be two labatts come Aug 1.

“Siyempre, kasama na po ang taking care of the OFWs,” she added.

She said there was no timeframe given for her term as the new POLO head. However, reports from various sources indicate Romulo has only one year to go before compulsory retirement.

On her first three days at work, Romulo was already in the thick of the action, working on, among things, shortening the processing time for work contracts.

She said she had required POLO staff to stay on after normal office hours until they finish the work in hand for the day. That would cut processing time, she said.

But she could not give a fixed number of days for processing contracts because, she said, the documents would also have to pass through the Consulate.

As of now, Labatt Nida said she would await mandates from DOLE, but assured that all the training programs that have been going on at POLO would continue.

Asked if she had any word from Bello about his reported scrapping of the OFW ID which was promised early last year in place of the much-disparaged overseas employment certificate or OEC, she said she had yet to receive instructions on this.

As for her return to Hong Kong, she said she was impressed by the physical changes in the city – the many new buildings and ongoing works – and astonished by how much rents have risen.

For now, she is still staying in a hotel, she said.

 

 

P3.757-T proposed budget for 2019 lower than for ‘18

The Department of Budget and Management will ask Congress to appropriate P3.757-trillion cash-based budget for the national government in 2019.

The amount is P10 billion lower than the P3.767 trillion budget for 2018. It is equivalent to 19.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the budget proposal will be submitted to the House on July 23 to coincide with President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address.

The Cabinet approved the budget proposal in a meeting last Monday that lasted until 3 a.m. the next day, Diokno said.

The 2019 budget will finance the wider fiscal-deficit program for 2019 of P624.4 billion, equivalent to 3.2 percent of GDP, with the expenditure program at P3.833 trillion, exceeding the P3.208-trillion revenue target.

The Duterte administration seeks to accelerate the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program by increasing spending on education, healthcare and social services.

The budget shifts to an annual cash-based budgeting system from the multi-year obligations-based system at present. Diokno said this would further slash underspending, which has been on a decline in the past two years.

Under cash-based appropriations, agencies will be forced to spend their respective budgets within the fiscal year, or else would lose them.

In the past, the obligations-based budget allowed disbursements within a two-year period.

This means “agencies will no longer submit projects to the DBM that are not yet implementation-ready,” Diokno explained.

“Government spending will continue to be a growth driver for the Philippine economy, especially as we invest on public infrastructure and human capital development. We are optimistic that we will virtually eradicate underspending in fiscal year 2019, as we transition to cash-based budgeting,” Diokno said last week after a meeting of the multi-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

PCG officers meet with Indonesian counterparts

Officers from the Consulates General of the Philippines and Indonesia met on July 11 to discuss issues of mutual concern, including money lending practices, recruitment malpractices and assistance-to-nationals cases.

A statement issued on the Philippine Consulate’s website said the meeting was led by Consul General Antonio A. Morales and his Indonesian counterpart, Tri Tharyat, at the latter’s invitation.

The meeting came in the wake of reports of the seizure of 859 Philippine and Indonesian passports from the house of an unlicensed money lender in Tsuen Wan.

Last year, 250 other passports, all belonging to Filipino nationals, were also seized by the police in a raid on another illicit money lending scam allegedly run by a local Chinese couple and eight Filipinas who acted as their runners.

Both consulates face the problem of firming up guidelines on issuing new passports to their nationals who lost their documents to illegal money lenders from whom they borrowed money with interest at up to 125% a month. Hong Kong laws set the maximum interest for loans at 60%.

According to the PCG statement, both consulates “looked looked forward to their continued close partnership and cooperation to protect the rights and promote the welfare of their respective citizens, especially household services workers, in Hong Kong.”

Officials of Philippine and Indonesian consulates discuss measures to protect their nationals.

Nawawala daw ang asawa

Nagpadala ng mensahe ang isang Pinoy na may initials na S.Q. sa isang lider ng komunidad kamakailan para humingi ng tulong dahil halos isang taon na raw na nawawala ang asawa niya. Ibinigay niya ang pangalan ng kanyang asawa, numero ng HK ID passport at kontrata, at pati ang pangalan at address ng amo nito sa Kowloon.

Nang tanungin siya kung humingi na siya ng tulong sa Konsulado ay sinabi nito na nagpadala na daw siya ng email, pero walang sumagot.

Sinubukan ng lider na hanapin sa Facebook ang asawa ni S.Q, at lumitaw ang isang public post noong Disyembre ng nakaraang taon kung saan lumabas na may komunikasyon pa sila. Nang tanungin si S.Q. tungkol dito ay sinabi niyang huli silang nag-usap ng asawa nitong January lang, na ang ibig sabihin ay mga kalahating taon pa lang sila talagang walang komunikasyon.

Dagdag pa ni S.Q., hindi na daw sinasagot ng asawa ang mga tawag niya sa messenger at sa telepono. Ibinigay niya ang numero ng telepono ng asawa at iminungkahi na tawagan ito at baka sakaling sumagot.

Noong una ay hindi nga sinasagot ng babae ang telepono, pero hindi naglaon ay nag return call ito. Agad nitong itinanggi na nawawala siya, at sinabing kaya hindi na niya sinasagot ang mga tawag ng asawa ay dahil lagi itong nanghihingi ng pera, at kapag hindi nabigyan e nanggugulo.

Dati raw ay lagi niya itong pinadadalhan ng mula Php5,000 hanggang Php20,000 at binilhan pa ng “kuliglig” (bisikleta na may motor at side car) nang makuha ang kanyang long service pay, pero hindi pa rin makontento. Sa katunayan, sa pag-uwi daw niya sa Disyembre ay sa ibang bahay siya tutuloy dahil sa ginagawa ng asawa.

“Huwag nyo hong papansinin dahil hindi naman ako nawawala,” ang sabi ni misis. “Galit lang ako talaga sa kanya.”

Agad namang pinadalhan ng mensahe ng lider si S.Q. para itanong ang tungkol sa sinabi ng asawa pero madiin ang naging pagtanggi nito. “Hindi totoo ang sinasabi nya, bakit pati anak ko at mga apo ayaw kausapin at hindi nagpapadala ng pera sa kanila?”

Hindi napigilan ng lider na sabihan ito ng, “Bakit kailangan niya kayong padalhan ng pera? Kawawa naman siya sa kakatrabaho, di ba? May pamilya na anak ninyo, dapat siya na ang tumutulong sa nanay niya.”

Walang nasabi bilang tugon si S.Q. kundi, “Di bale na lang ho. Salamat ho.” – DCLM

PCG warns of longer process for replacing passports-for-loans

Filipinos who use their passports as collateral
for loans face a tough time getting a replacement

By Daisy CL Mandap

An officer of the Consulate has quelled speculation that Filipinos who use their passports as collateral for loans will be sent home with just a one-way travel document to get them through Hong Kong Immigration.

“It is not our job to send home Filipinos for whatever reason,” Consul Paulo Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section said, when told of the borrowers’ fears that they would be yanked out of their jobs in Hong Kong and told to leave.

Talks of this nature surfaced after hundreds of Filipinos who borrowed money from an elderly loan shark in Tsuen Wan effectively lost their passports when they were confiscated by police during a raid on the money lender’s home on Jul 4.

But Saret warned, replacing the lost passports would be difficult.

“We won’t give them new passports immediately. We will first seek the advice of the Head Office when they come to us with a request to renew their passports,” said Saret.

He also said only three Filipino domestic workers had so far admitted losing their passports to the loan shark, and asked for replacements. Their requests have all been sent to the Director of Passports of the Department of Foreign Affairs for consideration.

Consul Saret

But Saret agreed there could be hundreds of Filipinos who lost their travel documents in the process.

“We’re still trying to contact the officers in charge to find out how many of the 859 passports seized from the moneylender belonged to Filipinos,” he said.

At the same time, he said he would seek ways to get Hong Kong authorities to make money lenders realize the risk that they are taking by giving unsecured loans to domestic workers,

“We will meet with them (authorities) and maybe suggest ways on how both parties could help prevent this from happening again.”

In response to queries from The SUN, the Hong Kong police said that a 63-year-old local man was arrested in Tsuen Wan on Jul 4 for “lending money at excessive interest rates” and “carrying on business as a money lender without a license.”

The man was subsequently released on police bail and was told to report back in mid-August while the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories South continues its investigation.

Three passports were seized from the arrested man, and a further 887 passports were found in his residence in Shek Wai Kok Estate.

An initial investigation reportedly revealed that the arrested man had offered loans totaling over $3 million to more than 800 victims with interest that exceeded the legal rate of 60 per cent per annum. All borrowers were told to surrender their passports and employment contracts as collateral for the loans.

A total of 240 Philippine  passports were seized from a money lending syndicate in March last year

Earlier, on March 12 and 13 last year, officers of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau also seized about 240 Philippine passports as part of its operation codenamed “Thunderbolt 17” and “Polarline” from an unlicensed money lending operation.

The illicit operation was reportedly headed by a local couple who hired several Filipinas to act as their runners or agents. All the victims were foreign domestic helpers.

Initial reports indicated the group had made a profit of $12 million in just eight months from loans totaling $10 million.

According to the police spokesperson, as of Jul 12 this year, “a 49-year-old local woman, a 50-year-old local man and 12 foreign women aged between 34 and 58 have been arrested for “conspiracy to lend money at excessive interest rates” and “conspiracy to blackmail”.

They were released on police bail and were told to report back in mid-August this year.

Apart from the passports, also seized from the suspects were employment contracts and $106,000 cash.

According to the police, their investigation revealed that the arrested persons in this case “belonged to the same syndicate which offered loans at an effective interest rate exceeding 120 per cent per annum to about 1,200 foreign domestic helpers from March to October, 2016.”

The domestic helpers were asked to surrender their passports and employment contracts as surety for the loans. 

‘Costly’ birth documents hinder return of OFW mothers and children, NGO says

By Vir B. Lumicao

Filipino migrant women with babies born out of wedlock in Hong Kong are sometimes deterred from going home by the high cost of obtaining birth certificates at the Consulate, says PathFinders, a group helping pregnant women in need.

The non-government organization has asked if some of the fees could be waived to help ease the burden on the women so they could go home with their babies as soon as possible.

But Consul Paul Saret, who heads the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate, said they cannot waive or reduce fees unilaterally because these are set by the Home Office, but they can find other ways to help the women if necessary.

Consul Paul Saret

Consul Saret said that concerned parties could formally request the Department of Foreign Affairs for a fee waiver. PathFinders can also go to the Consulate to discuss the issue.

“We have to evaluate each case and if an applicant is really desperate for help then we will consider it an ATN case,” Saret said.

He said the Consulate is accountable to the Home Office for reductions in income if it waives fees. At the same time, the post should not bear the cost of indiscretion on the part of migrant Filipinos.

The problem over the fees has become urgent as Immigration authorities began speeding up hearing asylum and torture claims in the past year.

In some cases, migrant mothers would rather see their babies become undocumented or give them up for adoption because of the prohibitive fees, a PathFinders officer said.

“Registering babies for birth certificates in the Consulate costs only $200, but for those born out of wedlock, it costs $800 to $1,000. It’s very expensive for the mothers,” said Jessica Chow, co-director of services, social work and healthcare at PathFinders.

PathFinders' Carmen Lam and Jessica Chow.

The additional cost is said to cover the extra documents required before an illegitimate child can be issued a birth certificate. These include fees for amending the personal details of a mother who came to Hong Kong bearing her husband's surname, which she can't give to her child sired by another man.

Chow told The SUN in an interview on Jul 4 that there had been instances where mothers would cancel or delay their planned repatriation because they couldn't pay for their children’s documentation. Under Hong Kong law, the mothers cannot work while their claims are being processed.

When that happens, she said, the NGO would try to find partners who would shoulder the cost of documentation and repatriation of both mother and child.

The Immigration Department has been speeding up its screening of asylum and torture claims and sending back home those who fail the process, in line with the Security Bureau chief’s call last year for faster reduction of the backlog.

As of the end of March, there were 255 Filipinos among the 4,420 claimants for non-refoulement, or against being sent back home, according to Immigration data. This is nearly half the peak of 483 Filipino applicants at the end of September 2016.

Carmen Lam, director of community education and outreach at PathFinders, told The SUN that the NGO is also adjusting to the new situation.   

“We have heard a lot of recent cases… facing deportation who were being repatriated quickly. Therefore, we have further developed our Home Country Integration Programme initiatives and strengthened our partnership with our community partners in assisting our migrant mothers and children to reintegrate in their home country,” Lam said. 

Lam said that in early September, a PathFinders team will visit the Philippines to evaluate the impact of the reintegration program and see what improvements need to be made, if any.

In a meeting in May with officials from the Consulate and other community partners, PathFinders obtained key contacts in the country who could help the returning mothers and children ease their way into Philippine society.

Filipina DH ‘shocked’ when rings found in her backpack

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina domestic helper has claimed in court of being shocked when her employer pulled out a diamond ring from the pocket of her backpack on Apr. 24.

Jeambreth Algura made the statement during her trial in Kwun Tong court on Jul 10 on a charge of theft for allegedly stealing two diamond rings owned by her employer, Lau Yi-ki.

Kwun Tong court 

Magistrate Chu Chung-keung reserved judgment on the case to Jul 23.

Algura who took the witness stand on the second day of her trial, told the court that Lau, who had been suffering from stress, sent her on an errand on Apr 24. When she came back, she noticed that her umbrella, which she usually put in the pocket of her backpack, was in the wrong place.

She also saw two police officers in the flat, and they told her she was being investigated for the loss of her employer’s two rings. Algura said she was not told by her employer that some rings were missing.

The maid then said she saw Lau opening her luggage and spilling all her personal belongings onto the living room floor, while her husband and the officers watched.

The employer then opened her backpack and also spilled its contents on the floor, Algura said.

Then the woman knelt, took something from underneath and lifted her left hand, saying: “This one! This one!” Algura said she saw one ring.

When one of the officers took the ring and went over to the employer’s husband, she said she noticed there were two rings. The officer approached Algura and asked her how the rings got into her backpack.

She said she did not know what to say because she was wondering how the rings got into the backpack.

“I was shocked,” she said when she was asked how she felt being suspected of stealing.

Upon cross-examination by the prosecution lawyer, Algura mentioned she was told once by the elder son of Lau, who lived in a separate unit,  that his mother wanted to take revenge on her because his younger brother was closer to the maid than their mother.

On Jul 10, the younger son, Ching-chun, gave evidence for the defense.  When asked about Algura’s performance, he said: “She is very helpful. In fact, she is very honest, even if she broke something, she would communicate with me immediately.”

He said Algura has been with serving the family 6-7 years. “She was very honest and a nice person,” he said, adding he was very close to her. The 16-year-old was only 8 when Algura took up her employment with the family in Yau Tong.

The young Lau said when the officers arrested Algura, he was very concerned about her. Asked by the prosecutor if he showed his concern for Algura to his parents, he said yes.

Algura was remanded in custody after the hearing. Chu had previously refused her bail application and so has the Court of First Instance. She has been in detention since Apr 24.

Filipinos in US$5 billion bank draft case press bail bid

The US$5 billion bank draf was presented to the HSBC headquarters in HK
(photo by J del Torre)

By Vir B. Lumicao

Eastern Court Magistrate Peter Law has adjourned a new bail application by two Filipino tourists arrested for allegedly presenting a fake US$5 billion bank draft to HSBC in June, while waiting for them to submit a Hong Kong address.

The counsel for Elmer P. Soliman, 57, and Eric Jude P. Soliman, 31, who claimed to be a secretary and engineer, respectively, applied for bail for his clients on Jul 13, saying their relatives were in court with bail money.  But Law demanded a local address from their lawyer.

“If I consider their bail application, where will they stay? They must give me an address,” Law told the lawyer.

He cited court records showing, third defendant, lawyer Eliseo L. Martinez , 46, had already provided an address in Saikung. His bail application, however, was still rejected.

The two Solimans also tried to apply for bail earlier, but the prosecution opposed their application.

The defense lawyer said the Solimans’ kin, tourists who were due to leave on Jul 19, would comply with the address requirement before they return home.

Magistrate Law adjourned the hearing until Jul 19 and told the defendants and their relatives to return on that date.

The three suspects were arrested on Jun 25 while transacting business at the HSBC main office in Central. The prosecution said the three defendants went that day to the bank with two other unidentified persons.

At the bank, Soliman reportedly talked to a female staff and opened an account, presenting a government bank draft for US$5 billion that was handed to him by Martinez. Suspicious staff called the police and the three were arrested.

A subsequent raid on their room in a Tsimshatsui hotel led to the seizure of a suitcase with documents.

The case is the latest in a series of failed attempts by Filipino tourists since December 2016 to cash allegedly spurious bank instruments involving billions of US dollars in Hong Kong financial institutions.

A Consulate officer monitoring the cases says money scams by people claiming access to Marcos-era hidden wealth in the form of bank instruments seem to be resurging. Those involved have reportedly been showing the fake documents to “investors” and have apparently lured Filipinos, many of them professionals, to come to Hong Kong to get them encashed.

This has been corroborated by informants in the Philippines who said some people are going around offering vouchers that entitle investors to a hefty profit once the bank instruments are exchanged for cash in Hong Kong.

      

Among recent cases was the one involving 75-year-old tourist Maria Ilao O. Gosilatar who was arrested by police, along with a local accountant, on Dec. 9, 2016, after they tried to cash a check for US$50 million at the Hang Seng Bank headquarters in Central.

The case is pending in the District Court for trial as Gosilatar waited more than a year before she could obtain the services of a lawyer assigned by Legal Aid.

Gosilatar, allegedly the chairwoman of a Bulacan-based charity group Mama Mary 2000 International Foundation, said Philippine police had told her she had been conned.

On Oct 18 last year, Elena S. Orosa walked into a Hang Seng Bank branch on Hankow St, Kowloon, to cash US$2 billion in bank drafts. She and a fellow Filipina were arrested after police were called. Orosa’s case is awaiting trial in District court.

The frequency of the apparent scams increased around the Lunar New Year this year, when visitor Noel Rambuyon presented a wad of Thomas Cooke traveler’s checks worth US$50,000 at a money shop in Central.

He was arrested and charged with “using a false instrument” in Eastern Court, but his case has been moved to the District Court.

The biggest of these allegedly false bank instrument cases involves Brudencio J. Bolaños, an elderly Filipino who allegedly tried to update his account at HSBC on Apr 9 using a US$943 billion deposit slip ostensibly issued by the bank on Jul 25, 1983.

His allegedly tried to convince staff that the document was genuine. He was nabbed and charged with “using a false instrument”. His case will be heard in District Court this July.

3 more suspects linked to online sex ring operating from luxury flat

 By Vir B. Lumicao

Investigators have linked three more persons to an online sex-for-sale business operating out of a luxury residential tower in Mid-Levels that police busted in a raid in May. 

Hearing is at Eastern Court

The involvement of the additional suspects was discovered during examination of a new set of accounting ledgers as well as credit cards that police found in the flat, the prosecution told Eastern Court Magistrate Peter Law on Jul 13.

The prosecutor did not say whether new arrests had been made.

The revelation came at the hearing of the case of Filipina domestic helpers Joan E. Palpal-latoc and Jeanette V. Gallego, who were arrested on May 15 for allegedly manning a number of dating websites that offered sex to foreign tourists.

The prosecution had said previously the two Filipinas admitted their roles in the online sex business during video-recorded police interviews. However the defense lawyer says he will challenge those interviews as they were held in the absence of counsel.

Palpal-latoc, 40, and Gallego, 47, are facing one charge each of “living on the earnings of prostitution of others” since 2009, when they were hired as domestic workers of a 69-year-old Hong Kong woman identified only as Ms Wong.

Wong, her 72-year-old sister, and a male person were arrested when officers raided the flat on the 43rd floor of Tavistock II residential block on Tregunter Path in Mid-Levels. They were released on police bail.

The prosecutor said later that the online sex ring was operated by a duly registered company that was based in the raided address.

Updating the magistrate on the progress of the investigation, the prosecutor said on Jul 13 that “most of the inquiries had been completed, a few were still outstanding, and all of the mobile phones seized had been inspected”.

He applied for a six-week adjournment, saying further investigation was needed following the discovery of the new set of ledgers and credit cards.

But the magistrate said that was too long as the case had been in court since May 18, and set down the next hearing on Aug 10.

No bail was sought for Palpal-latoc and Gallego, who were remanded in custody.

The two defendants had applied to post bail of $10,000 each after their arrest on May 15 and later increased their offer to $25,000 each, but the prosecution opposed the application, citing their lack of local ties and the risk of destroying evidence and absconding.