Filipino professionals form new group

 

Consulate officials with the Filipino professionals who heeded the call to form the PPO

Filipino professionals from various fields, including architecture, engineering, teaching, nursing and midwifery heeded a call from the Migrant Workers Office to gather on November 8 and form a group that will serve their mutual interests.

The new organization called the Philippine Professional Organization (PPO) Hong Kong was formed at the initiative of Labor Attache Cesar Chavez, and aims to bring professionals together not just for mutual support but also professional development and community engagement.

Interim president Brix Chico (with open palm) in huddle with fellow professionals

Elected to the PPO’s Interim Governing Council were Engr Brix Chico, president; Teacher Gemma Lauraya, vice-president; Arch. Josie Evangelista, secretary; Nurse Lorna Pagaduan, treasurer; Arch. Eljon Santos, auditor; and Engr. Joel Fernandez, public relations officer.

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The Council is tasked to lay the organization’s foundations, develop its governance structure, and prepare for the election of permanent officers.

The PPO complements other organizations in Hong Kong made up of professional and business leaders such as the Philippine Association of Hong Kong and the Philippine Bankers Club, and alumni associations from leading universities in the Philippines.

OFW leader and teacher Gemma Lauraya is interim VP

In his speech, Consul General Romulo Victor M. Israel, Jr. hailed the establishment of the PPO as a historic milestone, not unlike Dr. Jose P. Rizal setting up practice in Hong Kong in the 1800s.

He urged members to foster unity, knowledge-sharing, networking, and mutual support through bayanihan and shared Filipino values, and welcomed the PPO as among the partner of the Philippine Consulate General and its attached agencies in advancing community interests.

Labatt Chavez who helped organize similar organizations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Taipei, said PPO Hong Kong should not only promote mutual aid and protection but also support vulnerable overseas Filipinos.

He stressed that it would complement and strengthen—not replace—existing professional organizations.

 

 

Plea deferred for 27-year-old Filipina charged with cannabis trafficking

 

The 10.5 kilos of herbal marijuana found in Villarina's check-in baggage

A 27-year-old Filipina tourist arrested on arrival at Hong Kong International Airport last year on drug trafficking charges was returned to jail on Tuesday, Nov 10, without entering a plea as scheduled.

Aqueia Monique Villarina was arrested at Arrival Hall B of the HK Airport after flying in from Bangkok on Oct 18, 2025, with 10.469 kilos of cannabis in herbal form in her check-in baggage. She has been in jail since.

A press statement released by Hong Kong Customs Department that day said the 10.5kg of cannabis buds had an estimated market value of about HK$2.1 million.

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Villarin appeared in person before District Court Judge Ada Yim and was told that her case will be heard again on Feb.11, 2027 for mention.

Judge Yim ordered her returned to custody until then.

Drug Trafficking is an offence dealt with severely under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134. The maximum penalty upon conviction is life imprisonment and HK$5 million fine. Immediate imprisonment is prescribed.

However, the current sentencing guidelines recommend a slightly lower sentence where the drug involved is cannabis. For those found guilty of trafficking between 9 and 15 kilos of cannabis the prescribed starting point for the sentence is between 48 to 66 months’ imprisonment.

 

 

 

 

HK continues to reject visa applications by ‘job-hoppers’

 

HK Labour Department office in Sheung Wan

Hong Kong has continued to keep track of suspected “job hoppers” among foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), and has so far rejected the visa applications of 96 of them for this year alone, according to Labour Secretary Chris Sun in a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Council on Wednesday.

The total number of rejections is already higher by three than the total figure recorded for the whole of 2025.

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Another 69 applications were withdrawn after Immigration initiated an investigation of 902 complaints made so far this year.

“Job hopping” is the term commonly used to refer to FDHs who prematurely terminate their contracts to change employers.

Sun says all suspected job-hopping cases are referred to a special team at Immigration

Statistics provided by Sun showed that over the past three years (as of October 2026), a special duties team at Immigration had investigated 3,303 employment visa applications from FDHs suspected of job-hopping. 

Of these, 455 applications were ultimately rejected while 259 were withdrawn by applicants or could not be followed up.

The investigation team formed in June 2013 is tasked to consider a number of factors in looking into suspected job-hopping cases, including the conduct of the FDHs, records of the FDHs and their former employers, and the reported reasons for premature termination of employment contracts.

According to Sun, case officers from the team will also, when necessary, contact the former employers and the applicants to verify the reasons for premature termination of contracts.

“For FDHs suspected of "job-hopping", the ImmD will decisively refuse their employment visa applications and ask them to leave Hong Kong. The ImmD will also retain their application records and take them into account when vetting future applications from the FDHs concerned for employment visas or extension of stay,” said Sun.

He was responding to questions raised by legislator Augustine Wong who also wanted to know if the Government would consider requiring employment agencies to bear the high cost of hiring a FDH on a pro-rata basis, when the helper terminates a contract without cause within three to six months.

Sun’s reply to this was that the Employment Agencies Code of Practice already provides that EAs are required to clearly state whether, in case of premature termination, they will provide a refund, arrange a replacement FDH or make other arrangements, and whether additional fees will be charged.

Employers are urged to look closely into the service agreement offered by EAs so they can make an informed choice on who they should be dealing with according to their needs.

Intermediaries that fail to comply with their undertaking under the Code may have their licenses revoked or renewal refused by the Labour Department, or be told to rectify their action.

 

Pinay fined for taking someone else’s cash from ATM

 

Tuen Mun law courts building

A domestic helper may have felt lucky when she found $900 in crisp bills in an automatic teller machine (ATM).

But she didn’t realize that when she took the money, she was recorded on CCTV, so she was identified and traced to her employer’s flat.

Last Tuesday (November 1), at Tuen Mun Court, Mary Jane Bautista, 53 years old, was convicted of theft, in violation of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance.

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Acting Principal Magistrate Jason Wan fined Bautista $1,000 and ordered her to pay $900 to the owner of the money, identified as Wong Kai Wing, as compensation.

The theft took place last October 10 at the ATM machine  of an HSBC branch in Sun Tuen Mun Shopping Centre, Lung Mun Road, Castle Peak, New Territories, in Hong Kong.

Pinay gets 3 months for conspiracy to defraud

 

Shatin Court

A Filipina who entered into a fake employment contract to be able to remain in Hong Kong and raise her two small chlldren, was jailed for three months today for conspiracy to defraud the Immigration Department.

Loyda Consejo, 35 years old, was convicted of an offence punishable under section 1590(6) of the Crimes Ordinance by Magistrate Raymond Wong at Shatin Court.

Magistrate Wong said the normal sentence is six months. With the one-third discount, this was reduced to four months. “Considering your young children, I give a further one month discount,” he added.

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Consejo admitted conspiring with other persons unknown, to defraud the Director of Immigration and his officers, “by dishonestly and falsely representing to the Director and his officers that (her) remaining in Hong Kong was for the purpose of taking up employment with Hong Ming Tak.”

The offense, which took place between an unknown day in 2024 and September 17, 2024 induced the director and his officers “to act contrary to their public duty. namely to grant (her) permission to remain in Hong Kong under circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted,” according to the complaint filed by the Immigration Department.

Before she was convicted, Magistrate Wong confirmed if she pleaded guilty, which she did in an earlier hearing, and whether she admitted the facts of the case. To both questions, she answered yes.

In mitigation, her lawyer said Consejo arrived in 2018 as a domestic helper, working as such until 2024.

However, she got pregnant and had a son and daughter, which led her to seek alternative arrangements so she could remain in Hong Kong legally and found an agent who could do so.

The offense did not give her any monetary gain, the lawyer said.

The two children are now in the care of various charitable institutions.

Visitor jailed 3 months for 12-year overstay

 

Eastern Magistrates' Court 

An unemployed Filipina was sentenced at Eastern Court today to three months and 20 days imprisonment for overstaying in Hong Kong for 12 years and 10 months.

Emelita Arista, 56 years old. had earlier pleaded guilty to breach of condition of stay overstay, contrary to section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance.

She had arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor and was permitted to remain in Hong Kong as a visitor until October 4, 2004, but remained until her arrest on February 19, 2017.

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Magistrate Gary Chu said Arista’s offense is serious and requires a sentence with a starting point of 12 months.

He deducted one third from the sentence for her guilty plea, plus the four months and 10 days of administrative detention at the Immigration Department in August 2018, Nov. 2018 and from July 25 to October 25, 2013.

5 overstayers among 25 people arrested in latest anti-illegal work raids

 

Items seized from people arrested for enganging in illegal construction work

A total of 25 people were arrested in the latest territory-wide operations meant to flush out illegal workers.

Among them were five overstayers and four recognizance paper holders, or asylum seekers.

The suspected illegal workers, including the asylum seekers and one found in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card comprised 10 men and nine women, aged 20 to 54.

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The overstayers were a man and four women, aged 29 to 39. A man aged 55 was also arrested on suspicion of employing the illegal workers.

An investigation into the alleged illegal employment is continuing, and further arrests may be made.

According to the Immigration Department the arrests were made during raids on multiple target locations including restaurants, flats under renovation and industrial buildings, from Oct 30 to Nov 8.

Immigration again warned that taking up work, whether paid or unpaid, is not allowed for tourists or those with visa restrictions like foreign domestic workers. The maximum penalty for offenders is two years in prison and a fine of up to HK$50,000.

Overstayers and asylum seekers face a more severe jail term of up to three years.

Possession of a forged HK identity card carries an even more severe penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of HK$100,000.

Employing illegal workers is an even more serious offense, which carried the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of HK$500,000.

 

 

 

Murder charge eyed as Filipino driver assaulted in Central fights for life

 

Photo of Mallanao lying unconscious outside Jardine House posted on social media

Two Filipinos each being held on a charge of intentionally wounding a Filipino driver who was found unconscious outside Jardine House in Central on Saturday night, appeared before Eastern Court on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the charge against Roderick Pagay Jumao-as, 44 years old and a driver; and Armando Manding Remoring, 52, an asylum seeker, may be upgraded to murder if their alleged victim described as already “brain-dead" succumbs to his wounds.

Police were called after Bryan Cabaldo Mallanao, 41 and also a driver, was found lying alone on a pavement with severe head injuries. He was rushed unconscious to Queen Mary Hospital where he remains in a coma.

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Jumao-as and Remoring, who were described as friends of the alleged victim, were picked up separately on Sunday. Jumao-as was arrested in Kowloon City and Remoring in Wan Chai.

Friends of the three said they had gathered near the Central Post Office at 1 Connaught Place to bet on online cockfighting and were drinking when they somehow ended up arguing, leading to a fisticuff and Mallanao being kicked.

In court, Jumao-as and Remoring were charged with “unlawfully and maliciously” wounding Mallanao “with intent to do grievous bodily harm” to him.

Mallanao with visible head wound remains unconscious at Queen Mary Hospital

They were told that if Mallanao succumbs to his injuries the charge against them would be elevated to murder. Both offenses carry the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Both defendants were remanded in jail until their next court appearance on Jan 5, 2027. They were told they could apply for bail on Nov. 18.

Ex-DH convicted of defrauding Immigration, sentencing put off

 

Shatin Magistrates Court

A former domestic helper was found guilty today after a trial at Shatin Court of conspiracy to defraud the director of Immigration into giving her an employment visa, by presenting a fake employment contract.

But Deputy Magistrate Ryan Sheung put off the sentencing of Annaliza Imatong, 32 years old, to November 23 pending a background report and to determine the appropriate penalty.

Imatong, who did not testify, was charged with conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law and punishable under section 159C(6) of the Crimes Ordinance.

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She was accused of conspiring with a person known as “James Lee” by dishonestly and falsely representing to the Immigration director and his officers, that her entries to and remaining in Hong Kong were for the purpose of working as a domestic helper of Chủ Hau Lìn, Angel.

She was pregnant at that time and was looking for an employer who would hire her despite her condition, and found Lee who charged her $15,000 for the service. They presented the papers to Immigration, but she eventually did not work for Chu even after giving birth.

The offense took place between an unknown day in 2023 and October 12, 2024 when she was arrested by Immigration officers as she was about to go to Macau.

Magistrate Sheung said he considered the testimonies of four Immigration officers honest and credible as against the claim of Imatong’s lawyer that her interview was unfair and that she was subjected to intimidation, oppression and inducement during the investigation.

For one thing, he said, she signed the transcript of the interview voluntarily.

Protest held as VP Sara meets with supporters in HK

 

Protesters say Duterte should face her impeachment trial instead of traveling abroad

Militant migrant workers held a lightning rally outside the Philippine Consulate in Admiralty on Sunday to protest a visit by Vice President Sara Duterte, and call for her impeachment.

Speakers at the rally said not all migrant workers were happy to welcome Duterte to Hong Kong, and told her that she should stop spending public funds on her frequent trips abroad.

The protesters led by Bayan HK and Macau, also said Duterte should instead face the Senate impeachment court, where she is charged with unexplained wealth, failing to provide an accurate statement of her assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and prohibited business interests.

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While the protest was ongoing, Duterte was meeting with her supporters from the Filipino migrant community.

At a gathering attended by more than 100 people at an events venue in Kwun Tong, she thanked her supporters for giving her a warm welcome on her fourth meeting with them, with the first one being held when her father, Rodrigo R. Duterte, was still the country’s president.

“Next year, dapat mas malaki pero kailangan natin ng one-year preparation,” (Next year should be bigger, but we need to prepare for it a year in advance), she said, apparently alluding to a plan to hold another mass event in Hong Kong to kick-start her campaign for the presidency in 2028.

Duterte was in Hong Kong from Friday, Nov. 6 to Sunday, Nov. 8, which her office said was a private visit that was to be funded entirely out of pocket.

VP Sara tells her supporters they should prepare for a bigger gathering next year

Before leaving the country, she had to secure a travel authority from the Office of the President and the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, where a case for grave threats against her is pending.

The charges relate to alleged threats she made during an online press briefing against President Ferdinand Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Alluding to the charge, Duterte told her supporters that Tagalog-speaking Filipinos do not seem to understand the sense of humor of those from the Visayan region.

In a statement, Dolores Balladares of Unifil-Migrante HK asked why Duterte chose to fly to  Hong Kong when she should instead be traveling to the Senate which is just nearby, to respond to the impeachment charges against her.

“Tigilan na niya ang kababyahe. Harapin niya ang kaso ng pagwawaldas ng pera ng bayan at ipaliwanag ang natuklasang undeclared assets at bilyong halaga ng mga bank transactions niya at kanyang asawa,” said Balladares.

(She should stop her travels. She should answer charges of plundering public funds and explain the undeclared assets and billions of pesos worth of bank transactions in her name and that of her husband).

A forensic expert told the Senate impeachment court that Duterte had undisclosed assets of between Php817 million and Php1.5 billion based on the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Duterte’s lawyers are due to start presenting her defense to the charges before the impeachment court today, Monday.

 

 

 

Alex Eala loses HK Tennis Open Final to Claire Liu in straight sets

 

Claire Liu and Alex Eala are all smiles as they show off their trophies (Photo)

Exhaustion and injury finally caught up with the Philippines' Alexandra Eala tonight as she succumbed to the steady pressure from American Claire Liu, who won the championship of the Hong Kong Tennis Open at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.

Liu who was ranked 102 going into the match, lifted a crystal trophy made by Lalique, while Eala ranked no 17 and second seed in the tournament, got the smaller green trophy as runner-up.

What started as a test of each other’s ability, scoring 3-3 at the beginning of the first set, deteriorated after Eala called a medical timeout with her behind at 3-4.

A medic added another bandage to Eala's sore knee early on in the first set

A physiotherapist sprayed a pain killer on her right thigh, and then wrapped it up in tape. Eala decided to go right back to the match afterwards.

Her leg problem apparently began during her game with Tereza Valentova whom she beat 6-4, 7-6 (7) in her first win over the Czech after two defeats, to advance into the quarterfinals.

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After rejoining the game after the medical time-out, Eala never scored a point again as Liu wrapped up the set, 6-3.

At the start of the second set, the two players traded deuces more than 10 times, before Liu scored the first point. After that, the set turned into a rout, ending at 6-0, with Eala unable to run after balls that she could normally return.

The game statistics were starkly one-sided: Liu had six aces to Eala's one, Liu had 33 winners against 16, Liu had 66 total points won against 52. Eala committed four double faults against Liu's one, while Eala had 17 unforced errors against Liu's 19.

The battle ended in one hour and 33 minutes.

Eala was teary-eyed after the match, saying the past year was life-changing for her

“This season has … changed my life for the better,” Eala said as she shed tears during the awarding ceremony. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve put in this year and we’re the only ones who really know what it took to arrive to this point in our journey. This is only the beginning and this one, like all of them, is ours.”

She added later: “I’ve been playing since I was four, but I feel like there’s a long, long road ahead of me. I’m so excited about the journey with my team, and I’m very grateful for everything we do together.”

Eala had hoped to add to her historic win in the WTA 500 final Washington DC in August, which made her the first Filipina to achieve the mark. That victory helped push her ranking from No 50 at the start of 2026 to No 17 going into the HK Open.

Liu, who was the 2017 junior Wimbledon champion but took a year off tennis last year,  said: “This week has been really fun, but also really mentally tough…  I was just trying to take it one day at a time, and I found myself in the final.”

In the doubles final held earlier at Victoria Park, Japan's Miyu Kato and Chinese Taipei's Chan Hao-Hing took the title, beating Talia Gibson and Maddison Inglis of Australia, 6-4, 6-4.

Temperatures to drop from Monday

 

The hot and humid days of the past week will turn much cooler from tomorrow

Hong Kong is forecast to experience a sudden drop in temperatures starting tomorrow, Monday,  as a cold front crosses the South China coast.

According to the Hong Kong Observatory, temperatures will drop from a minimum of 24 degrees today, to 20 degrees on Monday morning, then further down to between 17 and 19 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

DETAILS HERE

It will be one or two degrees lower in the New Territories.

From Thursday the temperatures will begin to gradually rise again, hovering between 22 and 25 degrees in the mornings until Sunday.

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The days will be mostly sunny and dry, with a few showers from Thursday until Sunday.

Today’s weather forecast is for a mainly cloudy day, with one or two rain patches in the morning and at night.

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There will be sunny periods during the day, with temperatures ranging between 24 and 28 degrees.

Eala barges into Hong Kong finals after beating Sakkari in 3 sets

 

Alex Eala dishes up one of her powerful serves

Alex Eala subdued Maria Sakkari of Greece Saturday night, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, in a match interrupted eight times by rain, to barge into the finals of the Hong Kong Open Tennis tournament at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.

Eala will face American Claire Liu, who earlier defeated Alexandra Shubladze of Russia, in tomorrow's championship round.

DETAILS HERE

Their match wil be preceded by the doubles championship between Australians Talia Gibson and Maddison Inglis against Miyu Kato of Japan and Chan Hau Ching of Taiwan.

Asked what she would bring to her match with Liu, Eala said: “I think, you know, the ability and the conscious choice to stay there and be positive. Also a really big point of my match today is my mentality so I bring that from not just Washington but everything that I’ve learned this year to try to cap it all with a good match, win or lose. I’m really happy so I’m gonna try to be positive going into the final.”

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Describing her match with Sakkari, a former World Number Three, Eala said: “The match was incredibly challenging.”

The match began with Eala wrapping up three easy points but Sakkari came back to level at 3-3, scoring with an ace at one point.

PINDUTIN ITO PARA SA DETALYE

They battled to 4-4 and 5-5, before Eala went ahead and scored the two set-winning points,

Sakkari unleashed her strong serves in the second set, scoring easily to 3-0, and despite Eala’s efforts, rolled to take the set, 6-3.

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In the third set, Eala racked up scores to lead, 4-1, but Sakkari recovered fast to level it back to 4-4.

Just when the game appeared to be developing into another tie-break, Eala made full use of her service to score an unchallenged fifth point to regain the lead at 5-4.

With Sakkarin serving, Eala racked up scores as her opponent piled up errors. Eala wrapped up the set, 6-4, to win the match, and earn her place in Sunday's finals.

VP Sara to meet with Filipino supporters in HK tomorrow

 

Poster for tomorrow's event

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte is set to meet with Filipino supporters starting at 2pm tomorrow, Nov. 8, at The Wave, an events place in Kwun Tong.

The gathering is organized by Unity Across Borders, a Duterte-support group founded in Hong Kong. Pre-registration is required for admission.

DETAILS HERE

Also expected to grace the event is Jesus “Jayvee” Hinlo, a lawyer and deputy secretary-general for Visayas of PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino- Lakas ng Bayan) a political party affiliated with the Dutertes.

Another guest is lawyer Rowena "Bing" Guanzon, a known pro-Duterte blogger and supporter who has declared her desire to run as senator in the 2028 elections.

Reports from Manila said VP Duterte flew into Hong Kong from Manila on Friday, Nov. 6, and will stay only until Nov. 8. The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong has confirmed the VP's arrival.

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A statement released by the Office of the Vice President said Duterte will “attend engagements and participate in various activities, including an event organized by the Filipino community.”

Duterte will return to Manila a day before her lawyers are due to present evidence in the ongoing impeachment trial against her.

Event organizers from Unity Across Borders pose during a recent meeting

The OVP added that Duterte was granted permission to travel abroad by the Office of the President and by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, where she is facing a case for grave threats filed by the Department of Justice.

The case stemmed from her online press briefing in November 2024, in which she claimed to have hired someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, in the event that she is killed first.

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The OVP also assured that Duterte will use personal funds to cover the cost of her travel.

“No government money, resources or facilities shall be used in connection with her travel,” it said.

The last public event attended by VP Duterte in Hong Kong was when she accompanied her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte for a private vacation and political rally in March 2025.

The former president was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on his return from Hong Kong, and whisked off to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, to face multiple charges of crimes against humanity through murder and attempted murder.