OFWs taught how to spot fake news and online scams

 

VERA Files' Ellen Tordesillas says social media is replete with false information

A workshop recently held jointly by the Department of Migrant Workers and VERA Files taught overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) how to identify misinformation, verify online information and recognize digital scams.

In particular, the whole-day training held at the DMW office in Makati City on September 17equipped participants with practical skills on assessing online content and spotting illegal recruitment schemes.

The OFWs learned lateral reading (or a fact-checking strategy used to evaluate the credibility of a website or online author), Google Advanced Search techniques, reverse image search, and spotting red flags in online posts, including altered or AI-generated content.

Lawyer Kristina Andal-Escosia of the DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau spoke on fraudulent job offers, impersonation, fake recruitment accounts and other forms of online deception that target Filipinos seeking jobs abroad.

Participants were made to apply the verification techniques taught them earlier to distinguish between reliable information and false or misleading content.

VERA Files President Ellen Tordesillas gave an overview of how disinformation is spread online and why it is important for OFWs to ensure that the information that they get is reliable.

Tordesillas said OFWs mainly rely on social media for information on what is happening back home, which unfortunately, is replete with lies, fake information, and half-truths.

“VERA Files is helping OFWs not to be victimized by empowering them with skills and knowledge to distinguish false from real news,” she said.

USec Pajarito says OFWs must verify information before sharing online

DMW Undersecretary Darlene R. Pajarito said that because of the proliferation of disinformation online, it is important for OFWs to verify information first before believing or sharing it online.

 “Kapag may nakita tayong post, hindi natin kailangang agad maniwala. At hindi rin naman natin kailangang agad ituring na mali. We can simply ask: ‘Totoo ba ito? Saan nanggaling? Paano natin mave-verify or masisiyasat?,”she said. (Whenever we see a post, we should not immediately believe in it, but we also should not reject it as false. We can simply ask, ïs this true? Where did it come from? How do we verify or check its veracity?)

“That simple habit can make a real difference,” she added. “Because every time we verify before we share, we help protect not only ourselves, but also our families and our fellow Filipinos.

Also among the speakers was Jocel de Guzman of Scam Watch Pilipinas who introduced the Quad Model, which has been adopted by the Department of Information and Communication Technology as the official national anti-scam education and awareness strategy.

The four components of the Quad Model are behavioral change (or anti-scam attitude), volunteer watcher program in communities, schools as workplaces, cross-sector collaboration among government bodies, law enforcers, telcos and banks, and technology-enabled reporting through such apps as eGovPH, Scam Vault PH, and Whoscall.

Participants were encouraged keep in mind the reminder, “Magdamot, Magduda, Mang-isnab, at Magsumbong sa 1326” when faced with suspicious messages, calls or online offers.

 

Deported Pinoy using 4 names charged in DC

 

Jewelry store where theft was allrgedly committed

A Filipino tourist who returned to Hong Kong 10 years after being deported, has been transferred to the District Court as penalties for offenses he was accused of exceeded the limit that a magistracy such as the West Kowloon Court can impose.

Cezar Raiz, 74 years old and also known as Rodrigo C Balajadia, Mario Macaspac and Gregorio Nolasco, is charged with theft contrary to section 9 of the Theft Ordinance, and breach of deportation order, contrary to section 43(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance.

DETAILS HERE

Principal Magistrate Don So, in a hearing on Thursday (September 24), set his transfer to the District Court on November 13.

In the meantime, So ordered him remanded in jail.

Raiz was charged with stealing 22 pendants belonging to Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited on December 14, 2025, at the Chow Tai Fook shop on 621-623 Nathan Road, Mong Kok.

Press for details

During investigation, his fingerprints matched with those taken from a man under another name who was issued a deportation order dated February 13, 1995 and still in force.

Raiz confirmed to police he was the same man.

Meanwhile, So rejected the guilty plea of an 82-year-old Filipino after the latter added that he just forgot to pay for the three items he was accused of stealing from a ParkNShop store in Discovery Bay.

Basahin ang detalye!

Magistrate So told Eliberto Evangelista: “I cannot accept your guilty plea.”

So adjourned the case to October 26 for trial, and set his bail at $1,000.

Evangelista is accused of theft contrary to section 9 of the Theft Ordinance, for allegedly stealing one bottle of eye drops, one bottle of soy sauce and one pack of mustard with a total value of $119.

AMCB makes last-minute pitch for HK$6,172 MDW salary

 

Posters and banners show a hefty salary increase is just one of the concerns of the protesters

Protesters from the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body gathered outside the Hong Kong Labor Department offices in Sheung Wan today, Friday, just days before the expected announcement of the new minimum allowable wage (MAW) for foreign domestic workers.

The protesters who came from different ethnic backgrounds reiterated their call of a “living wage” of no less than HK$6,172 monthly for FDWs, and a food allowance of HK$3,123.

As in the past, the new MAW is expected to be announced shortly, as it usually takes effect on the first of October each year.

Balladares says a much higher increase is necessary because of the rising inflation

AMCB spokesperson and Migrante Hong Kong chair Dolores Balladares said their “last push” for an acceptable wage increase has become very crucial this year, amid the Middle East oil crisis which has led to an inflation spike in many places, including Hong Kong.

“We are very much affected by the high inflation in Hong Kong, which has led to increases in the costs of food, transportation and even public health care,” said Balladares.

“We cannot afford to shoulder these increases on our current salary.”

DETAILS HERE

The current minimum wage for FDWs is HK$5,100 a month with the optional food allowance of HK$1,236 for those whose employers do not provide them with meals.

Balladares pointed out that in the past 25 years, the total salary increase granted to FDWs in Hong Kong amounted to only a HK$1,430, which she called “ridiculous.”

Sring says the 300,000 FDWs in HK have enabled many residents to work and get high pay

Another spokesperson, Sring Atin of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, said that the 300,000 FDWs currently working in Hong Kong have enabled locals to work and receive high salaries, while they have been paid little over the past years.

Without the FDWs, locals will have difficulty caring for elderly and young family members, and managing their households, Sring said.

Both speakers again firmly denounced a call by several employers’groups to freeze their wages, saying everyone in Hong Kong should share the burden of rising prices and a lacklustre economy.

Basahin ang detalye!

If help is needed, it is the government that should be called upon to step in, rather than squeezing FDWs further, the group said.

"Increasing our wage will ensure we can cope with the unending inflation in Hong Kong, which heavily impacts the majority of MDWs (migrant domestic workers) who are striving to live decently and with dignity," Sring said.

The group also pointed out that the growing need in Hong Kong for foreign caregivers for elderly residents who are staying at home, which was highlighted in the recent Policy Address by Chief Executive John Lee.

But “while these caregivers are acutely needed, their projected salaries are not substantially different from standard domestic workers, offering a mere 10% to 20% premium,” said AMCB in a statement.

“ Modern-day slavery remains visibly evident for foreign workers in Hong Kong,” added the statement.

Mary Jane Veloso gets pardon from President Marcos

 

Mary Jane on her return home in Dec 2024 after being released from death row in Indonesia

Filipino former domestic worker Mary Jane Veloso who has been imprisoned since being arrested in Indonesia in 2010 for drug trafficking has received absolute pardon from President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., allowing her to be freed.

President Marcos himself made the announcement in an ambush interview with reporters in Samar earlier today, saying he signed the pardon decree yesterday, September 24.

“I signed her pardon yesterday,” he said in Filipino, in response to a question from a reporter. 

There has been no immediate response from the Veloso family and their supporters on Mary Jane’s pardon.

Veloso was sentenced to death after being found guilty after trial in Indonesia on Oct 11, 2010. She was granted temporary reprieve at the behest of then Philippine President Benigno Aquino, Jr. but remained on death row for almost 10 years afterwards.

After a relentless campaign for her release waged by her family, friends and support group Migrante International, the Indonesian government allowed Veloso to be transferred to a prison in the Philippines in November, 2024, in line with prisoner transfer laws between the two countries.

DETAILS HERE

She was released from the Indonesian jail and repatriated to Manila in mid-December 2024, but was immediately moved to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. She has remained there since.

Throughout her arrest and trial she insisted on her innocence, and claimed that she was tricked into smuggling the 2.6 kilos of heroin found inside a hidden lining in a suitcase she was carrying when she arrived at Yogyakarta Airport on April 25, 2010.

Veloso pointed to a family friend, Maria Cristina Sergio, as the one who got her into the mess after luring her to apply as a domestic worker in Malaysia.  Veloso paid Sergio Php20,000 cash, and gave her a motorcycle and cellphone as well to pay for her deployment.

Basahin ang detalye!

But on arrival in Kuala Lumpur Sergio told her that the job was no longer available, and that she would be deployed in Indonesia instead. Sergio took her shopping and bought her a new suitcase for her clothes. Veloso was then introduced to an African man she knew only as “Ike” who gave her a plane ticket and a cell phone number she was meant to call once she landed in Indonesia.

Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a Php2 million fine after being tried for large-scale illegal recruitment in the Philippines. Three Filipinos who complained of having been recruited by the two for overseas jobs acted as complainants.

Veloso’s absolute pardon means she can now be freed immediately, and her political and civil rights fully restored.

 

 

 

Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival at Victoria Park extended to Oct 4

 

Colorful lanterns hang over Victoria Park

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has announced that the Mid-Autum Lantern Carnival 2026 currently being held at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay will be extended for a week, or until October 4, so more people can enjoy the display.

The lantern-lighting hours in the park have also been extended until midnight from September 24 to 27.

DETAILS HERE

Originally, the Lantern Carnival which opened on September 17, was set to last only until Sunday, September 27.

The lanterns which were lit at 6pm, were originally meant to remain on until 11pm except tonight, the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The spectacular "Shadowlight" greets visitors at the entrance

According to the LCSD, the enthusiastic response to the lantern displays prodded them to extend the carnival for a week. With the new schedule, people who will go out on October 1 to celebrate Natioal Day, will also be able to visit the Lantern Carnival.

Press for details

Since it opened, thousands of people have flocked to Victoria Park to view the giant lanterns on display, particularly “Shadowlight,” the large-scale Qinhuai creation by artisans from Nanjing. The intricately created lantern which greets visitors at the entrance is presented by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Chicken noodle soup in a giant bowl is one of the lanterns featuring local delicacies

This year’s display themed "A Delightful Journey through the Lantern Garden” features lanterns of local delicacies, from dimsum and mooncakes to bowls of noodles. There is also a corridor of heart-shaped arches featuring scenes of daily life in Hong Kong, as well as paper-crafting displays with scenes featuring rabbits embracing a giant moon, and more.

Basahin ang detalye!

The traditional and vibrant Fire Dragon Dance which starts in nearby Tai Hang at about 7pm and ends in Victoria Park, adds color and fun to the Lantern Carnival celebration.

For details, please visit: www.cpo.gov.hk/event/en-mid-autumn-lantern-carnival-2026/.

 

Freebies and discounts galore for Oct 1 celebrations

 

Catering industry officers unveil $77 meals and 30% dining discounts for Oct 1

More than 3,800 eateries across Hong Kong will offer perks and discounts of up to 30% on dine-in bills on October 1 to celebrate National Day.

That’s according to catering sector lawmaker Jonathan Leung who made the announcement on Thursday.

Fifteen restaurants under the Tai Hing chain including Men Wah Bing Teng and TeaWood, will offer a 30% discount for dine-in customers for the day.

Basahin ang detalye!

Some restaurants are even offering meals at promotional prices of HK$77 or HK$10.1 for the entire bill, to symbolize the 77^th anniversary of China’s founding on October 1.

For the first time, even street market eateries, food courts, convenience stores and five-star hotel restaurants are taking part in the dining treats being offered for the day.

As before, there will be a Fireworks Display over Victoria Harbour on Oct. 1 which will start at 8pm and last for 23 minutes.

Tram and Star Ferry rides will again be free to general public

Free rides on the tram and on selected Star Ferry and Fortune Ferry routes will again be available to the public. The MTR will also raffle off 77,000 free single-ride tickets to passengers.

In addition, Greater Bay Airlines will offer 77% discounts on original fares for all non-charter routes during the promotion period.

All commercial cinemas will also offer half-fare discounts on movie tickets, while all sports and leisure facilities, including museums, run by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will be opened free to the public.

Part of the promotional offers will start from next week through early October.

Also in store are special treats that align with the government’s effort to boost the so-called “silver economy” by handing out more concessions to resident seniors. These include discounts on texture-modified food which an elderly person can enjoy, along with companions.

Maxim’s Group is also offering a 30% discount on “Gentlemeal,”its soft meal brand, for elderly customers who dine in selected outlets using a Senior Citizen Card or a JoyYou Card. The concession is already on offer and will run until December 31.

Elderly residents will get extra treats on National Day

Leung said the National Day promotions in recent years have been a financial success, but the catering industry is not looking at generating additional profits with the expanded offers.

"We just want to promote Hong Kong. We want to make it a mega event, it's like every year people remember this day, they should come to Hong Kong to enjoy such a promotion," he told reporters.

He expects this year’s treats which coincide with Hong Kong’s recent wins in the Asian Games, will encourage both residents and tourists to go out and celebrate.

Employment agent, client jailed for conspiracy to defraud Immigration

 

Shatin Magistrates Court

An employment agent who submitted fake employment contracts to induce Immigration officers to grant a visa to another Filipina, was sentenced at Shatin Court to a total of 10 months imprisonment in two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

Her Filipina client, in a separate hearing at Shatin, was also convicted of conspiracy to defraud and sentenced to eight months and 20 days’ imprisonment.

Both pleaded guilty earlier.

Employment agent Jackielou Passporte, aged 45, was sentenced by Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong to seven months imprisonment for the first charge and eight months for the second, to run at the same time excpert for two months in the first sentence which will run after the second sentence.

DETAILS HERE

In both cases, she was charged with violation of Common Law and sections 2(3) and 4(2) of the Criminal Jurisdiction Ordinance, Cap. 461 and punishable under section 159C(6) of the Crimes Ordinance.

In the first case, Pasaporte was charged with conspiring with Desiree Bernabe on May 13, 2025 to submit documents purporting to show Bernabe and So Kam entering into a domestic helper contract.

The acts “induce(d) the Director (of Immigration) and his officers to act contrary to their public duty, namely to grant Bernabe, Desiree Romero permission to enter and remain in Hong Kong in circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted,” the comlaint filed by the Immgration Department said.

The second charged Pasaporte with conspiring with Bernabe on June 26, 2025 “to defraud the Director of Immigration of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the Director") and his officers” by presenting a fake employment contract between Bernabe and Kwan Yun Pak.

Basahin ang detalye!

Bernabe, on the other hand, was sentenced to eight months in jail. The sentence consisted of five months and 23 days for the first charge and six months and 18 days for the second charge, to run at the same time, except for two months and two days from the first sentence which will run after the second.

In the first charge, Bernabe was accused of “dishonestly and falsely representing” to Immigration officers in May and June 26, 2025 that she had been employed by So Kam Lo as a domestic helper and her entries to and remaining in Hong Kong were for the purpose of working as a domestic helper.

In the second charge, she “conspired with a person known as Jacky and a person known as Jimmy,” to defraud Immigration officers, by lying that she had been employed by Kwan Yun Pak as a domestic helper.

In both cases, she induced Immigration officers to “act contrary to their public duty, namely to grant you permission to enter and remain in Hong Kong in circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted,” the complaint added.

11 suspected illegal workers and 9 employers arrested

 

The arrested workers were said to have worked as dishwashers, cleaners and food servers

Eleven people, described as mostly Indonesian and Filipinos, were arrested on suspicion of carrying out illegal work, in an operation carried out by the Immigration Department for over a month that ended Thursday, September 23.

A press statement issued by the Immigration Department said nine suspected employers were also arrested.

Among the suspected illegal workers, three are currently employed as FDHs, five were former FDHs who had overstayed their visa, while three were overstaying tourists. They comprised two men and nine women, aged 34 to 51.

Basahin ang detalye!

They were arrested during territory-wide raids that targeted restaurants, retail shops, food factories, hair salons, and various residential, commercial and industrial buildings. They were reportedly found working as dish washers, cleaners and food service workers.

The nine suspected employers comprised two men and seven women aged 34 to 54 who were either owners or persons-in-charge of the companies and restaurants involved.

During the operation, a forged Hong Kong identity card was seized.

Immigration said investigations into the alleged illegal work activities are still ongoing, and further arrests are not being ruled out.

The anti-illegal work operation codenamed “Swordfish” specifically targeted FDHs who breached their conditions of stay.

Items seized during ''Öperation Swordfish''

The press statement said, "A helper should only perform domestic duties for the employer as listed in the 'Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties' attached to the Contract. The helper should not take up any other employment, including part-time domestic duties, with any other person. The employer should not require or allow the helper to carry out any work for any other person.”

Tourists or visitors are not allowed to take up any job, paid or unpaid, while FDHs are only allowed to perform domestic work at the address specified in their employment contracts.

Those found to have violated their visa conditions face a maximum jail term of two years and a fine of up to HK$50,000. The jail term rises to a maximum of three years if the offender is an overstayer, illegal immigrant or asylum seeker holding a recognizance document.

Those holding forged HK identity cards face a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.

In addition, illegal workers may face deportation by order of the Chief Executive, and barred from entering Hong Kong in future.

Employing people who are not lawfully employable is a more serious offence, for which the maximum penalty is 10 years in jail, and a fine of up to HK$500,000.

To report  illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 185 185, fax at 2824 1166, email anti_crime@immd.gov.hk, or submit the "Online Reporting of Immigration Offences" form at www.immd.gov.hk.

DC to hear drug trafficking against Filipina tourist

 

Customs area at the airport

A case against a Filipino tourist who was arrested at the airport after more than 15 kilos of cannabis (marijuana) buds were found in her check-in luggage, was today sent up to the District Court by the West Kowloon Court.

Freelancer Ma Cristina Fernandez, 27 years old, who has no residence in Hong Kong, was remanded in jail by Principal Magistrate Don So to await her next hearing on October 13.

She faces a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

Fernandez was one two women arrested October 18 last year at Customs Arrival Hall B, Passenger Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport after arriving in Bangkok.

Basahin ang detalye!

About 26 kilos of cannabis buds with a total estimated market value of about $5.2 million was found in their luggage.

Found in Fernandez’s luggage was 15,437 grams of cannabis with an estimated market value of about $3.1 million.

In the second case, a 26-year-old female passenger was found to have about 10.5 kilos of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of about $2.1 million in her check-in baggage. She was also arrested.

Special traffic arrangements announced for Mid-Autumn Festival

 

Colorful lanterns at Victoria Park are expected to draw in crowds (Brand Hong Kong)

The MTR will step up its services from 3pm on Friday, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, until the early hours of the next day – a statutory holiday -  to accommodate the thousands of people expected to travel around to join various festive activities across the city.

The only exception to this are the Airport Express, Disneyland Resort Line and the East Rail Line to and from Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau, which will be operated normally.

Basahin ang detalye!

At the same time, 11 Light Rail routes, three MTR bus routes and nine green minibus routes will operate on extended hours until early on September 26.

Four special bus routes (route Nos. 71P, N64P, N272 and 173R) will also be operated while public bus companies will extend the service hours of six bus routes and adjust the frequency/departure time of some routes.

Services provided by HK Tramways,  Star Ferry, Sun Ferry and Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry will be adjusted based on passenger demand.

The Tai Hang Dragon Dance will be staged at night from Friday to Sunday 

Meanwhile, road closure and traffic diversion will be implement in the vicinity of Tai Hang from Wednesday to Saturday to facilitate the holding of the traditional Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance.

Similar traffic arrangements will affect various parts of Hong Kong island (including Causeway Bay, The Peak, Aberdeen, Pok Fu Lam, Repulse Gay and Shek O), and parts of the New Territories (including Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan and Ma On Shan) on September 25 and 26. Some parking spaces, taxi and light bus stations in the named areas will also be suspended.

Traffic is expected to be heavy in the vicinity of Tai Hang and Victoria Park in Causeway Bay where the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival is being held until Sunday, September 27.

Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai is another crowd-drawer (Photo by Annabelle Maregmen)

On Saturday, thousands of people, including migrant domestic workers, are expected to pour out onto the streets as it is a statutory holiday.

Everyone is enjoined to use public transport as far as possible to avoid traffic congestion and travel delays. The Police may adjust the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures as may be necessary.

For details of the special traffic and transport arrangements, members of the public may visit the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk) or its mobile application "HKeMobility". Passengers may also refer to the passenger notices displayed by the relevant public transport operators.

 

HK cracks down on hawking at FDH haunts

 

Various clothing items seized during the FEHD-led operations

After a few weeks of information campaign and warnings, officers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have stepped up enforcement actions against unlicensed hawking and illegal obstruction in places where foreign domestic workers gather on their days off.

A total of nine persons were arrested during two successive Sunday of operations, eight of them foreigners and one Chinese man, aged 30 to 55. Two of them held recognizance forms, indicating their status as asylum seekers, while one had a mainland travel permit.

Basahin ang detalye!

Seized during the operations, according to a government press release, were 1.5 tons of good, including cooked food in takeaway boxes, clothes, shoes, handbags and cosmetics.

Reports shared on Facebook showed that among the places targeted were the grounds surrounding the HSBC headquarters in Central, where various goods are routinely peddled, mostly by Filipinos as well as Indians.

Food and drinks seized from unlicensed hawkers

But photos of the food seized indicated they could have come most likely from Victoria Park, where Indonesians are known to freely sell or even cook their native dishes.

The government statement said relevant government departments have been notified about the arrest of persons suspected of breaching their conditions of stay, so follow-up actions may be taken as appropriate.

MWO staff Danny Baldon joins information campaign against illegal work, hawking

In the past two weekends, FEHD officers have teamed up with staff of relevant consulates-general in Hong Kong to distribute leaflets warning against illegal work, unlicensed hawking and obstruction of passageways, as well as environmental hygiene and food safety precautions.

The teams went to known FDW haunts and reminded migrant workers that unlicensed hawking is illegal, and to appeal to them not to patronize illegal hawkers.   

Under Hong Kong laws, unlicensed hawking is punishable with up to HK$10,000 in fines and six months’ imprisonment.   

If unlicensed hawking activities also cause obstruction of passageways, the maximum fine prescribed is HK$25,000 or imprisonment for three months.

In addition, anyone who is found selling restricted food (specifically frozen meat, sushi and sashimi) could be fined up to HK$50,000 and jailed for up to six months.

If the hawker is a foreign domestic worker, an additional charge of breaching the condition of stay could be levied. Employers are advised to remind their helpers to abide by the law, and not sell food items that may compromise environmental hygiene.

Anyone who knows of any unlicensed hawking activities may report the same to the FEHD.