 |
| Targeted by the new Polo directive are the volunteers who joined the protest against the recall of Labatt Jalilo dela Torre |
As a first step, German ordered that all existing Polo
volunteers be subjected to a screening so only those who pledged not to join
future protest actions would be retained.
 |
| German ordered the purge of volunteers' list |
The Polo staff reportedly said the names of selected
volunteers would be submitted to the Consulate for approval, then to the
government in Manila
Further interviews, this time by a panel headed by the Polo
OIC herself, were held the following Sunday, May 12. It’s still not clear when
the selected final batch will be made known.
Told that the information was supplied unsolicited by three
Filipino community leaders, German said: “The Office in the exercise of its
discretion will continue to determine who will qualify as its volunteers
vis-a-vis the services that we need to deliver to our clients. I have no
further comment on the issue.”
Most of those who admitted joining the protests, even those
who said they did it for personal and not political reasons, were not allowed
to stay on as volunteers.
Eman Villanueva of Unifil-Migrante Hong Kong called German’s
act unconstitutional.
“Her so-called ‘exercise of discretion’ is in direct
violation of the fundamental rights of the Filipino people enshrined in our
constitution,” said Villanueva.
He cited in particular section 4, art III of the Bill of Rights
which guarantees freedom of speech, expression or of the press, and “the right
of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of
grievances.”
He also pointed out to sec. 8 of the same article, which
guarantees the right of all people employed in both the public and private
sectors to form unions, associations or societies for purposes not contrary to
law.
Deputy Consul General Roderico Atienza who was acting head
of post at the time of this interview, said no such re-accreditation process
was initiated by the Consulate for its own volunteers. All they did at the
start of the year was to ask for an exemption from a new Department of Foreign
Affairs directive that posts not enlist the help of volunteers, and they got
it.
Atienza said he had not heard, or was told, of Polo’s new
rules for volunteers. He also was not aware of any plan by Polo to submit the
list of vetted applicants to the Consulate once it is finalized.
However, he said this could come at a later time, when Polo
is ready with its approved list.
 |
| Volunteers spend long hours maintaining the queue outside Polo and giving help to OFWs, especially during peak vacation periods |
The crackdown sparked indignation among other Filipino
community leaders, particularly those who joined the call for Dela Torre to be
retained in Hong Kong .
Dela Torre was ordered recalled by Labor Secretary Silvestre
Bello III on March 26, citing various reasons, from “favoritism” to “corruption.”
Dela Torre’s deputy, German, was made OIC.
Two subsequent protests against the recall apparently
stalled the implementation of the order, but Dela Torre was eventually told to
return to the Home Office to answer the “charges” on Apr 18. His fate remains unknown.
In the meantime, a former deputy labor attaché to Hong Kong , Leonida Romulo, will reportedly take over Dela
Torre’s post.. Atienza confirmed that Romulo’s nomination had already been
submitted to the Hong Kong government for
approval, and that she could take over as the new labor attaché within a month.
Among those who took issue with the apparent move to cleanse
Polo of Dela Torre’s supporters was Leo Selomenio, chair of Global Alliance.
Selomenio said her group was not even told of the
re-accreditation interviews, even if she and other members had been helping out
at Polo for years, even during weekdays.
But she said being taken off the volunteers’ list was “not a
big deal” to her group because they are busy with so many other projects. She
also knew that the new Polo head is bearing down hard on her group as it’s been
identified as the leader of the “No to Recall” petition for Dela Torre.
 |
| Nuval's Global Alliance is one of the biggest OFW groups in HK |
Proof of this was an attempt to bar one of Global’s
officers, Marites Nuval, from joining the Filipino community meet-up with
President Duterte on Apr 12. Nuval said she was stopped at the entrance to the
venue and was passed on to security officers who asked if it was true that she
was a protester.
The leaders said they made no attempt to hide their support
for Dela Torre, citing his many achievements while in office, and his strong
stand against corruption.
DelaTorre was known to have cracked down in particular on
the previously prevalent practice of employment agencies giving gifts to Polo
officers and staff. In line with this, he had CCTV cameras installed near the
counters where the agencies transact business with Polo, but these have since
been removed, reportedly on German’s orders.
Instead of Dela Torre, the protesters asked that German be
recalled as she had already been “overstaying,” having been retained for
another year by Bello
Another leader stricken off the volunteers’ list was Rodelia
Villar, who founded a big online group that assists OFWs, especially newcomers,
on all matters pertaining to their work and stay in Hong Kong.
Villar said she admitted joining the protest to support Dela
Torre, but added it was just her personal conviction, and not a political stand
against the government. She, however, agreed to the condition not to join
further rallies, but still failed to make the cut.
On learning that she did not make it to the second round of
interviews, Villar just said: “We plan to volunteer na lang sa Help for
Domestic Helpers at sa Mission
But concerned about the huge number of OFWs who regularly
line up on Sundays for help with registering online for the overseas employment
certificate, Villar said she plans to set up an outdoor station somewhere near Polo
just so her group could continue helping.
Another leader, Gemma Lauraya, president of the National
Organization of Professional Teachers, admitted breaking down in tears when
asked if she was willing to give up her group for Polo volunteer work.
 |
| Lauraya's NOPT has been helping Polo since 2015 |
“Loyal po ako sa NOPT,” she said, indicating she was not
about to leave her post just to continue helping Polo.
She also said she was fine with not being asked to continue
being a volunteer because “hindi ko naman po yan kawalan kasi naka focus naman
ako sa organization,” she said.
Lauraya, who was among those who spoke to the press at the
height of the “No to Recall” protests, was also not asked to join the Polo
selection process, but went on anyway, after hearing about it.
NOPT had been fielding volunteers to Polo since it moved to
its previous offices in Admiralty Centre in March 2015.
Another protester who failed to make the grade was Bhebs
Leonardo, who said she and two other fellow Bicolanos, including longtime
leader Art Buban, were excluded from the second round of interviews for
volunteers.
Leonardo said: “Tinanong din ako kung kasama ako sa rally,
first and second. Sabi ko, nagsalita pa
kako ako...Two years and 10 months (ako nagvolunteer), laglag din.”
She also said she was made to choose between her
organization and staying on as volunteer. “Pinili ko organization ko (kasi)
marami nang bawal, parang wala ng freedom.”
 |
| Dela Torre was recalled before being told to answer supposed allegations of corruption and favoritism |
He also reiterated a call for President Duterte to reinstate
Dela Torre and let him finish his term “and immediately recall ALA German who
is already overstaying her term and is abusing her authority as OIC.”
Dela Torre himself was concerned that weeding out the
protesters from among the ranks of volunteers could isolate Polo from the
community, and will negate the gains achieved during his term.
“The procedure narrows the field of volunteers to those not
belonging to any organization, and goes against the very goal of encouraging
the formation of organizations for mutual help, welfare and empowerment,”
he said.
Dela Torre also said excluding those who didn’t and wouldn’t
join rallies is not democratic and is of dubious legality.
