 |
| former Ombudsman, Conchita Carpio-Morales |
By The SUN
The Philippines ’
former Ombudsman, Conchita Carpio-Morales, returned to Manila
late tonight, May 21, after being initially barred from entering Hong Kong earlier in the day with no explanation being
given by Immigration officers.
Morales, along with former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert
del Rosario, filed a case in March against Chinese President Xi Jinping before
the International Criminal Court over China ’s
perceived maritime violations in the West Philippine Sea .
But in a tweet, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said all
that the airport officers said was “This is an instruction.”
After about three hours of being held in an isolation room,
the 78-year-old official, who also served as Supreme Court justice, was
reportedly allowed to enter Hong Kong, but she declined, and opted to take a
6pm flight back to Manila
Her daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren who were not
stopped from entering Hong Kong , chose to fly
back with her. Their plane arrived in Manila
That was exactly nine hours since Morales and her family
arrived in Hong Kong aboard a Philippine
Airlines flight.
Shortly after Morales was separated from her
family and put in a detention room, Corominas released a statement to
Philippine media decrying the incident. She asked, "How is a 78-year old
former anti-corruption Ombudswoman a security threat in HK-China?"
 |
| Call us now! |
At about 3pm, the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong was alerted about the problem, and Consul Paul
Saret was dispatched to the airport to assist Morales.
According to Locsin, Saret asked “if he could sponsor or
guarantee her stay but HK refused.”
Locsin further said the ATN
(assistance to nationals) head brought Morales food because “she refuse (sic)
to eat the food offered by airport officials,” before derisively adding “CLASS!
I can see her sneer.”
At about 5pm, Deputy Consul General Germinia
Aguilar-Usudan said in an interview that Morales had already checked in her
luggage and was on her way to a restaurant to eat before taking her flight back
home.
“We will be inquiring officially to the immigration office
why she was not allowed immediate entry to Hong Kong ,"
said Usudan, who is acting head of post in the absence of Consul General
Antonio Morales.
A statement later issued by Presidential Spokesman Salvador
S. Panelo said Morales was refused entry to Hong Kong
“and was subject to deportation as she is considered a ‘security risk’ by
Chinese immigration authorities.
The statement added, “We will defer to the immigration laws
and rules of other countries much as we expect foreign nations to respect our
country's internal rules”.
While Morales and her family were assisted by the DFA
through the Consulate, Panelo said “the same government assistance shall be
given to each and every Filipino in distress abroad, and this is regardless of
political persuasion or affinity.”
Asked to comment, Del Rosario said what happened to Carpio-Morales
was similar to how China has
been bullying the Philippines
in places where the two countries have overlapping claims.
"One of the reasons we had filed our case in the ICC is
to be able to push back against the bullying and harassment that we have been
encountering from our goliath of a neighbor," he said.
"Today, with the holding of Former Ombudswoman Conchita
Carpio-Carpio-Morales by immigration authorities in Hong Kong as a security
risk presumably due to the ICC case that we had filed, we are experiencing more
of the same," he said. – with reports from Manila
===
I-TRY MO ITO, KATRIBO!
Mas madali nang tawagan ang mga advertiser natin dito. Pindutin lang ang kanilang ad at lalabas ang automatic dialer. Isa pang pindot ay matatawagan mo ang advertiser na hindi na kailangang i-dial ang numero nila. I-try mo!
