By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Only 400 FDWs can be accommodated in the only hotel designated for their use so far |
Hong Kong and the Philippine Consulate will jointly
issue a statement on the gradual return of Filipino domestic workers later
today, Aug 26.
This was revealed last night, Aug 25, by Consul Paulo
Saret, head of the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate, in The SUN
Interviews, held on Facebook live.
Saret said the joint announcements will pave the way
for the reopening of HK to FDHs starting on Monday, Aug. 30, as previously
announced by Philippine Secretary of Labour Silvestre Bello III.
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“Tomorrow, mag iissue ng joint press release ang ating Konsulado at ang pamahalaan ng HK,” said Saret. “Hindi na siguro natin matatalikuran ang sinabi ni Secretary Bello noong Sunday that this coming 30th of August ay pwede nang pumasok ang ating manggagawa.”
(Tomorrow, our Consulate and the Hong Kong government
will issue a joint press release. We can no longer go back from the statement
issued by Sec Bello last Sunday that our workers will start coming in from the
30th of this month).
Most of the stranded passengers are FDWs who have been
waiting to come in since Hong Kong issued a ban on passenger flights from the
Philippines and other high-risk places on Apr 20 this year.
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Saret confirmed that the main sticking point was the
lack of a uniform or standard vaccination certificate for those who were
inoculated in the Philippines. This was resolved with the presentation of the
International Certificate of Vaccination Prophylaxis issued by the Bureau of
Quarantine in the Philippines.
But another issue arose when Hong Kong officials noted
that the so-called yellow card issued by the BOQ did not bear the passport
number of the vaccinated person. To resolve this, the Philippine side asked
the BOQ to issue a separate certificate to all Hong Kong-bound Filipinos giving
out their passport number as a form of identity.
Thus, Saret advised all those who got vaccinated in
the Philippines to first obtain the yellow card detailing all their information
including passport number, before securing
their flights to avoid paying for rebooking in case they do not get the BOQ
certificate on time.
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| SUNDAN ITO PARA MAKASALI! |
He also said the Consulate, through the Department of
Foreign Affairs, has requested the BOQ to prioritize HK-bound passengers for the
issuance of the vaccination card, and to open more places for distribution amid
complaints that the earliest booking slot for the card is in November this
year.
One worker posted in the comments section during the
live show that she was forced to pay Php7,000 to hire a van that took her all
the way to Subic, Zambales just to obtain the card, as that was the only
place where there was an early booking slot.
Saret emphasized that only those who got vaccinated in
the Philippines must obtain the yellow card. Those who had it in Hong Kong need
not secure the card as their vaccination certificate issued here would allow
them to enter the city at any time.
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He also clarified that all domestic workers who are
using the yellow card must book with the hotel designated by the Hong Kong
government for FDHs, whether they are returning or first-time workers.
Despite the designation of just one hotel for FDHs
entering the city using the yellow card, Saret said the Hong Kong government
has given assurance that there will be a steady stream of workers coming in.
But based on the announcement made by Chief Executive
Carrie Lam on Tuesday, that would mean only a maximum of 400 workers coming in
every 21 days, the length of mandatory quarantine for all passengers coming in
from high-risk countries.
Saret said they hope that more quarantine hotels would
be opened in time so all the estimated 3,000 Filipino workers waiting to enter could do so shortly.
Migrant leader Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, who was also
on the show, asked why Hong Kong is segregating migrant workers from the rest
of arriving passengers, saying this smacked of discrimination.
She said the domestic workers will all eventually join
the families they will work for, whichever quarantine hotel they will be coming
from, so segregating them does not serve any purpose but to again single them
out as potential virus carriers.
Saret said the Consulate failed to see it this way, as
they were busy trying to strike a deal over the vaccination certificate, but
promised to bring up the concern in their next meeting with HK
officials.
