The SUN HK : Filipina DH goes home with $300k farewell gift from employers

By Daisy CL Mandap

Maila is all smiles on her last Sunday off with her friends

Hers is a truly “sana all” (wish it was for everyone) kind of story.

When Maila Jean T. Tampipi, 33, went home for good to her hometown in Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao last week, she brought with her not just beautiful memories of Hong Kong, but also a windfall from the very generous family she had served for nearly eight years.

The comely domestic worker was all smiles when she told a gathering of friends on Jul 24, her last Sunday in Hong Kong, how surprised she was when she learned that although her contract had been prematurely terminated, she was going home with $300,000 in farewell gift from the mega-rich family she had worked for.

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“Heto na ang milyonarya,” (Here comes our millionaire) quipped one of her friends, and it was true. With the HK dollar currently pegged at one to around seven Philippine pesos, Maila’s $300,000 translates to well over Php2 million.

Maila came to Hong Kong in late 2014, after she was referred to her Hong Kong employers by an equally generous Filipino family in Ozamis City that had sent her through nursing school. At that time, she had already gotten married and had a young daughter.

She began working for the eldest daughter in the family in Deepwater Bay, then moved to her parents’ residence in the same compound. After two contracts, she was asked to move to the Mid-Levels flat of the youngest daughter, who is single and is her age.

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Maila said that throughout her stay with them, the family had been very generous, not just to her, but to all members of their household staff.

For each year that she worked for the family, Maila received an extra $1,000, so by the time she left she was already earning $9,000 a month.

On top of this, she was given interest-free housing loans that she managed to build two houses- one for her family and another for her parents – while she was in their employ.

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Not only this. One of Maila’s friends said that each time the household staff took a home leave, they were each given US$2,000 in pocket money.

But friction reportedly cropped up late last year between Maila and her young employer over days off. A friend of Maila said the employer was irked when the helper began leaving early on her rest day and would return late, which was unlike what she used to do.

Despite this, Maila was said to have been taken aback in early July when while on vacation, her employer informed her through an office staff that she was terminating their contract.

She can now look forward to finally settling down with her family

But the Filipina’s initial disappointment quickly vanished when she learned how much she was going to get from her employer as a parting gift.

After all the payment she was entitled to, including long service pay, one month salary in lieu of notice, unspent annual leave, were added up, the amount came to $70,000. The employer decided to top this up to make it $100,000 even.

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But Maila was even more elated when the family’s patriarch, an elderly Malaysian Chinese known as one of Hong Kong’s richest moguls, sent word through his secretary that he was giving Maila extra money.

Still, she was stumped when told that the extra money was $200,000, or double what had already been given her.

“Ang sabi niya (employer’s father) sa akin dati ay bibigyan niya ako ng pera pag-alis ko, pero hindi ko akalain na ganoon kalaki,” she said. (He told me before that he would give me money when I leave, but I did not expect it to be this much).

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Maila said she had no plans yet on what she would do with the cash bonanza that she was bringing home with her, but for sure, it would greatly help her and her husband build a more secure future for themselves and their daughter.