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| To take part in the survey, target respondents should click on the link above, or scan the QR code |
All Filipinos in Hong Kong, whether working, studying or residing in the city, are being asked to submit some basic personal information to help the Philippine Consulate track them down “in times of emergencies, such as natural disasters and other crises.”
An advisory posted on the Consulate’s website today,
Tuesday, said the collection of data is part of its Mapping Survey for all Filipinos who are in
Hong Kong.
Vice Consul George Soriano who is in charge of the assistance
to nationals section of the Consulate, said the Filipino community should not
be unduly alarmed by the survey as it is just a contingency measure “in view of
the escalating security situation globally.”
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Although most Filipino domestic workers would have
their personal data stored with the Migrant Workers Office as they are required
to submit their employment contract there for verification, a small percentage,
including permanent residents, asylum seekers and undocumented nationals would
not be in the Consulate’s data base.
The survey, which has so far been filled out by about
100 Filipinos, asks for the full name of the respondent and contact details, as
well as their contact persons in Hong Kong and in the Philippines.
Vice Consul Soriano assured the public that all information
they would submit would be treated in strict confidence, and would be available
only to the PCG.
However, this was immediately belied by an apparent
glitch in their system, which showed much of the data submitted by the
respondents to appear on screen after this writer had clicked on the button
signifying consent at the end of the form.
The displayed data included such information as the
number of respondents so far, where in Hong Kong or the Philippines they hail
from, as well as the telephone numbers and email addresses of their emergency
contacts.
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| Gender reveal: Not surprisingly, initial data from the survey show nearly 90% of the respondents are females |
Soriano said he would immediately alert the Consulate’s tech department so the glitch could be corrected.
A data base on all Filipinos living in Hong Kong would
come in handy, not just in times of disasters but also to locate those who have
been reported as missing – usually former migrant domestic workers who had gone
underground after their visas had expired.
The very first time the Consulate had tried to track
down Filipino nationals in earnest was when the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome or SARS rapidly spread across Hong Kong in early 2003.
Then Consul General Victoria Bataclan assembled a
command post in the Consulate to try and keep track of all Filipinos,
especially migrant workers, who were working in the infected areas.
A data base would have been as useful when the Covid-19
pandemic was wreaking havoc not just in Hong Kong, but in all parts of the
world.
