Pinoy who claimed US$10B in HSBC deposits ends in hospital

 

HSBC branch where offense took place  (Google Maps photo)  

An elderly Filipino who used a false instrument when he presented papers at a Queen’s Road Central branch of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp., purporting to show he had US$10 billion in deposits, was sentenced today to a four-month hospital stay.

This ended an eight-month ordeal at Eastern Court for Ramon Revillosa Jr, 69, who was arrested last Feb. 10 and has been in detention since, most of which was at Siu Lam psychiatric hospital, a correctional facility.

Magistrate Minnie Wat based her decision on two psychological reports ordered last Dec. 4 by Principal Magistrate  David Cheung Chi-wai, who held off on convicting Revillosa Jr after ruling that the prosecution had proven its case.

DETAILS HERE

The charge of violating section 73 of the Crimes Ordinance arose from Revillosa presenting a bank capability letter, guarantee letter and a certificate of balance, all purporting to have a value of US$10 billion and issued by HSBC, which he “knew, or believed to be, false”.

He was said to have presented the documents so bank staff Tang Wing-sheung would accept them as genuine, "and by reason of so accepting them to do or not do some act to his own, or any other's prejudice."

Using a false instrument is punishable with up to 14 years in jail.

Basahin ang detalye!

No word has been heard of the persons who accompanied him when he was arrested: a Filipino woman said to be a lawyer, a Malaysian man, a Taiwanese man and a woman from the Mainland who used a travel permit to enter Hong Kong.

The Filipina was allowed bail so she could go back to the Philippines but was told to return on a specified date, but it is not clear whether charges were filed against the three others.

New Year's Eve fireworks display cancelled

 

Last New Year's Eve fireworks display was a big spectacle

The Hong Kong government has called off the traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks display over Victoria Harbour, in the wake of the deadly Tai Po Fire that killed at least 160 people.

Instead, there will be an alternative countdown event on the Chater Road pedestrian precinct in Central, which the Hong Kong Tourism Board said is aimed at conveying “positive energy.”

 “Through this event, the HKTB hopes to convey positive energy, care, and blessings of peace to both locals and visitors, and to welcome a hopeful new year together,” HKTB said in a statement.

DETAILS HERE

Details of the countdown will be announced at a later date.

The low-key countdown to mark the New Year is in stark contrast to last year’s celebration which had “Symphony of Happiness as theme and included 12 minutes of a dazzling pyrotechnic display over Victoria Harbour, as well as live performances by local and international artists.

The annual celebration was first cancelled in 2019 because of anti-government demonstrations, and for three more years afterwards due to the pandemic.

There will be none of this dazzling display to usher in the New Year

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday night, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan said that the government is anticipating a surge in mainland arrivals over the New Year holidays. 

Chan said New Year’s Day marks the start of a three-day-long holiday on mainland China.

Basahin ang detalye!

He made his statement after convening an interdepartmental meeting to oversee preparations for the expected surge in visitors from the mainland.

The measures include enhanced coordination of ports and transport, close liaison with tourism stakeholders, crowd management, real-time information, and smooth public services. 

Pinay HK resident jailed 36 months for money laundering

 

District Court in Tsuen Wan

A Hong Kong-born Filipina charged with money laundering after her bank account was used to funnel  $2.6 million in deposits of money from a mainland scam, was jailed for 36 months today after trial at the District Court.

Tara Rose Gonzales, 33 years old and a restaurant manager, had testified that she lost her Bank of China ATM card along with a piece of paper on which the PIN and her online password were written, and reported this to the bank on Nov. 4, 2021 after she discovered the loss.

But in a two-day period, from Nov. 10 to 11, 2021, 15 deposits were made by the scam victims who had been convinced by syndicate members posing as mainland police officers that they were under investigation and must pay sums of money online to settle their cases.

DETAILS HERE

The deposits amounted to $2,566,233.38, all of which was subsequently withdrawn.

Deputy District Judge Timothy Harry Casewell pointed out that while Gonzales got the bank to replace the ATM card with its PIN unchanged, she did not change the password for online access to the account, which was how the deposits were made by the scam victims and allowed the scammers continued access.

He rejected her defense that she reported the loss to the bank, that she had not known that the account was used for crime, that she did not permit anyone else to use the account and that she did not benefit from the crime.

Basahin ang detalye!

He thus found her guilty as charged: dealing with crime money “knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that property… in whole or in part directly or indirectly represented any person's proceeds of an indictable offence.”

Judge Casewell convicted her of violating section 25(1) and (3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

In sentencing, he chose a starting point of 30 months, but added another six months for aggravating circumstances.

DH accused of using expired contract to get $28k loan

Mall where offense was allegedly committed (Google Maps photo)

A Filipina was returned to jail today after she withdrew her request for a bail review in a case in West Kowloon Court where she is accused of presenting an expired employment contract to get a $28,000 loan from a financing company.

Isabilita Arellano, 33 years old and a domestic helper, was charged by Tsuen Wan Police with fraud, contrary to section 164(1)(a) of the Theft Ordinance.

DETAILS HERE

The police complaint arose from the loan application lodged by Arellano on Nov. 17 last year at PrimeCredit Limited’s office in Nan Fung Centre, on Castle Peak Road Tsuen Wan.

It accused her of ‘intent to defraud and by deceit, … induced PrimeCredit Limited to commit an act, namely approved for a cash loan, resulting in benefit to you, namely gained $28,000-HKD in cash.”

Basahin ang detalye!

Principal Magistrate Don So adjourned the case to Jan. 21.

 

OFW injured in Tai Po fire flies home, met by BBM

 

President Marcos talks to Rhodora Tonacao at Manila airport

An overseas Filipino worker who was severely injured in the Nov 26 fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, was flown home to Manila today, with no less than President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. leading the group of officials who met her at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Rhodora Alcaraz Toñacao, 39, was accompanied on the flight home by her two sisters, along with social welfare attaché to Hong Kong Rem Marcelino and welfare officer Marilou Sumalinog of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administrator (OWWA).

President Marcos, on the other hand, was accompanied to the airport by OWWA administrator PY Caunan and other officials of the Department of Migrant Workers.

DETAILS HERE

Rhodora, who had started working for her employer just the day before, suffered severe smoke inhalation after being trapped in the 13^th floor flat for about six hours, along with the employer and her three-month-old daughter.

Despite this, Rhodora managed to send out tearful voice messages to her siblings and friends asking to be rescued along with the baby and her employer. This appeared to have contributed to their being rescued in time, and saved from greater harm.

OWWA Chief PY Caunan helps clear the way for Rhodora

Social media bloggers immediately hailed her as a hero for supposedly saving the baby  (erroneously described earlier as a boy), by covering her with a blanket and holding him close to her until the firemen arrived to save them.

This narrative was immediately dismissed in a social media post, allegedly by the employer, who said it was her mother who had taken steps to ensure that the baby was safe, even putting her in a wardrobe to prevent excessive smoke inhalation, and then letting the firemen know later that a baby was in there.

But sources at the Consulate said the employer had denied posting any statement on the internet when inteviewed by OWWA officers.

Basahin ang detalye!

Philippine Consul General Romulo Israel, Jr, who was among the first to visit Rhodora at the hospital, said the OFW’s recollection was still hazy at the time and she could barely talk. But she  remembered walking barefoot going down from the 13^th floor because the fireman could not carry her all the way.

Rhodora also remembered being given a wet blanket by her employer and told to cover herself and the baby while they waited for rescuers.

In turn she lent her phone to the employer so she could call her husband who was at work. 

“Both of them are real heroes,” said Congen Israel, who also gave praise to all the 30-odd Filipino domestic workers who stayed close to their employers and their wards during the tragic fire that killed 160 people.

One of them, Maryann Esteban, was among those who unfortunately died in the fire, along with the three-year-old girl she was looking after. Her remains are still in Hong Kong but are expected to be flown home shortly.

In a post announcing Rhodora’s arrival, OWWA said the President’s act of personally welcoming Rowena home was in recognition of the “pambihirang kabayanihang ipinamalas niya sa kabila ng panganib sa sariling buhay” (the remarkable heroism she showed in spite of the threat to her own life).

From the airport, Rhodora reportedly went straight to her home in Laguna, accompanied by regional officers of OWWA.

Rhodora was the lone recipient of a HK$100,000 financial aid from the Hong Kong government, which was given to those who were injured in the fire, and had to stay in the hospital for a week or longer.

She also received Php50,000 from the Aksyon Fund of the DMW, apart from a Php20,000 cash assistance from the Philippine House of Representatives.

Senator Imee Marcos, the President’s elder sister, also visited Rhodora in hospital, and reportedly gave her an undisclosed sum.

 

Pinay fined $800 for climbing over a kerbside fence

 

Fanling MTR station (Google Maps photo)

A Filipina has learned that taking unauthorized short cuts, especially on public roads, is not worth it.

M.L. Monreal, 39 years old, had to pay a fine of $800 yesterday, (Dec. 15) after she pleaded guilty at Fanling Court to climbing over a kerbside fence on to the Fanling Station Road, near the Fanling MTR station.

The short cut is prohibited as it poses great danger to pedestrians and motorists alike.

DETAILS HERE

Deputy Magistrate Polly Chuang Po-yi meted the penalty on Monreal for violation of Regulations 39(c) and 61(2), Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations made under the Road Traffic Ordinance.

Regulation 39(c) states: “No pedestrian shall—…climb over or through any kerbside fence or central reservation on to a carriageway”, while Regulation 61(2) prescribes a penalty of fine of up to level 1 ($2,000).

Basahin ang detalye!

The offense took place on Jan. 6 this year.

The charge was filed by the Central Traffic Prosecutions Division on Feb 26, resulting in a summons being issued to Monreal by the Fanling Court last Oct. 28.

FDHs who lose their jobs due to Tai Po fire given 3 months to find new work

 

Vame Mariz Verador lost her job days after saving her toddler-war and his grandma from the fire
(photo from the Sydney Morning Herald)

Foreign domestic workers affected by the fire in Tai Po will have at least three months to look for a replacement job in Hong Kong if their employers are no longer able to continue employing them.

This was according to a statement released by the government on Monday, which said that the Immigration Department has made special arrangements so the FDHs who are terminated due to the fire will be allowed to remain in Hong Kong as visitors for an initial period of three months.

This period is “extendable if necessary”, according to the statement. On top of this, all the relevant fees for their extension of stay will be waived.

DETAILS HERE

Under present rules, FDHs whose contracts are prematurely terminated are normally given only 14 days to remain in Hong Kong to look for new employment or attend to other matters, including a claim for compensation that has yet to be settled. After this, they must return to their places of origins. 

The relaxation of the rules comes as a relief for at least one Filipina domestic worker who suffered a double whammy recently after her contract was terminated for financial reason, even as she continues to undergo psychological counseling from trauma caused by the fire.

Vame Verador is comforted by MFMW social worker Johannie Tong
as she recalls her ordeal during a TV interview

Vame Mariz Verador made headlines in the wake of the fire, after she recounted the horror of carrying a terrified toddler down 17 storeys to safety, and then going back into the burning building to save the child’s grandmother.

According to Verador, the elderly woman had difficulty going down the stairs and she had to keep retracing her steps back to where the older woman was, while carrying the toddler.

Verador lost all her belongings in the fire. Thus, she was shocked and even dismayed when told by her employment agency that she would also lose her job, days after her harrowing experience. 

Basahin ang detalye!

Verador, 39,  is now staying at a shelter run by the Mission for Migrant Workers as she ponders her future, and continue her counseling and physical therapy sessions.

She was one of 110 FDHs employed at Wang Fuk Court who were given a special subsidy of $20,000 each by the Hong Kong government. Those who were injured received either $50,000 or $100,000 depending on how long they had to be hospitalized, while the families of each deceased FDH will get around $800,000 in total.

The government statement also said the Labour Department has been maintaining close contact with the consulates general of the Philippines and Indonesia on follow-up work for the affected helpers. This includes the issuance of replacement passports and other documents that the FDHs lost in the fire.

Both consulates have promised to expedite the issuance of the documents, at no cost to the victims.

Immigration has committed to doing likewise for the visa copies and other relevant documents that the FDHs had lost.

Free medical consultation will also be extended to all fire victims until Dec. 31, 2026, or more than a year after the tragedy.

 

 

Dog bites push Filipina to seek help

 

Jaycee's ear almost got bitten off by the ferocious dog

A Filipina domestic helper who had been suffering silently despite being repeatedly bitten by her employer’s pet dog declared enough was enough on Friday, and sought help from the Migrant Workers Office at the Philippine Consulate.

By then, Jaycee (not her real name), 28, had bites all over her body, including behind her ear, which spooked her the most as it was too close to some sensitive parts and still hurt days after the biting occurred.

And yet, when she finally decided to seek help through her friend Jackie, the bites were not what were uppermost in her mind, but the hurtful words spewed by her employer whenever she complained of being bitten.

DETAILS HERE

“Sabi niya minsan, ‘and so?’ Sabi pa niya, kasalanan ko daw kung bakit ako nakagat dahil masama akong tao,” said Jaycee on Saturday, the day she sought treatment at Carital Hospital in Sham Shui Po at the advice of the employment agency that had placed her with her employer. (She told me, ‘and so? She also said it was my fault I got bitten because I was ill-mannered).

Because she wanted to avoid being harangued and also fearful that she would lose her job, Jaycee opted to keep quiet each time the frisky Border Collie snapped and bit her. But that meant leaving the wounds untreated, as her employer would not even allow her to go out and buy an antiseptic for them.

A nasty wound on the hand from a dog bite that was left untreated 

Jaycee reached her limit when the dog she was ordered to play with jumped on her while her head was half-turned, and caught her behind the ear.

She decided to call her friend and neighbor Jackie, who in turn relayed the advice that she should call the MWO hotline immediately and forward photos of her bites. Shortly after, the agency staff called and told her to seek treatment the next day.

Basahin ang detalye!

Apparently the agency also informed her employer about her consulting the MWO that just a few minutes later Jaycee was subjected to another litany of insults.

But acting on the advice her friends, Jaycee managed to record the verbal abuse this time, so she now has proof that she could present, if necessary, to show the kind of hardship she has been put through during her year-long employment.

Jaycee was given anti-tetanus shots and lots of medicines to prevent infection

At the hospital, the nurse who attended to her told Jaycee that her employer had no right owning a dog if she would not even take responsibility for the harm done by her pet to other people.

While the dog had complete anti-rabies shots, there was still the possibility that the wound from its bite could get infected, so Jaypee was given an anti-tetanus shot, and told to go back twice on designated days for follow-up injections. She was also given antiseptic cream for her wounded ear.

Jaycee was told by her friends that she should show the hospital bill to her agency for reimbursement, as well as the doctor’s prescription so her employer would realize the dangers of leaving a dog bite untreated.

After doing as she was told, Jaycee expected the worst. But to her surprise her employer did not say anything when she returned from her day-off and medical consultation. She reckoned the agency had not yet updated her employers about her hospital visit, but they would likely start getting angry again once they heard about it.

Jaycee feels her employer wants her to resign so she would not get a month’s salary in lieu of notice if she was sacked, but she is no longer afraid as before of losing the job she desperately needs. She now realizes it was her right to demand to be treated for her injuries, and to deflect her employer’s repeated allegations that it was her fault she was bitten.

If worse comes to worst, Jaypee knows she can demand not just her full pay, but also back pay for the 12 months that she was given only $500 for her monthly allowance, instead of the $1,236 that is in her contract, in line with what the law mandates.

But above all, she hopes she would be allowed to process a new contract without having to leave Hong Kong, as there are several people back home who depend on her salary to keep afloat.

 

Filipina injured in Tai Po fire out of hospital

 

Rhodora was visited at the hospital by Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac (right)
and Consul General Romulo Israel, Jr.

Filipina domestic worker Rowena Alcaraz Toñacao,  who was severely injured in the deadly fire in Tai Po has been discharged from hospital, and is now resting in a hotel with her two sisters.

This was according to Edwina Antonio of the Mission for Migrant Workers, which has been providing assistance to the migrant workers who were affected by the fire that killed 160 people.

However, it is still not clear whether Rhodora, who reportedly joined her employer only the day before the fire, intends to remain in Hong Kong and continue being a domestic worker.

DETAILS HERE

Rhodora had been confined at Caritas Hospital in Sham Shui Po since being rescued by firemen on Nov. 26, along with her employer, and the employer's three-month-old baby girl from their burning 13^th floor flat in Wang Fuk Court. (Edited) 

She was in intensive care for more than a week and could barely speak because of the huge amount of noxious fumes she inhaled for about six hours before the firemen found them.

Despite this, Rhodora managed to send out tearful voice messages to her siblings and friends asking to be rescued along with the baby and her employer. This appeared to have contributed to their being rescued in time, and saved from greater harm.

Basahin ang detalye!

According to Consul General Romulo Israel, Jr. who was among the first to visit her at the hospital, Rhodora told him and other staff of the Consulate of how she had to walk barefoot going down from the 13^th floor because the fireman could not carry her all the way.

At the time, she made no mention of the apparently exaggerated story that spread like wildfire on the internet of how she had hugged the baby the whole time to prevent her suffocating.

The hype intensified when an anonymous post supposedly from the employer said that  while she was grateful that everybody from her home was safe, it was her mother who had looked after her baby the whole time. 

But the post was reportedly disowned by the employer during an interview with officers of the Migrant Workers Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration at the Consulate. In fact, it was the female employer herself who was with Rhodora at the time.

Rhodora and her employer's family were trapped on the 13th floor of a building in this estate

Congen Israel said that what Rhodora managed to tell them initially was that her employer had given her a wet blanket to cover herself and the baby while they waited for the rescue team. In turn she lent  her phone to her employer so she could call her husband who was at work.

“Both of them are real heroes,” said Congen Israel.

He also praised all the other migrant domestic workers who stayed close to their employers and wards and did not run off, even in the face of the massive danger they all faced.

As she was among those severely injured and had to stay in a hospital for more than seven days, Rhodora, who hails from Laguna, stands to receive $100,000 from the Hong Kong government as financial aid. She could also file a claim for employee compensation for the injuries she suffered while at work.

She is also due to benefit from a cash grant given by the Migrant Workers Office at the Philippine Consulate of at least Php50,000 and another Php20,000 from Rep. Bryan Revilla, who heads the Committee on Migrant Workers of the Philippine House of Representatives.

Earlier, Senator Imee Marcos visited her unexpectedly at the hospital, and reportedly gave her an undisclosed sum.

 

 

Pinay kept in jail over theft of $1M worth of watches

Fanling Court

A Filipina was remanded in jail Friday after she appeared at Fanling Court over two cases of theft of five watches, four of them Rolexes, worth more than $1 million.

Jeanny Llarenas , 50 years  old, will remain in jail until the case of violation of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance resumes on Feb. 6 next year, according to Magistrate Kenneth Chan. 

DETAILS HERE

A complaint filed by Tai Po Police last Oct. 17 said the thefts took place in the flat of her employer, Ms. Wong  in Deerhill Bay, in Tai Po Kau, Tai Po. 

In the first charge, Llarenas is alleged to have stolen two Rolex watches with a total value of $500,000 on an unknown date between June 1 and Oct 15 this year. 

Basahin ang detalye

The second charge involves the theft of two Rolex watches and a Citizen watch worth a total  of $510,000 during the same period. 

Chilly weekend forecast for Hong Kong

Time to bring out those woolies again, at least until Monday (File)

If you’re planning some outdoor activities this weekend, take note that the Hong Kong Observatory has forecast temperatures to drop significantly from tomorrow evening and last throughout Sunday.

A cold front is expected to form over central China tonight, and move across the coast of Guangdong, including Hong Kong, later tomorrow, causing temperatures to plunge to about 16 degrees by midnight.

The chilly weather will persist until Sunday, when temperatures are expected to fall further to 15 degrees Celsius in the urban areas and a couple of degrees lower in the New Territories.

Basahin ang detalye!

Tomorrow will start fine but cloudy, with temperatures of between 20 and 22 degrees during the day. There will be fresh easterly winds, strong offshore and on high ground.

The weather will become noticeably cooler in the evening, brought about by stronger northerly winds along with one or two rain patches.

The chilly weather will persist on Sunday and Monday, before gradually easing by mid-week.

“Under the influence of the associated northeast monsoon, the weather will be dry over the coast of Guangdong early next week. It will be cool in the morning and at night, with a relatively large temperature difference between day and night over inland areas,” the Observatory said.

 

DH jailed 4 months for jewelry theft

 

Kowloon City Courthouse

Another domestic helper was jailed today for four months after she admitted stealing a jewelry box containing four rings and five bracelets from her employer.

Rona Elizaga, 45 years old, had pleaded guilty in a hearing at Kowloon City Court, prompting Magistrate Tsang Hing-tung to give her a one-third discount on her penalty of six month’ imprisonment after convicting her of theft, contrary to section 9 of the Theft Ordinance, Cap. 210.

The theft took place between June 19 last year and Sept. 9 this year at the home of her employer, Cheung Wing Yee. The Wong Tai Sin Police did not disclose the location of the flat.

DETAILS HERE

Meanwhile in a separate case, another domestic helper shelled out $20,000 to bail herself out of Shatin Court after being charged with breach of condition of stay for allegedly working illegally at a flower shop in Tsim Sha Tsui.

S. Francisco, 47 years old, is accused of violating section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance, and by virtue of Regulation 2 of the Immigration Regulations.

Basahin ang detalye!

The complaint filed by the Immigration Department said Francisco was caught working illegally at Eastern Flower Centre on Cameron Road last Aug 21 despite being authorized by the Director of Immigration to work only for Hiren Satishchandra Shah at the address specified in their employment contract.

Filipino fire victims get windfall cash aid, but still reel from trauma

By Daisy CL Mandap

Hong Kong's deadliest fire in 7 decades killed at least 159 people

Filipino migrant workers who were among those who survived the tragic fire in Tai Po that killed 159 people have received a cash bonanza, mainly from the Philippine government, of at least Php70,000.

Of this, Php50,000 came from the Aksyon Fund (Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan), a program by the Department of Migrant Workers that provide crucial legal, medical, financial and repatriation aid to distressed overseas Filipino workers.

The remaining Php20,000 was handed out to them last Sunday, December 6, at the OFW Global Centre by Rep. Bryan Revilla, who heads the House of Representatives’ Committee on Migrant Workers.

DETAILS HERE

Separately, the Hong Kong government has pledged to give HK$20,000 (Php151,000) financial assistance to each foreign domestic worker affected by the fire in Wang Fuk estate, apart from $2,000 (Php15,100) in Octopus card credit which they can use for transportation and emergency expenses.

Those injured will get HK$100,000 (Php755,000) if they are hospitalized for at least a week, and HK$50,000 (Php377,500) if they are confined for up to six days. Families of those who died are assured of getting a total financial assistance package of about HK$800,000 (Php6 million).

Survivors of the tragedy have been receiving material and psycho-social counselling
from NGOs like the Mission for Migrant Workers and Bethune House shelter

The affected but not injured Filipino workers who number about 30, have also been receiving a lot of donations in kind, mainly from non-government organizations like the Mission for Migrant Workers and the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge.

Last Sunday, they again received care packs from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, then later at the Mission, where they were also provided medical and psycho-social counseling by the Hong Kong Red Cross and volunteer social workers.

Bethune House executive director Edwina Antonio said, “You’d be surprised at the various kinds of pain they complain about as a result of the fire. Some have stiff back, stiff legs – aches that they did not initially experience as they tried to escape the fire.”

Basahin ang detalye!

But more than the physical pain it is the trauma that the workers are having difficulty coping with, she said.

“One told me of her recurring nightmare of being trapped in the fire,” said Antonio. “This is true for most of them. You can just imagine the fear they had to endure which they are now just beginning to process.”

From the lengthy talks they have had with the victims since they set up a help desk right at Wang Fuk Court the day after the Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in 70 years broke out, Antonio said it was clear how traumatized the migrant workers were.

“Many spoke of how shocked they were on seeing their buildings ablaze since they never saw this from inside their flats. All their windows had been boarded up because of the repair work that had been going on in the estate for months.”

No fire alarms sounded despite the rapidly spreading fire, and many were alerted to the raging flames outside only by their employers who were mostly at work, and had called them on the phone to tell them to evacuate immediately.

Many are still in deep shock imagining what could have been. A number of those who were given counseling at the Mission said they managed to get onto the lifts with their elderly employers and young wards, just before they stopped running.

Mercy and Annabelle recall moments after they were told to leave their Wang Fuk flats

“Nakasakay kami ng lola sa last trip ng lift, (My popo and I were in the lift’s last trip down),” recalled Mercy Martinez, who said she did not immediately realize the big danger they were facing until they got to the ground floor.

After being led to safety, she saw fiery debris slamming onto the building they had just left, sparking the inferno that consumed the structure within only a few minutes.

She still shudders at the thought of what could have happened to them had they been unable to take the lift down from their upper-floor flat.

“Hindi ko kakayaning buhatin si popo pababa. (I would not have been able to carry popo down the stairs).

Adding to the pain was the seeming lack of sympathy or understanding of what they had to endure, from people close to them.

Mercy rued that her teenage son never once asked how she was feeling after her close brush with death, and learning of how a number of her friends had perished in the tragedy, including a sweet Indonesian migrant worker who lived in a nearby building. 

Edwina Antonio (leftmost) with volunteers at the MFMW Help Desk in Tai Po

Antonio also shared the story of another Filipina who was left in tears when the elderly woman she was looking after showed far more concern toward the turtle and cat they had left behind in their flat than she did for her.

Meanwhile, another OFW victim, Annabelle, still lives in a government-provided shelter, sharing a tiny room with her employer's three family members, including a child who is on the autism spectrum. 

She was in a way spared of some of the trauma because she was in the market when the fire struck, while her disabled ward was in school and his elderly grandmother was out on an errand. Her employer called her and told her not to go back to their flat as it was burning.

Still, the terror of that day continues to haunt her. "Hindi na siguro ako titira ulit doon kung sakali" (I don't think I'd ever want to live there again), she said with a shudder.

The emotional scars caused by the tragedy would take a long time to heal, said Antonio. For this reason, the Mission and Bethune House plan to continue providing them with all the support they need until they recover.

This Sunday, the Mission will hold its periodic Care to Caregivers program at the St John’s Cathedral grounds, while a second round of session with the Red Cross will be held on Dec. 21, exclusively for the fire victims.