Ngitngit ni Kulas

Isang araw inutusan si Peter ng kanyang amo (na palihim niyang tinatawag na Kulas) na i-unplug ang dalawa nitong wine cabinet at ilabas lahat ang mga alak. Gusto kasi ng amo na malinis ang loob ng mga cabinet na inaamag na.

Agad namang sumunod si Peter, at talagang pinag-igihan ang pagpupunas hindi lang sa mga cabinet, kundi pati sa mga alak din. Akmang ibabalik na niya ang mga bote nang makita niyang galit na galit si Kulas dahil sa nagkatuklap-tuklap at nasira ang label ng karamihan sa mga iniigatan nitong bote.

Dismayado naman si Peter dahil ingat na ingat pa naman daw siya sa paglilinis sa mga iyon. Sa edad kong 35 kasi ay ngayon lang ako nakahawag ng ganoon karaming mga bote ng alak, aniya.

Habang hinahaplos ni Kulas ang mga nasirang label ay sinabihan niya si Peter ng, “Next time if you cannot do it well, do not do it!” Napalunok muna si Peter bago nasabi ang “I’m sorry, Sir”.

Nasa puntong puro palatak ang namumutawi sa bibig ni Kulas nang dumating ang anak nitong dalaga na isang clinical psychologist. Sa mahinahong tinig ay sinabi nito sa ama na ginawa ni Peter ang kanyang makakaya, at hindi nito sinasadya ang pagkasira ng label sa mga alak.

Agad namang huminahon si Kulas. Laking pasasalamat naman ni Peter sa ginawang pagtatanggol sa kanya ng alaga, kahit na hiyang hiya siya sa nagawa.

Kahit pala Manilenyo siya ay marami pa rin siyang hindi alam sa buhay ng mga taga alta sosyedad– George Manalansan

Mag-ingat sa alupihan

Ni Merly T. Bunda

Noong Okt 6, bandang alas siyete medya ng umaga, habang naghanda ng almusal ng kanyang mga amo si Ella sa bahay nila sa Tseung Kwan O ay biglang gumapang sa kanyang paa ang isang alupihan at kinagat ang kanyang hinlalaki.

Napasigaw sa sakit si Ella, at maagap naman siyang sinaklolohan ng among Briton na kaagad pinatay ang alupihan.

Bagamat nasaktan ay hindi ito unang  pinansin ni Ella. Ngunit wala pang isang oras ay nakita niyang nangitim at namaga ang kanyang paa na kinagat.

Agad siyang isinugod ng amo sa emergency room ng Tseung Kwan O Hospital at nang malaman ng doktor na kinagat siya ng alupihan ay agad siyang tinurukan ng gamot kontra sa tetano. Binigyan din siya ng gamot para pantanggal ng sakit.

Pinagpalipas siya ng dalawang oras sa ospital  bago siya pinauwi. Pagdating sa bahay ng kanyang amo ay sumakit muli ang kanyang sugat dala ng kagat ng alupihan. Ayon kasi sa doktor, kung gaano daw kalaki ang kumagat na alupihan ay ganoon din katindi ang mararanasan niyang sakit.

Tatlong turok ang kailangan niya para masigurong hindi siya kakapitan ng tetano. Ang pangatlong injection ay sa Nob 3 pa niya kailangang balikan.

Gustong magbabala ni Ella sa mga kapwa kasambahay, lalo na iyong nakatira malapit sa mga halamanan, na ingatan na huwag makagat ng alupihan. Ayon daw sa doktor na tumingin sa kanya, hindi nalalayo sa ahas ang alupihan pagdating sa tindi ng kamandag nito, na nakalalason.

Si Ella, 33 taong gulang, ay tubong Cavite, may asawa at anak.

Philippine passports to be valid for 10 years from 2018

By Daisy CL Mandap

Screen grab from Cayetano's live announcement on FB

The validity of Philippine passports will be extended to 10 years starting Jan. 1, 2018, from the current five, at no additional cost. Only those who are under 18 years old will still be issued five-year passports.

This was announced live on Oct 25 by Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano through his Facebook account, as he signed the implementing rules and regulations of the new Philippine Passport Act.

Cayetano said the two-month grace period will allow the government to notify agencies abroad about the change in the passport’s validity.

He also said the passport cost will remain the same because the same booklet will be  issued, meaning, it will have the same number of pages and look.

This means that in the Philippines, the passport will still cost Php950 for regular processing or delivery within 15 working days (and P1,200 for express, or 7-days processing) and overseas, it will remain at US$60 ($480 in Hong Kong).

The announcement will likely appease overseas Filipino workers, including those in Hong Kong, who had warned against increasing the passport’s cost.

OFWs have long bewailed that the cost of the passport overseas is already 324 percent more than it does in the Philippines, adding to their economic burden.

Cayetano also announced that the appointment system will remain, except for certain categories of applicants who can just walk in, including senior citizens, persons with disability, OFWs and minor children with their parents and siblings.

In places like Hong Kong and London, he said an appointment system was necessary because most OFWs are able to go out only on Sundays, and they should have an assurance that they will be accommodated when they go to the Consulate to apply for a new passport.

On regular days when there are fewer people applying for passports, he said an appointment will not be necessary.

The new passport law was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last Aug. 2, but could not be implemented without the IRR.

About three million Filipinos reportedly apply for new passports, or renew the ones they already have, every year.

                                                                                                                                                                 

Pinoy seaman in shoe-soles cocaine case appears in court

By Vir B. Lumicao

Cocaine shaped as shoe soles

A drug trafficking case against a Filipino seafarer and his two Colombians contacts who allegedly smuggled into Hong Kong in June nearly 2 kilos of high-grade cocaine molded like shoe soles, will be turned over to the High Court, a Kowloon City magistrate said.                                                                                          Carlito Platon and his two co-defendants – Cristhian Enrique Posso and Jose William Uribe – were told on Oct 26 that their case will be moved to the High Court after laboratory tests showed the cocaine seized from them weighed 1.98 kilograms.

The prosecution dropped three charges of obstructing a customs officer against the defendants but amended the trafficking charge to increase the amount of cocaine involved from 1.33 kilos.

The suspects appeared in Kwun Tong court on Oct 26

Magistrate Peter Law set the next hearing of the case on Dec 4 in Eastern Court, where he said the suspects might be asked to make a plea, after which they will either stand trial or be sentenced at the High Court.

The magistrate told the defendants they could apply for legal aid for the High Court hearing.

Posso, through the defense lawyer, again applied for bail of $10,000, but Law denied the application, saying drug trafficking was a serious case, and that the defendant had no local ties.

Platon, 48, has not applied for bail since his arrest along with the two Colombians on Nathan Road in Yaumatei on June 2. Posso and Uribe both applied for bail in the previous hearing on Sept 28, but their requests were rejected.

The Filipino, a crew of a cargo vessel that had just docked at Kwai Chung, got off and met with the two unemployed Colombians allegedly to deliver two pairs of shoe soles, when Customs and police officers pounced on them. The cocaine was camouflaged as shoe soles.

   

Filipino mom arrested for abandoning baby boy

Queen's Road East, where the baby was abandoned 

A Filipina mother who left her one-year-old baby boy on a street in Wanchai on Oct 19 has been arrested for cruelty to a child, the police said.

But no formal charges had  been filed against the 39-year-old woman, whom she did not identify.

The suspect, identified by local newspapers as Angelita Labador, had been released on bail and told to report to Wanchai Police Station in mid-November, the officer said.

Labador is said to be living in Wanchai and unemployed, but the police could not say whether the mother is a domestic worker or a resident.

She said a 38-year-old female neighbor of Labador reported to the police after seeing her leave the boy on the pavement at 280 Queen’s Road East.

Police found the baby conscious at 6:49 pm and sent him to Ruttonjee Hospital for a check-up.

Officers later nabbed Labador, who was said to be hiding nearby.

Local newspaper reports said she was a jobless resident of the area who was allegedly booked for child abuse half a year ago. - VBL

DH admits stealing boss' jewelry worth $20k

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina domestic worker pleaded guilty on Oct 25 in Kwun Tong Court to stealing more than $20,000 worth of jewelry from her female employer in Tseung Kwan O between July 2016 and Aug 26 this year.

Magistrate Do So convicted Angelina dela Rama, 46, and ordered her remanded in custody pending a background report from the probation office. He set sentencing for Nov 16.

“This is a serious case. You breached the trust placed by your employer in you. You will go to jail for a period of months or years depending on the background report,” So told Dela Rama, who dressed up for the hearing.

In mitigation, the defense counsel said Dela Rama has a husband, a son, and a sick mother in the Philippines. She stole the jewelry because she needed money for her mother’s medication and her son’s university education, the lawyer said.

The prosecution said the helper was arrested on Aug 27 after her employer, Chan Wai-fong, reported the theft of two gold bangles and three gold necklaces that she kept in an unlocked drawer in her bedroom at her parents’ flat in Kin Ming Estate, Tseung Kwan O.

The stolen items were worth a total of $20,254.                                                                              

A prosecution report said Chan, 30, kept the jewelry in her parents’ flat when she married in 2015 and moved with her husband into a flat in Tsui Wan Estate, Chai Wan. She hired Dela Rama as domestic helper in March 2016.

Since July last year, she and Dela Rama had been visiting Chan’s parents in Tseung Kwan O every weekend. After dinner, Chan would send the maid back to Chai Wan hile she stayed overnight with her parents.

On the night of Aug 26, Chan again visited her parents with Dela Rama, and after dinner, the maid was sent back to Chai Wan as before. The employer checked her jewelry later that evening and noticed that the two gold bangles were missing from the drawer.

Chan suspected the maid took the jewelry so she went to Chai Wan the next morning and searched Dela Rama’s bag as she got out of the lift lobby to take her day off.  The employer found one gold bangle in the maid’s bag and called the police.                                                                                     

A police search of the maid’s belongings yielded five other pieces of Chan’s jewelry. Dela Rama was arrested on Aug. 28 and she appeared in Kwun Tong court the next day, charged with  two counts of theft.

Pinoy jailed 21 days for indecent assault

By Vir B. Lumicao

The sentencing at Eastern court followed a day-long hearing

A 45-year-old Filipino carwash worker was sentenced to 21 days in jail on Oct 24 for indecent assault at the end of a day-long trial at Eastern Court.

Billy Vega, married Hong Kong resident and father of four, was dumbfounded after Magistrate Peter Hui pronounced his sentence.

“Ano, makukulong ako?” he asked his Filipina interpreter then handed over a set of keys and his cellphone to his wife before being led away by guards.

Vega’s conviction came after the alleged victim, a local woman identified only as Miss X, gave evidence detailing the incident on July 28 this year aboard a Chai Wan-bound MTR train at Wanchai Station.

Miss X, who came from Wong Tai Sin, said she was on her way to Causeway Bay and changed trains at Admiralty. On entering the train, she stood near the door tinkering with her mobile phone.

The incident happened after the victim got on
the train at Admiralty station 

“Then I felt something hard bumping my (private part) and I felt pain. It lasted for about 3 seconds,” the victim said in Cantonese.

When she looked down, she said she saw Vega’s right fist with his palm facing upward thrusting at her private parts. She said she stepped back and accosted the defendant in Cantonese, asking him three or four times why he touched her.

But the defendant simply looked at her and did not answer, she said.      

“If you don’t answer, I will press the emergency button,” she allegedly told Vega, who remained silent. She pressed the red button when the train had left Tin Hau Station, and by the time they
arrived at Fortress Hill Station, MTR staff were waiting for them.

Vega was arrested on the same day and charged with one count of indecent assault. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, so the case went to trial.

Hui said in his reasons for verdict that he believed the testimony of Miss X, the lone prosecution witness who gave her evidence behind a makeshift synthetic board cover. The magistrate described the victim as an honest and credible witness.

He also noted that the defense counsel had claimed the incident was purely accidental, suggesting that the defendant was pushed from behind by another passenger on the train, causing him to lurch and touch the victim accidentally.

But Hui said the assault happened at around 10:40 am, when the train was not packed.

Hui also said the defense did not provide proof that the physical contact with Miss X was unintentional, and elected not to take the witness stand.

High Court opens trial of 4 alleged Filipina 'drug mules'

By Vir B. Lumicao

The cocaine was found inside the hidden compartment of a hand-carried bag

Four Filipinas pleaded not guilty to conspiring to traffic dangerous drugs as their case opened before a jury at the High Court today, Oct. 20.

Two of the defendants – Shirley Chua and Maricel Thomas –also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of “trafficking in a dangerous drug” before Justice Audrey Campbell-Moffat of the Court of First Instance.

Chua and Thomas were arrested at Hong Kong airport on Sept 25, 2015 on arrival from Manila, for allegedly carrying almost 2 kilos of cocaine hidden in secret compartments of their hand-carried luggage. The drug was valued at about $2.5 million.

Their traveling companions, Remelyn Roque and Ana Louella Creus, were nabbed two days later when they returned to the airport for a flight back to Manila after allegedly delivering also about 2 kilos of cocaine to two men in Chung King Mansions, Tsimshatsui.

The start of the 15-day trial was marked by one prosecution witness saying Hong Kong’s Customs officers are wary of Filipino visitors as they come from a “high-risk” country. 

The witness, Lo Wai-hing, was one of two customs officers at the airport who inspected the bags of Chua and Thomas and arrested the pair.

The cocaine slabs found inside the bag

Asked by defense lawyer Kevin Egan what led the officer to select the two for the random baggage checking, Lo said it was because the visitors were from a “high-risk” country for drug trafficking.

He also said that the defendants did not look like the domestic workers who pass through the airport every day.

Next to give evidence was another customs officer Yang Haiyan, who said he saw Lo intercept Chua and Thomas and seize their green and black hand-carried luggage.

Yang said it was he who inspected and discovered the four slabs of cocaine hidden in secret compartments of their bags.

The green luggage and two slabs of cocaine it concealed were presented in court and inspected by Moffat, the defense lawyers as well as the jury members.

The hearing continues.

Labatt, OFWs halt latest illegal recruitment to Russia

By Vir B. Lumicao

Alleged illegal recruiters Meer and Pimentel

A fresh attempt by a Pakistani-Filipina couple to recruit more OFWs from Hong Kong for illegal work in Russia was foiled at the weekend by Labor Attaché Jalilo Dela Torre, who acted on a tip-off from some of their alleged victims.

The labor official went online and warned prospective applicants about the arrival in Hong Kong of Kathleen Floresca Pimentel alias Samantha Kaythe, the Filipino partner of Moscow-based recruiter Jon Meer Ahmed Sameer who also goes by the name Amir Ahmed Waseem.

“Forced labour and human trafficking. This is the business model of Jon Meer Ahmed Sameer, married to Kathleen Floresca Pimentel, who have together recruited hundreds of Filipinas from HK, Singapore, Dubai and Taiwan, and just practically left them on their own to look for a job and survive by their own wits,” Dela Torre said in an online post.

He said he hoped OFWs not just in Hong Kong but also in other places where the couple is known to recruit workers for Russia would be wise enough to avoid them.

“Let us use our common sense. Avoid illegal recruitment, human trafficking, forced labor and modern-day slavery,” the obviously irate labor official said.

Dela Torre’s action torpedoed the scheduled interview of applicants by Pimentel on Oct 20-23 in an undisclosed location in Hong Kong.

Meer sends off Pimentel at Moscow airport

The victims in Russia reported that the woman called off the interviews and flew back hastily to Moscow on Sunday. The couple is now said to be planning to move to another flat to avoid arrest.

The victims contacted the labor attaché as Pimentel was flying to Hong Kong on Wednesday. When she started meeting applicants, Dela Torre posted the warning.

As a result, Meer reportedly started sending rude and vicious messages to Dela Torre’s private number. Someone also managed to hack into Dela Torre’s viber account and replaced his name with “Scammer”.

But Dela Torre refused to be intimidated. He kept posting warnings against Meer and Pimentel on his wall, then formed a chat group that eventually agreed on launching a multi-territorial effort to flush out Meer and other traffickers of Filipino workers.

The group took on board diplomats from several posts abroad, NGO leaders and the Russian-based victims, who wrote about the abuses they suffered at the hands of Meer and his cohorts.

Among those in the group is former labor undersecretary and now anti human trafficking advocate Susan Ople, who disseminated her own hard-hitting warning against Meer in an article she wrote for a Manila daily.

Pimentel celebrates end of Ramadan at Meer's
tiny Moscow flat with some HK recruits

The OFW victims complained about being overcharged, maltreated, sexually harassed and intimidated by Sameer, and verbally abused by Pimentel.

They said Sameer recruited them in Hong Kong, charging US$3,500 (HK$27,230) for an invitation alone, the document that the Russian consulate requires of visa applicants. Those who could not pay in full advanced US$2,000 to $2,500, and paid the balance in three months. Some arrived in Russia five years ago and others just a few months ago.

Meer, in his own Facebook account, boasted about recruiting Hong Kong-based Filipinas for purported jobs in Turkey, Canada and the United States.

In posts after posts, Labatt Dela Torre reiterated there is no legal work for domestic helpers in Russia even if they hold a work visa, because the visa that agencies provide is not for domestic work. Those who hold commercial or business visas are in a more difficult position because they have to renew them every three months, at great cost.

“Per our Embassy officials in Moscow, there is no way a Household Service Worker could ever be granted a work visa, under current Russian immigration rules. So, essentially, you will be working in Russia under the shadow of illegal and vulnerable work. Why risk your safety and your future?” he said in another post.

Even as the illegal recruitment controversy brewed, more Filipinas from Hong Kong arrived in Moscow, with one flying into the Russian capital on Oct 20 and two others on Friday. Some chat participants said another batch of 28 OFWs is arriving in Moscow on Nov 3.

All were reportedly issued commercial visas and stayed in Meer’s flat while waiting for employers to pick them up. But Meer never got them the promised jobs and all had to go out on their own to find employers. Despite this, Meer insisted on being paid their “balance.”

In one instance, Meer allegedly shredded the passports of three victims who could not pay the balance of his required fee. The three were enraged further when they allegedly saw Pimentel laughing at their misfortune.

At times, police would raid Meer’s flat while the recruiter and his partner would suspiciously be dining out. The OFWs said they were asked to pay 500 roubles to the raiding team so they wouldn’t be arrested.

One said she felt so desperate that at one time she contemplated suicide because she was hopelessly trapped in that country without a job while her debt accumulated.

Early this year, at the instigation of the Philippine Embassy in Moscow, several Philippine posts abroad issued a warning to Filipinos not to be tricked into going to Russia for domestic work. The warning was clear: there is no visa for domestic workers in Russia, so everyone who goes there to do such work will be working illegally.

The warning obviously fell on deaf ears.

But this time around, Dela Torre, with help from various Philippine posts abroad, is adamant the illegal recruitment and human trafficking of OFWs from Hong Kong must stop.

Paggawa ng tinapa at embutido, itinuro ng BSK

Dumayo ang Balikatan sa Kaunlaran – Hong Kong Council  sa Deepwater Bay noong Okt. 5, isang statutory holiday, para turuan ang 43 Pilipina ng paggawa ng tinapa at embutido bilang bahagi ng kanilang pagsasanay pang-kabuhayan o “livelihood skills training”.

Ayon sa presidente ng BSK na si Ching Baltazar, kailangang samantalahin ng mga kapwa niya migranteng manggagawa ang pagsali sa ganitong libreng pagsasanay bilang paghahanda para sa kanilang pagbabalik sa Pilipinas.

Isang malaking oportunidad daw ito para matuto sila ng pagkakakitaan sa kanilang pag-uwi, at para din magamit nila ang kanilang natutunan sa pagluluto para sa kani-kanilang pamilya.

Isa sa mga dumalo si Alicia, na nagsabing mas gusto niyang gugulin ang kanyang libreng oras sa pagsasanay para sa dagdag-kaalaman imbes na tumambay o gumala kung saan-saan. Kahit galing pa siya sa Ma On Shan ay nagsikap siyang dumalo dahil sa laki ng interes niya na matutunan ang paggawa ng tinapa at embutido.

Karamihan sa mga dumalo ay ganito din ang sinabi, lalo na iyong mga nakatira sa tabing-dagat sa Pilipinas, kung saan sigurado silang makakuha ng mga sariwang isda para gawing tinapa. Mabuti daw at hindi lang paggawa ng tuyo o bagoong ang alam nilang gawin ngayon. – Ellen Almacin

Smoked Fish

(from BSK’s Maritess Llagas Mapa)

Materials for smoking:
3 tbsp pu’er tea (or any available tea in bag)
3 tbsp jasmine tea
8-10 pcs rose buds
3-4 tbsp brown sugar or 2 bars rock sugar
3 tbsp raw rice

Ingredients:
1 1/2 kg galunggong (can be replaced by bangus, tunsoy or tamban)
1 bottle Chinese fish marinade
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp monosodium glutamate (MSG)
1 1/2 tbsp black pepper

Procedure
1. Wash and clean the fish very well, but do not remove the head and intestines. Drip dry.
2. In a large sauce pan, marinate the clean fish with the Chinese fish marinade together with the other ingredients.
3. Marinate 6 to 8 hours, then drip dry for 1/2 day.

Mga sangkap upang bumango ang usok.

4.  Arrange the marinated fish in a big woven bamboo steamer, ready to smoke.
5. Line up a wok with aluminum foil, then pre-heat the wok on the stove.
6. Add all the ingredients for smoking, then top again with aluminum foil (you can substitute banana or guava leaves), before putting on the wok cover. Make sure that everything is airtight.
7. Smoke for about 15 minutes. The fish is then ready to be served as is, or fried slightly.