Walang pa ring susi kahit 6 months na sa amo

Anim na buwan na si Mary sa mga amo ngunit wala pa rin siyang susi sa bahay, kaya laging malaking problema tuwing araw ng kanyang day-off. Mahigpit ang bilin ng kanyang amo na huwag siyang magpapahuli ng uwi kapag siya ay lumalabas, kaya laging on time siya sa pagbalik sa kanilang bahay, kahit na nasa Tiu Keng Leng sa New Territories pa iyon.

Ang kaso, ang mga amo ang mahilig umuwi ng gabi kaya madalas na mamuti ang mga mata ni Leni sa kakahintay sa kanila. Gaya na lang nitong nagdaang Pasko.

Bagamat gusto sana ni Mary na makasama pa ng mas matagal ang mga kaibigan sa importanteng okasyon na ito ay minabuti pa rin niyang umuwi ng maaga. Alas siyete pa lang ay nasa pintuan na siya ngunit wala ang kanyang mga amo sa bahay kaya minabuti niyang magtalungko na lang sa harap ng pintuan.

Nag message siya sa kanyang amo ngunit lumipas muna ang isang oras at 20 minuto bago ito sumagot. Sinabi nito na mag message na lang daw ito kapag pauwi na sila. Mabuti na lang at napansin siya ng kanilang kapitbahay at sinabing pumasok muna siya sa kanila dahil malamig sa labas.

Sinabi ni Mary sa amo na pinapasok siya ng kapitbahay para doon muna maghintay at umoo naman sa amo. Nahihiya man na baka nakakaabala na siya sa kapitbahay ngunit hindi sya pinayagang umalis hanggang hindi pa dumarating ang amo.

Laking pasalamat ni Mary sa kapitbahay dahil sa mabuti nitong puso, kundi ay napagod siya nang husto sa kakatayo sa labas dahil umabot sa apat na oras bago umuwi ang kanyang amo.

At kahit day off niya, alam ni Mary na papagtrabahuin pa siya ng amo pagdating nito, kaya siguradong puyat na naman siya.

Sa kabila nito ay ayaw pa rin ni Mary na mag “break contract” ng dahil lang sa susi. Ang mas mahalaga sa kanya ay nakakatanggap siya ng sahod kada buwan kaya titiisin na lang daw muna niya ang kanyang walang tiwalang amo hanggang matapos ang kanilang kontrata. Gayunpaman, gusto pa rin niyang kausapin ang kanyang amo para manghingi ng susi. —-Rodelia Villa

PCG warns vs. facial cream with excessive mercury

Filipinos are being warned by the Consulate against buying a facial cream that may contain excessive amounts of mercury, thus posing a health risk.

The Consulate accompanied the warning with a press release from the Centre for Health Protection of Hong Kong’s Department of Health that urged the public not to buy or use the cosmetic product, Zi Xin Mei Spots Removing Night Cream.

The appeal followed the CHP’s receipt of notification of a case of mercury poisoning from the Hospital Authority involving a female patient aged 30. The CHP commenced investigations immediately.

The patient, with good past health, has developed swelling of her lower limbs since November and provided a recent history of use of the above product for one to two months before symptoms appeared.

Her urine sample revealed a mercury level 14 280 times the acceptable reference level and this was clinically suspected to be related to the use of the product.

The CHP’s investigation is continuing, and the case has been referred to the relevant law enforcement agency for follow-up.

“Chronic exposure to mercury can cause damage to the nervous system and kidneys. Symptoms may include tremors, irritability, insomnia, deterioration of memory, difficulty in concentration, impaired hearing and vision, and change in the taste function. In severe cases, renal failure may occur,” a spokesman for the CHP explained.

 ”As the mercury content of the product far exceeded the acceptable level, its use may result in serious side-effects…Members of the public are urged not to buy or use cosmetic products of unknown composition or obtained from doubtful sources,” the spokesman said.

Stranded sa HK dahil sa Peya

Isa si Perla, 56 at taga Pampanga, sa nakabili sa palpak na air ticket ng Peya Travel. Halos maiyak siya nang sabihin sa kanya sa check-in counter ng Philippine Airlines na wala ang kanyang pangalan sa listahan ng mga pasahero sa PR313 na paalis ng 7:50 ng umaga noong Dec. 18.

Galit na galit siya dahil noon lang nangyari sa kanya ang ganoon. Ilang buwang paghahanda, pag-iisip, pagba-budget at pagkundisyon sa isip ang pinagdaanan niya sa pag-asang makakauwi at makakapiling ang pamilya sa kapaskuhan. 

Kasama ang ilan pang pasahero ng Peya na ganoon din ang kinabagsakan ay agad silang tumawag sa ahensiya at pinangakuan sila na isasakay sa eroplano na paalis ng 4pm, pero hindi pa kumpirmado. Sumakit ang ulo ni Perla dahil sa dami ng alalahanin, lalo na at hindi siya nakatulog noong nagdaang gabi sa paninigurong walang aberyang mangyayari sa bakasyon niya.

Pati ang mga susundo sana sa kanya sa Maynila ay pinabalik niya sa Pampanga nang malaman na nakaalis na sila at nasa San Simon expressway na. Ayaw na niyang umasa sa pangako ng Peya kaya nagpatulong sa isang kaibigan na residente na i-book na lang siya sa Cebu Pacific papunta ng Clark airport, kahit $5,300 na ang halaga ng return air ticket, at 20 kilos lang ang pwedeng dalhin na bagahe. Nagbayad siya ng dagdag na $300 dahil may excess baggage siya.

Nagbabala siya sa ibang kapwa pasahero na kumpirmahin diretso sa airline kung talagang nakasama sila sa listahan ng pasahero para sa kanilang flight at hindi makaranas ng aberya na katulad ng sinapit niya.

At sa mga travel agency, nakiusap siya na huwag tutulad sa Peya, “maawa naman po kayo sa amin”, ang sabi niya.

Balak ni Perla ngayon na sumali sa mga nagreklamo laban sa Peya pagbalik niya sa Hong Kong, para man lang maibalik ang perang ibinayad niya sa kanila, at kung maari ay pabayad din ang perhuwisyong inabot niya ng dahil sa kanilang kapalpakan.– George Manalansan

Duterte claims success in war vs crime, drugs

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported an 8.44 percent decrease in the total crime volume nationwide from 493,912 reported crimes in October 2016 to 452,204 in October 2017.

It also noted the decrease in index crime at 20.56 percent, with robbery incidents fewer by 23.61 percent from 18,259 in October 2016 to 13,948 in October 2017.

In the war on illegal drugs, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque claimed it was “hugely successful, citing combined data from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC), showing that 1,308,078 drug addicts have surrendered to the government as of July 26, 2017; while authorities have arrested 118,287 individuals as of November 27, 2017 during 79,193 anti-drug operations in the same period.

“I think the communities are safer and our young people are better protected against drugs,” Roque said in a recent interview.

He said he expects fewer allegations of human rights violations tied to the illegal drugs drug clampdown. “I think it’s human experience that we should hear less complaints because we know how to do it better,” he added.

“The Duterte administration has accomplished much in its first full year in office in 2017. The President’s decisive leadership, plus the strong collaboration among various government agencies, has resulted in the attainment of many of the priorities set out by the national government in the last 12 months,” said part of a 63-page accomplishment report of the Duterte administration.

It said authorities seized illegal substances worth P18.92 billion; and that 4,747 barangays have been declared drug-free as of November 27, 2017.

However, the same report said only 3,967 drug personalities have died in the government’s war on drugs as of November 27, 2017 while 16, 355 homicide cases are still under investigation, the joint data added.

Human rights groups have been citing more than 13, 000 deaths attributed to the government’s aggressive war on drugs.  Human rights advocates classified the deaths as “extrajudicial killings” as they claim that Duterte’s rhetoric has emboldened policemen to use shortcuts in the anti-drug crackdown.

A prevailing narrative in anti-drug operations is the “nanlaban” claim of the police operatives, wherein suspects killed allegedly fought back and resisted arrest. Critics, however, decry extrajudicial killings in the process as they point out that those killed in the drug war have yet to face a court to try allegations against them.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said “crucial reforms” will be undertaken in the year ahead to achieve President Duterte’s commitment to eliminate illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption in government.

In a 63-page yearend report released on Tuesday, Roque said Duterte and his administration would “act in urgency” to give “the Filipino people a safe, secure, and comfortable environment through his key platforms of providing law and order, lasting peace, and prosperity for all.”

Duterte promised to rid the country of drugs and criminality in six months, but later asked for a longer deadline, insisting he was not aware of the gravity of the drug problem.

1.28M Filipinos leave for overseas jobs, 1.17M repatriated in 2017

The government recorded 1.28 million Filipinos who left the country for overseas employment in the first nine months of 2017 while 1.17 million others were brought back home for various reasons from different countries, mostly from the Middle East.

According to partial statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), 1.06 million of those who left for overseas work from January to September were land-based workers while 22, 477 were mostly seafarers.

However, only 321, 345 of those who left were new hires. The rest were re-hires.

The POEA suspended the deployment of new hires for 15 days in November purportedly to control illegal recruitment operations involving certain officials and employees of the agency.

While Filipino workers continue to seek employment abroad, more have also been receiving repatriation and reintegration benefits from the government.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said 1,170,514 OFWs received welfare and protection programs, including reintegration and repatriation services from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in 2017.

From July to October of this year, 54,470 OFWs and their families benefitted from the government’s intensified reintegration programs, including skills training and livelihood assistance, the labor chief reported.

He said 36,438 OFWs, mostly from the Middle East, were repatriated and provided with on-site assistance and P20, 000 financial aids each.

A total of 9,512 repatriated OFWs were provided additional cash grants of P6, 000 each while 13,245 OFWs were given food and hygiene kits each.

In connection with the 90-day amnesty program of Saudi Arabia for undocumented and stranded foreign nationals, OWWA also recorded a total of 15,839 Filipino migrant workers who took up the amnesty, 10,011 of whom were repatriated to the Philippines.

The DOLE released a total of P514, 412,350.21 to provide various assistance to OFWs, such as food and hygiene kits, legal counseling and stress debriefing, medical and psycho-social services and training assistance.

Bello said DOLE sought bigger budget for next year’s repatriation program because the government needs to prepare for the possible repatriation of OFWs in Qatar and other Middle East countries due to prevailing conflicts. “The situation in Qatar is still stable, but we cannot just relax our guard, we are talking of 240,000 Filipinos staying there,” he said.

PEYA co-owner arrested on suspicion of fraud

Police lead Boyce out of PEYA's shop in Central on Christmas Day

By The SUN

Hong Kong police are questioning Monday night Rhea Donna Boyce, co-owner of PEYA Travel, after arresting her at noon on Christmas Day in her Wanchai flat on suspicion of fraud in connection with her company’s airline booking mess.

The 38-year-old Boyce, a Filipina married to an Australian national listed as PEYA’s other co-owner, was seen being led by police in the afternoon to her shuttered office on the third floor of World Wide Plaza in Central where they searched for evidence.

Police said in a later report that the woman arrested whom they did not identify, would be detained overnight at the Central Police station for further investigation. They did not rule out further arrests.

The report said the “foreign woman” was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud foreign workers.’’

“A unit of the Central Police District Crime Squad who took over the investigation of cases arrested at about 12 noon today (Dec 25) in Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai, a 38-year foreign female person in charge of the travel company on suspicion of conspiring to commit fraud,” the report said.

People who witnessed Boyce being escorted to PEYA’s office on Monday afternoon said the search lasted for about two hours.

Afterwards, Boyce, better known in the Filipino community by her nickname “Yanyan”, was seen being escorted out of the shop wearing a face mask and her head covered in a pink shawl, as a fellow Filipina shouted and taunted her.

  

The police said that since mid-December, they had received complaints from several foreign women whose air tickets bought from PEYA Travel were not honored by airlines.

Police initially estimated there were as many as 645 people who had complained against the agency and that the sum involved was about $2 million.

However, the police said that in addition, a 67-year-old local man reported on Dec. 21 that his company, through which PEYA sourced its air tickets, had not been paid for about $3 million worth of tickets by the travel agency since May this year.

Police invited Boyce on Saturday night for questioning. Reports say she appeared with her legal representative at the police station but declined to talk.

Boyce offered to refund the money paid by her irate customers

But in a phone conversation with The SUN later that night, Boyce said she was sorry about what happened, and that she was willing to refund the money of all of PEYA's customers who were not able to board their flights, though she couldn't do it all at once. She also said she was considering paying compensation on top of the refund.

Boyce insisted there was no fraud or malice on her company's part, but remained vague as to the real cause.

The booking mess unraveled on Dec. 17 when groups of overseas Filipino workers on their way home for the holidays were told at the check-in counters at Chek Lap Kok that PEYA had not paid for their tickets, and could not thus not board their flights.

Boyce tried to remedy the problem by buying tickets for about 100 OFWs about to leave that day, but was apparently overwhelmed by hundreds more of her customers being turned away at the airport in the succeeding days.

Boyce did not show up at her office the next day, and left her marketing director, Arnold Grospe to face the growing number of irate customers who demanded a refund. At the close of business hours on Dec. 19, Grospe was led away by police for questioning, but was released without charges after about five hours.

Acting on the OFWs’ complaints, the Consulate’s acting head of post Roderico Atienza instructed the assistance to nationals section to begin taking statements from the affected PEYA customers.

On Dec. 21, Atienza wrote a letter to Commissioner of Police Lo Wai-chung, urging an investigation, but failed to get a quick response.

But three days later, as the number of complaints mounted, the police started investigating.

As of Dec. 24, the number of complainants had reached about 600, said ATN officer Danny Baldon.

Meanwhile, the first PEYA passengers who snapped up the free air tickets offered by the Philippine government and Cebu Pacific Air left on Dec. 25, and were sent off by Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre and his staff.

Cebu Pac offered 50 free tickets to the affected OFWs on a first-come, first-served basis, while about the same number were paid for by the Philippine government and booked through Philippine Airlines.

Earlier, PAL, following Cathay Pacific Airways’ example, sent bigger aircraft to Hong Kong for their last flights on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 to allow more affected passengers to fly to Manila.  

PHL govt joins scramble to bring home stranded Peya customers

Several groups have thrown a lifteline to OFWs who failed to fly home due to Peya's fault

By The SUN staff

The Philippine government has joined the last-minute dash to bring home overseas Filipino workers who were unable to board their flights a few days before Christmas because their booking agent, Peya Travel, failed to get their tickets issued, despite charging them the full fare.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told media outlets in the Philippines earlier today that the government would pay for the air fare because OFWs “have a very special place in President (Rodrigo) Duterte’s hear.”

Cayetano said the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment would split the cost of the air tickets of affected OFWs.

He was also reported as saying that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had placed the Philippine Air Force on standby in case it needed to fly the workers out of Hong Kong.

The acting head of Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, Roderico Atienza, confirmed to The SUN that they had received instructions about the plan to get the affected OFWs home free of charge.

“There is negotiation going on to bring them home,” Atienza said. “The government is footing the bill.”

He said the talks are between the government and Philippine Airlines, which is being asked if it could fly the passengers first, then bill the government later. As of this writing, however, no commitment has yet been secured from PAL.

Atienza was, however, quick to quell reports that a military aircraft, particularly a C130, would be sent to Hong Kong to ferry the distressed passengers.

“It’s not that easy to send a military aircraft to a foreign territory,” said Atienza. “We will need Beijing’s approval for it.”

He said getting the military involved was definitely not part of the instructions given them by the head office in Manila.

Getting PAL to fly home more stranded OFWs could, however, prove to be a problem. A staff member of the airline’s Hong Kong office said all the additional seats offered by PAL for its flights to Manila for Dec. 22 and 23 have been snapped up.

A total of about 200 seats were freed up for the affected passengers on PAL’s last flights out of Hong Kong for the two days, after the airline decided to send bigger aircraft to Hong Kong. These were sold for $3,030 each, roundtrip, to people who applied for them directly with PAL. Return ticket prices for these two dates were selling for no less than $5,000 before the Peya fiasco erupted.

Cathay Pacific Airways, which earlier announced the same strategy of using bigger aircraft for its flights to Manila on these two days and offered a “distress fare” of just $1,300 return to affected passenger, appears to have filled all available slots immediately.

A latecomer in the move to get the stranded OFWs home is Cebu Pacific Airways, which offered 50 free air tickets yesterday to the affected passengers on three Hong Kong to Manila flights: On Dec 25 at 7:30pm, Dec. 30 at 3:45pm, and Jan. 8 at 3:45pm.

The airline has asked the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to process the applications for the free air tickets from the affected passengers. As of 3pm today, 38 of the available tickets have already been taken, said Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre.

Labatt dela Torre also said OWWA has started accepting applications for the free PAL flights that might be arranged by the government. As of the close of office hours today, only 10 OFWs had stepped forward to take advantage of the promised free tickets.

Meanwhile, Atienza clarified that the Philippine Consulate has no legal personality to file a complaint with the police against Peya Travel amid reports Secretary Cayetano had instr\ucted them to charge the agency of fraud.

He said the most that the Consulate can do is to ask those victimized in the ticketing mess to fill up a form detailing their complaints against the agency, then refer these to the police.

However, he said the Consulate did send a letter early yesterday to the Commissioner of Police, asking for an investigation into the complaints against Peya, but has yet to get a reply.

Attached to the letter was a list of the names and contact numbers of 161 Filipinos who sought the Consulate's help in pursuing Peya for the alleged fraud.

Erwiana wins over $800k in damages from ex-employer

By Vir B. Lumicao

Erwiana with the Misiion's Cynthia Tellez ar the
srtart of the hearing of her civil claim 

Indonesian former domestic worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih has been awarded her total claim of $809, 403 against her former Hong Kong employer who tortured her for more than seven months three years ago.

District Court Judge Winnie Tsui handed down the judgment on Dec. 21 with neither party present. 

In her decision, Judge Tsui called Sulistyaningsih’s maltreatment “inhumane, degrading and abhorrent.”

Sulistyaningsih is due to hold a press conference at 2:30pm today in Jordan to speak about her court victory. She will be assisted by the Mission for Migrant Workers manager Cynthia Tellez and Asian Migrants Coordinating Body chair Eni Lestari, who both helped Sulistyaningsih pursue her case.

It was the second vindication for Sulistyaningsih, whose former employer, Law Wan-tung, was jailed for six years in 2015 for her almost daily abuse of the Indonesian helper.

“The things which then defendant did to the plaintiff over those seven months were not done merely to inflict physical pain. They were meant to insult and to subdue the plaintiff to a state of total submission to the defendant’s authority,” Tsui said.

The damages awarded comprised $450,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities; $180,000 in aggravated damages for repeated assault and false imprisonment; $86,249 for pre-trial loss of earnings; $50,000 for loss of earning capacity; pre-trial expenses of $33,269 and future medical expenses of $9,910.

Now 25 years old and studying management and economics, Sulistyaningsih initiated the civil action against her former boss on Mar 16, 2015, about a month after Law was jailed for six years by District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock.

Tsui noted that Sulistyaningsih, represented by Tony Ko from Boase, Cohen & Collins,  had filed two statements before the hearing.

“She also gave evidence as the only witness at the hearing,” Tsui said.

Law at her court trial

Law, meanwhile, “acting in person, was not in any position to put forward a positive case to counter the amount of damages claimed by the plaintiff,” the judge said. The jailed former employer also chose not to cross examine the plaintiff.

Thus, the court said it could not consider Law’s allegations that Sulistyaningsih’s injuries were not as serious as the helper had claimed.

“Having considered (Sulistyaningsih’) evidence as a whole, I accept in full the factual account given by the plaintiff as true, including the abuses and maltreatment that she had gone through and endured…and her physical injuries and psychiatric symptoms,” Tsui said.       

PAL, Cathay extend help to stranded Peya clients

Peya's office in World Wide Plaza was shut on the third day of the ticketing scandal
(photo by Vir Lumicao)

By The SUN Staff

The two major airlines serving the Hong Kong to Manila route have stepped forward to extend help to hundreds of overseas Filipino workers who got caught in a ticketing fiasco involving Peya Travel.

Both Philippine Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways have announced plans to send bigger aircraft to Hong Kong over the Christmas holiday crunch to help Peya customers who were unable to fly home because they were issued only itineraries and not air tickets.

In addition, Cathay has started selling so-called “distress tickets” at discounted prices to an undetermined number of OFWs who got caught in the mess. The tickets, which are reportedly being sold for as low as $1,300 each, will be for seats that are still available on Cathay flights departing for Manila from between Dec. 21 to 31.

“For Filipino friends affected by the issues related to a HK travel agent not affiliated with us, we stand ready to help as much as we can,” Cathay posted on its Twitter account on Tuesday. It urged distressed passengers to explore their options by contacting its call centre at 2747 3333 or use Twitter or Facebook to send a private message.

In its own statement issued a day later, PAL said it would be using larger aircraft to flight to and from Hong Kong on Dec. 22 and 23, and on Jan 3 next year...”in order to give the stranded Filipino domestic workers an opportunity to avail of seats out of Hong Kong.”

The statement quoted PAL’s President and COO Jaime J. Bautista as saying: “Our hearts go to our stranded countrymen. We hope this gesture will serve as a means to help a number of them come home to the Philippines in time for Christmas day.”

Cebu Pacific, another airline with regular daily flights between Hong Kong and Manila or Clark, has reportedly said it was also looking at ways to help the stranded Filipinos. However, its flights to the Philippines in the remaining four days before Christmas are all full.

In the meantime, Peya’s office on the third floor of Worldwide Plaza was shut yesterday, Dec. 20, after the Travel Agents Registry reportedly revoked its license “temporarily”. The Travel Industry Council, which regulates the operation of travel agencies, also suspended Peya’s membership for the meantime.

For two days previously, Peya’s sales and marketing director Arnold Grospe single handedly braved the wrath of customers demanding a refund, or an explanation as to why the agency left them in a lurch at the busiest time of the year.

The Consulate has also begun taking action, by asking Peya customers who failed to board flights they were supposed to be on, to come forward and file a complaint.

As of the close of business hours on Wednesday, a total of  131 Peya customers had taken heed of the Consulate’s call.

However, the number of affected passengers is believed to range from 500 to a lot more, as Peya was a favorite booking agent among Filipinos in Hong Kong.

Vice Consul Bob Quintin who heads the assistance to nationals section, said he had talked to both Grospe and Peya owner and managing director Rhea Donna Boyce, but did not get much.

Quintin said he urged the two to come out and answer queries to resolve the issue. But the two Peya executives reportedly stuck to their story that a system glitch had prevented air tickets being issued to their clients.

Grospe was held for questioning at the Central Waterfront station Tuesday night, but was released without charges being laid.

Peya Travel subsequently posted an apology on its Facebook page, and said it was doing its best to help the affected customers. However, there was no mention of how or when it intends to extend help.

At the Philippine Airlines office in Tsimshatsui East, more than 100 would-be passengers had their supposed bookings checked, only to be told their bookings had been cancelled because the payment didn’t come.

A woman who said her flight was booked for Dec 19 inquired about the next available flight and staff at the PAL counter told her there was one seat available on Dec 24 but it was business class “and it’s very expensive”.

Some Filipinas who were called ahead of her bought new tickets, saying they had to dip deep into their savings, while others said their employers had given them ticket money again.

Despite the number of unwitting victims in the ticketing scandal, Hong Kong Police said they were not about to file charges against anyone.

“The cases were classified as a ‘dispute’ and we passed all of them to the Travel Industry Council,” the spokesman said.

Other companies have jumped into the fray by offering various ways to help the affected workers.

TNG, which calls itself as a “cashless remittance agency, announced it had set up a $500,000 fund for its members who got caught in the Peya fiasco.

Each TNG member who manages to prove booking their flights through the discredited agency will be given $1,000 to help them buy the pricey holiday tickets to the Philippines.

A number of Central-based travel agencies catering to Filipinos have also stepped forward, offering to help OFWs book their flights.

Among them was Filipino (HK) Travel Services, which urged affected passengers to visit its office on the third floor of Worldwide Plaza to avail of the extra seats that the airlines are offering.

Fashion ang gustong negosyo dahil sa hilig

Ni Cecil Eduarte

“Kahit may edad na ako, gusto kong matupad ang goal ko na  maging boss ng sarili kong negosyo na isang ‘fashion boutique’. I am certain na ito ang gusto kong negosyo kasi I love fashion at tumbok nito ang skills na meron ako”.

Ito ang mga katagang sinabi ni Nimfa Isidro, 63 taong gulang, tubong Antique at 33 years nang nagtatrabaho sa Hong kong, sa kanyang testimonyal sa pagtatapos ng mga huling nagsanay sa CARD HK Foundation na ginanap noong Nob. 26 sa Duke of Windsor Auditorium.

Si Nimfa Isidro kasama si Vice Consul Bob Quintin at Fr. Jim Mulroney ng Sunday Examiner. Isa si Isidro sa mahigit na 200 migrante na nagtapos ng pagsasanay na isinagawa ng CARD .

Ayon kay Isidro, marami siyang natutunan mula sa financial literacy, o pagsasanay para sa tamang paggastos at paggamit ng kita buwan-buwan. Kabilang na dito ang kahalagahan ng pagsusulat ng goal o pakay, para hindi ito malimutan, kundi ay matuon dito lagi ang atensyon, at pati na rin sa pagbaba-budget at pag-iimpok.

Mas lalo pa daw siyang ginanahan nang makasali siya sa libreng entrepreneurship seminar o pagsasanay para sa mga balak mag-negosyo, na isinagawa din ng CARD noong Sep. 3. Dito daw sya natutong gumawa ng business plan, na pwede nyang gamitin sa kanyang planong pagnenesyo.

Nagpapasalamat daw sya sa programa ng CARD dahil nadagdagan ang kanyang kaalaman at positibong pananaw sa buhay. Dahil dito ay lalo daw siyang magpupursigi na isakatuparan ang kanyang pinapangarap na negosyo.

Sa ngayon aniya, mga kaibigan ko at dati kong amo ang ginagawan ko muna ng damit at gown para sa mga espesyal na okasyon.

Kahit may mga trabaho na ang kanyang dalawang anak ay ayaw pa din niyang umasa sa kanila para sa kanyang mga gastusin dahil  may mga sariling pamilya na sila na sinusuportahan.

Payo niya sa mga kapwa migrante, dagdagan ang kanilang kaalaman sa pamamagitan ng mga libreng pagsasanay na isinasagawa ng ilang mga grupo sa Hong Kong katulad ng CARD. Sa gayon, kung sakaling bigla silang mawalan ng trabaho sa Hong Kong ay may magagamit na silang kaalaman upang makapag-umpisa ng sarili nilang negosyo sa Pilipinas.

Magkakaroon ulit ng libreng financial literacy training ang CARD HK sa Jan. 2 sa susunod na taon. Para sa mga gustong sumali, tumawag lamang sa numero bilang 54238196 o 95296392