Mahirap ang buhay OFW sa Russia

Ni Nelle J.

(Ito ay pagpapatuloy ng artikulo si Nelle, 33 taong gulang at isang dating OFW sa Hong Kong, na naengganyong lumipat sa Russia apat na taon na ang nakakaraan. Sa hinaba-haba ng pagtira niya doon ay nananatiling ilegal ang status ni Nelle dahil ayon na rin sa kanya, walang visa para sa mga domestic worker doon. Babala niya: huwag nang mag-ambisyon pa na magpunta sa Russia dahil walang proteksyon ang mga OFW doon, at walang katiyakan ang trabaho. Masyado pang malayo sa Pilipinas kaya mahirap umuwi, at may mga buwitre sa airport sa Pilipinas na naghihintay para sila kotongan. Si Nelle ay may dalawang anak at nagtapos ng kolehiyo sa Cebu. Balak niya na magtrabaho ng ilan pang taon sa Russia, mag-ipon, bago bumalik sa kanyang naghihintay na pamilya sa Pilipinas.-Ed)

Patuloy pa rin ang pakikipag-usap ng mga taga Embassy sa mga opisyal ng Russia para magkaroon na ng kasunduan upang mapaayos ang lagay ng mga OFW dito. Iminungkahi nila na ipatupad ang isa sa dalawang bagay: Una, baguhin ng Russia ang batas nila na nagtatakda na mga citizen lang ng CIS members ang maaaring maging domestic workers, o pangalawa, bigyan ang mga OFW ng pagkakataon na makapagtrabaho ng legal.

Bilang tugon, nagbigay daw ang gobyerno ng Russia ng dalawang kundisyon. Una, dapat matigil na ang ilegal na Pilipino sa kanilang bansa. Pangalawa, maglabas ang Embahada ng sample na visa na ginagamit ng mga Pilipino na hirap naman daw nilang tuparin dahil maraming mga OFW ang mapapahamak nang dahil ditto.

Bakit? Halimbawa, ibinigay ng Embahada ang kopya ng visa ko sa kanila. Yung visa ko ay nakuha ko naman kay Maria. Ngayon nang tingnan ng mga awtoridad dito ang visa ko ay nakita nila na kay Maria ko kinuha. Mula dito ay makikita nila na may iba pang visa na na-issue itong si Maria sa iba pang Pilipina. Ibig sabihin, damay na lahat ang nabigyan ng visa ni Maria, at makukumpiska lang ang visa na hawak ng iba.

May problema din sa pabago-bagong batas ng Russia kaya kahit si Ambassador King Sorreta na isang abugado ay nagsabing hindi niya maintindihan ang batas nila. Dahil dito ay ingat na ingat daw sila sa bawat aksyon nila upang masigurado lagi ang kapakanan ng mga OFW.

Ang isa pa sa problema ngayon ng mga OFW dito ay aberya na nangyayari kapag umuwi sila sa Pilipinas para magbakasyon. May mga kaso na na o offload sila sa airport sa Pilipinas at kinakailangan pa nilang magbayad ng Php80,000 para sa tinatawag na “escort service” upang makaalis pabalik sa Russia.

Sa dami ng mga gustong magtrabaho dito ay hindi lang mula sa Pilipinas o sa Hong Kong nanggagaling ang mga dumarating dito. Kapag hindi sila nabigyan ng visa sa Pilipinas o sa Hong Kong ay dumadayo sila sa Thailand at Malaysia, kung saan may mga kontak na ang mga recruiter. Maari silang tumira sa mga bansa na ito habang naghihintay ng kanilang visa.

Ang mas masaklap lang, may mga agent or recruiter na katulad ni Meer Jon Meer at ang kanyang live-in partner na Pinay na hindi maayos ang pagtrato sa mga niyayakag nila mula sa Hong Kong. Liban sa malaking singil nila ay wala pang trabaho na nadadatnan dito ang mga na recruit nila. May isa pa na nakapagtrabaho nga pero hindi pinahawak ng suweldo dahil inobliga nila na magbayad ng USD500 buwan-buwan.

Sa kabila ng lumalalang problema ng mga OFW dito marami pa ring Pilipino ang patuloy na umaasa na makarating dito. Ayon sa balita, maraming aplikante sa Pilipinas ang nakapagbayad na sa mga agent na kapwa Pinoy din dito sa Russia, pero hindi pa rin napapadalhan ng “invitation” na siyang gagamitin nila para makapag apply ng visa.

Ang mga agent na Pinoy na ito ay nang-iimbita ng mga aplikante, at pagkatapos ay pinapasok nila sa agency dito yung mga papeles. Kung ang singil ng agency ay USD1,300 bawat invitation ay pepresyuhan naman nila ng USD1,5000 sa aplikante, kaya may tubo agad silang USD200. Yung iba ay gagawing USD2,000 kasama na daw yung sundo sa airport, bahay at pagbigay ng trabaho. Ang kaso, kapag walang bigayan ng invitation ay nagagastos ng Pinoy na agent yung pera, kaya yung iba hindi na mahagilap ng mga aplikante.

Mayroon din namang napapunta nga dito, pero pagdating ay pinabayaan na. Walang trabaho, may utang na naiwan sa Pilipinas o Hong Kong, at mas masaklap, patapos na yung visa.

May isa pang kaso na pinangakuan daw na makalipat sa Western Europe, pero hanggang tatlong buwan lang ang visa pagdating dito. E kailangang tumigil ka sa Russia ng hindi kukulangin sa anim na buwan bago ka mabigyan ng Schengen visa. Ang nangyari, naubos ang kanyang visa, walang trabaho, walang pera, at pinabayaan na ng agent.

Patong-patong ang problemang kinakaharap ng mga OFW na nandito, kaya sana ay matigil na ang pagpunta ng mga Pilipino dito dahil dadagdag lang sila sa mga walang trabaho at walang papeles, bukod pa sa talaga namang walang visa category para sa household service workers dito. Hindi legal ang pagtatrabaho dito bilang kasambahay, hindi katulad ng sa Hong Kong o sa Singapore.

Sana din, matigil na yung tinatawag na “escort service” sa airport kung saan kasabwat ang ilang corrupt na opisyal sa immigration. Kunwari ay pinipigilan nila ang pagbalik ng isang Pilipino sa Russia dahil diumano sa suspetsa na biktima sila ng human trafficking, yun pala ay gusto lang nilang perahan ang pobreng OFW.

Panghuli, sana ay matulungan kami ng ating Pangulo na ma-legalize kaming mga OFW dito at magkaroon ng akmang visa para sa mga trabaho namin para maibsan ang mga problemang matagal na naming dinadala.

Ang laban natin

Hindi malimit maglabas ang isang pahayagan ng artikulo tungkol sa  kapwa nito pahayagan. Kaya naman mapalad tayo na napansin ang The SUN ng mga mas malalaking kumpanya upang i-feature. Sa issue na ito ay matutunghayan ang isinulat para sa Coconuts Hong Kong, isang internet news service, at para sa South China Morning Post.

Napansin nila ang The SUN dahil sa natatangi nitong pananaw sa kung ano ang papel na dapat gampanan ng isang pahayagan sa lipunan.

At natutuwa kami dahil natutulungan nila kami na maimulat ang mga mata ng mga taga-Hong Kong sa mga isyu na matagal na nating ipinaglalaban.

Halimbawa, marami pa rin ang inaabuso ng kanilang amo—pang-aabuso na may iba’t ibang kalubhaan. Marami pa rin ang naloloko ng mga nangangako ng trabaho sa Canada at iba pang lugar, na sa huli ay lalabas na peke. Marami ang hindi nabibigyan ng katarungan dahil ayaw magreklamo sa takot na mawalan ng trabaho. At ang masakit nito, ang mga salarin ay hindi naparurusahan.

Simula pa noong kami ay itatag noong 1995, nadiskubre na naming hindi sapat ang pagsusulat lamang ng balita at opinyon; kailangan din naming lumabas upang kami rin ay makipagbuno sa mga pagmamalabis sa mga OFW. Hindi namin maiwasan na makiisa sa kanilang laban, dahil maliban sa aming regular na trabahong paghabol ng mga balita, hinahabol din kami ng mga sumbong mula sa mga naaapi. 

Dahil sa dami naming sinuong na laban ng ating mga kapwa Pilipino, kalimitan kaming natatawag na ikalawang konsulado. At kung minsan, nagiging sumbungan pa kami kapag hindi sila nasiyahan sa naging serbisyo sa kanila ng mismong Konsulado.

Kung tinawag kaming tinig ng OFW sa Hong Kong, ito ay dahil sa mga prinsipyong aming pinanghahawakan.

Ngayong pumasok na kami sa ika-23 taong serbisyo sa inyo, pag-iibayuhin namin ang laban para sa Pilipino. Dahil alam naming walang makagagawa nito kundi ang isang pahayagang tunay na Pilipino—itinatag ng Pilipino, pag-aari ng Pilipino at pinapatakbo ng Pilipino.

Ang The SUN.

Sana ay lumawig pa ang ating pagtutulungan,

PEYA fiasco

We all know the story by now. Hundreds of Filipinos, mostly OFWs, were not able to board the planes that would have taken them home to a much-anticipated reunion with family members over Christmas.

Were if not for the charitable spirit of the airlines and later, the government, most would have gotten stuck in Hong Kong, uncertain of how to seek redress, and still hoping to be home for Christmas.

Much of the credit for getting things moving quickly should go to the Consulate, notably the outspoken acting head of post, Deric Atienza, who spared no effort in taking up the cudgels for the affected travelers. He got them to file complaints, then took the police to task for not investigating.

The result was that the couple that owns Peya Travel, the company that had caused the biggest uproar to date over unticketed flights out of Hong Kong, was arrested in full glare of the media spotlight.

More importantly, the bleak Christmas that loomed for many of the affected passengers was no more. Around 300 of them managed to eventually fly out in time for Christmas, either through their own resourcefulness, or with help from the airlines and the government.

Many more are scheduled to fly out before the New Year, and beyond.

Police say 645 people were affected, meaning, they paid for their air fare in full, but were not issued the tickets that would have ensured they could board their flights.

As far as things go in Hong Kong, especially those involving our migrant workers, the issue had been addressed quickly, even admirably. One cannot help but feel hopeful that other cases where our workers found themselves at the losing end, as in the fraudulent recruitment by Emry’s, would finally be resolved.

Now all we need to do is to wait for the police to wrap up its investigation to know exactly what had gone wrong.

As longtime customers of Peya and keen observers of events unfolding in the community, we were also shocked to hear of the booking fiasco that left many of our homebound OFWs in tears.

For the past few years, Peya gave off an image of dependability and prosperity, launching its own credit card to much fanfare, moving to a bigger space in WorldWide Plaza, then opening a branch in North Point.

While most travel agencies catering to our community have at most two people attending to the needs of clients, Peya had around half a dozen well-dressed staff manning its counters.

More importantly, except for a single case brought to our attention through social media, we had not heard of any passenger being denied boarding because of a botched booking by Peya.

On top of these, Peya's highly visible co-owner and managing director Yanyan Boyce was well-known in the community, especially among its more militant members, as a generous supporter.

But with emerging stories about Peya’s serious cash problems, we are also taking a closer look at the company’s lavish public spending in the relatively short time it has been in business.

These include the Peya Mastercard launch at Grappas where more than 100 people were invited, a catered junk party for about 50 people, and more recently, a gay beauty contest where participants had to be flown in.

Still, this begs the question of how Yanyan and her co-owner and husband Peter, could have allowed the mess to blow up in such spectacular fashion.

Yanyan, who once shared the story of how she used to work at the defunct Worldwide Travel Agency when exactly the same case happened to its passengers over the Christmas season, should have known better.

No matter the glitch, or inadvertence, or deliberate misdeed by anyone in her staff, she as a hands-on owner, should have known.

And when the problem did blow up, she should have immediately accepted responsibility, instead of pointing the blame on others.

She could have also grabbed the Consulate’s offer to mediate in resolving the issue, and coming up with a definite plan on compensaring the victims.

But all these are under the bridge now.

We can only hope that our OFWs get justice by being fully compensated for what they had to go through because of Peya’s misdeed.

Peya, if it does recover from the mess, should use this as a reminder that customers are at the core of their success as a business, and should thus be treated fairly.

This should also serve as a wake-up call to all companies catering to our community, especially our OFWs.  We help them best by dealing with them honestly, if not compassionately.

Filreflex, pinasaya ang mga batang may kapansanan

Ni Ellen Asis

Walang pagsidlan sa kasiyahan ang isang grupo ng mga batang may kapansanan na nagtipon-tipon sa Sablayan Central School sa Mindoro, kung saan idinaos noong ika-19 ang  pamaskong handog  ng Filipino Reflexology Hong Kong. 

Halos 50 kabataan na may kapansanan at mula sa mahirap na pamilya ang napasaya ng Filreflex sa mga pinamigay nilang regalo na damit,pagkain, laruan at iba pang bagay na hiling ng mga bata bilang pamasko. Karamihan ay humiling ng bagong damit na pinagbigyan naman ng grupo.

Ang mga kabataan habang tumatanggap ng regalo na damit, pagkain, laruan at iba pang bagay  mula sa Filreflex.

Tuwang tuwa ang mga bata at taos-pusong pasasalamat naman ang pinaabot ng pinuno ng paaralan dahil iyon lang ang unang pagkakataon na may nagsagawa ng pamaskong handog sa paaralan.

Hindi pa man natatapos ang pagtitipon ay nagtatanong na ang mga bata kung babalik ba si Santa Claus sa susunod na Pasko.

Ang sagot naman ng pinuno ng grupo na namigay ng regalo na si Genevy Carillon, babalik si Santa  Claus galing ng Hong Kong kung magpapakabait at mag aaral silang mabuti. 

Naglundagan sa tuwa ang mga bata sa narinig, at niyakap nang mahigpit ang namahagi ng mga regalo, na panay dating miyembro ng Filreflex na umuwi na sa Pilipinas upang magnegosyo.

Plano ng grupo na magdaos muli ng pamaskong handog sa susunod na taon dahil ayon sa kanila, maghandog uli ng pamasko sa susunod na taon dahil para sa kanila, "sharing is loving".

Agency owner recruiting OFWs to Russia ordered to pay fine, damages for overcharging

The cover photo on Quality Consultants' Facebook page

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina co-owner of an unlicensed recruitment agency that has been sending Hong Kong-based domestic workers to Russia was convicted today, Jan. 5, of overcharging a client, and ordered to pay a total of $22,000: $12,000 in compensation and $10,000 in fine.

Gilda Flores Li, who jointly owns Quality Consultants Agency with her husband, was also warned by Magistrate Andrew Mok Tze-chung to make the payment within three months, or face a jail term.

However, the $12,000 compensation she was ordered to pay Filipina domestic worker Jean Lorena Sheel was $8,000 less than what she took from the maid, who had applied for a domestic helper job in Russia.

This was because the magistrate found that Li had paid US$1,000 to a Russian company for a second invitation to Sheel, after the first one had to be scrapped because of an error.

The invitation was meant to be used for securing a commercial visa for Sheel, even if what she had applied for was to work as a maid in Russia.

Li pleaded not guilty on Jan 2 to three counts of “receiving payment other than the prescribed commission” from Sheel, arguing that her company was not a recruitment agency.

But Mok dismissed the claim, saying in his verdict: “I don’t find the defendant a credible and reliable witness. I do not accept that QCA, of which she is a partner, is not an employment agency."

Quality Consultants used to be licensed by the Employment Agencies Administration but its name no longer appears in EAA’s list updated as of Dec. 17, 2017.

Neither is Quality Consultants licensed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, contrary to its claim in its Facebook page, where it also openly recruits for jobs in Russia, Mongolia, New Zealand and Spain.

Sheel, testifying on the first day of the trial, said Li charged her $20,000, of which she paid $11,000 in cash on March 5 last year, $4,000 on April 9 and $5,000 that she deposited in Li’s HSBC account on April 25.

Giving evidence on Jan 4, Li claimed that the $20,000 she charged Sheel was not a placement fee.

She said $10,000 was payment for an invitation letter issued by a firm in Moscow that the maid needed in applying for a commercial visa to Russia, and $10,000 to cover the cost of visa, air ticket, and room and board if Sheel got terminated after her first month there.    

The magistrate said Sheel’s evidence was clear and credible. He noted from her evidence that Li told her the first monthly salary as a helper would be $9,000 to $10,000.

He said taking into account the US$1,000 paid for the invitation letter, the commission was still more than the 10% provided under the regulation.

“Having considered all the evidence, I find the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the charges,” Mok said.

The labour prosecutors told the magistrate that Sheel was applying for damages and claims totaling $20,000, and Mok asked the defendant if she had any objection.

“I’m just a poor company. I don’t know the regulation. I don’t know if I have money,” Li replied tearfully, asking the magistrate if she could pay the compensation in installments.

The magistrate said he saw no reason to mitigate the sentences, which were a maximum of $50,000 for each offense. But after taking into consideration Li’s clear record, he said, he was imposing a $5,000 fine for the first charge, $3,000 for the second charge, and $2,000 for the third. 

Mok then ordered that Li’s payment of US$1,000 to the Russian company for a second invitation be deducted from Sheel’s $20,000 damage claim, leaving the maid with just $12,000 in compensation.

Li’s conviction ended a four-day trial during which Sheel, the first of five prosecution witnesses, spoke of how the defendant charged her $20,000 for a domestic helper job in Russia.

Sheel said she withdrew her application after waiting in vain for a second invitation to replace the one with a wrong birth year that would have invalidated her application for a commercial visa to Russia.

In their evidence and during cross-examination, both Sheel and Li brought to light how agencies offering OFWs purported jobs in Russia and other places send the workers there without any job contracts and no employers waiting for them.

Sheel testified that Li would at first get her a commercial visa that was good for three months, and once she got to Russia, she would be housed by a Russian agency that would find her an employer for a fee, or find one on her own.  

After the commercial visa expires, the worker will have to apply for a work visa.

The practice is under fire from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, which has repeatedly warned that third-country deployment is illegal under Philippine law.

Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre has also urged Hong Kong authorities to clamp down on the practice of sending Filipino workers to non-existent jobs in Russia and other places abroad, saying this amounts to fraud, if not human trafficking.

  

OFW in HK held in India for 4.7kg cocaine haul

By Vir B. Lumicao

A cocaine pack seized from a drug courier in HK

A Hong Kong-based Filipina maid has reportedly been arrested by Indian anti-narcotics agents after she was arrested on Jan 2 for allegedly carrying into the country 4.7 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil.

Indian online media quoting narcotics officers said the woman, Jonna de Torres, was intercepted at Nedumbassery International Airport in Cochin, the capital of Kerala state, as she tried to bring in the drug, said to be worth US$3.9 million (HK$30.4 million).

The SUN contacted the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi for an update about Torres, but has not yet received a reply.

Torres reportedly admitted being paid US$4,000 ($31,200) by a Sao Paulo-based drug cartel to take the dangerous drug to India. She was supposed to stay in a hotel in Cochin booked online by the cartel, the New India Express online news service reported.

The news portal quoted an officer of the Narcotic Control Bureau as saying it had been informed that Torres, a helper in Hong Kong with a Filipino passport issued in 2013, had carried drugs several times in the past but this was her first trip to India.

The NCB officers said Torres’ passport showed she visited Brazil for five days before the New Year and was there previously in 2015. The Filipina was paid US$2,000 to US$4,000 for smuggling drugs, with her last errand earning her US$4,000, New India Express reported.

“Torres has admitted to smuggling drugs on several occasions. It was her first attempt to transport drugs to India,” an NCB officer was quoted as saying.

In India, the maximum penalty for drug smuggling is 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 rupees.

The officer said Torres alleged in a statement that a Brazilian who she did not know visited her at Sao Paulo and gave her two pieces of luggage –a trolley bag and a handbag.

“The cocaine was concealed in the trolley bag. The booking of her flight and a room at a hotel in Ernakulam North was done by someone from Sao Paulo,” the officer said. He said Torres refused to name anyone during her several hours of interrogation.

Torres’ itinerary showed a circuitous flight route from Sao Paulo, a port city on the Atlantic coast of Brazil, to Cochin via the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the Omani capital Muscat.

The officer said the drug syndicate must have wrongly thought that Nedumbassery Airport was an easy entry port for smuggled drugs as baggage checking would be minimal. He said NCB was surprised to see Torres’ baggage containing cocaine getting through Addis Ababa and Muscat airports undetected before reaching Cochin.

Recruiter to Russia on trial for overcharging

By Vir B. Lumicao

The owner of a Hong Kong employment agency is in court for allegedly charging a Filipina domestic worker $20,000 for an invitation from an employer in Russia that she could use to apply for a commercial visa.

Gilda Flores Li, also a Filipina and owner of Quality Consultants Agency, pleaded not guilty on Jan 2, the first day of her trial  in Kwun Tong Court.

She is being prosecuted by the Employment Agencies Administration of the Hong Kong Labour Department on three counts of “receiving payment other than the prescribed commission”.

Li, in her 50s and who appeared without a lawyer, told the court “money changed hands” between her and her alleged victim, Jean Lorena Sheel, but it was meant for an invitation that the Russian consulate requires to issue a commercial visa to a person.

The prosecution presented Sheel as the first of its five witnesses against Li.

Sheel, a soft-spoken woman in her 40s who had been a domestic helper in Hong Kong since 2011, said she came to know about Quality when she browsed the internet early last year and saw its advertisement for jobs in Russia and Canada.

The helper said on Feb 2 she called Quality’s phone number listed on the advertisement and  talked to a woman whom she later came to know as Li.

She applied for a job in Russia and was told by Li that she had to pay $20,000 – the first payment of $10,000 to be made in advance and another $10,000 when the invitation arrived in two weeks.

When Magistrate Andrew Mok asked her if she was given a breakdown of where the $20,000 would go, Sheel said the amount would cover visa and air ticket.

Sheel said on Mar 5 last year, she went to Quality’s office and paid $11,000 in cash to Li.

She said she wasn’t given a receipt so the helper took a notebook, wrote the amount she paid Li on a page and took a picture of the scribbled payment.

She made another payment of $4,000 on April and on April 9, Li allegedly called Sheel to tell her that the invitation had arrived. The helper went to Li’s office to check the invitation and found no mistake.

On April 25, Li asked Sheel to pay the remaining $5,000, as the visa might soon arrive. Li gave the jobseeker her HSBC account number where Sheel would deposit the money. As the helper was working, she requested her cousin to deposit the amount in the bank account.

But when Sheel called Li to confirm if her cousin had deposited the money in Li’s account, the agency owner told her the visa couldn’t be issued because there was a mistake in the helper’s birth year, which was printed on the invitation as 1975 instead of 1976.

Sheel was heart-broken when Li told her about the mistake. Since then she said she had been asking Li to refund her money, even only just half of the amount, but she was made to wait until she ran out of hope.

In the meantime, Sheel said she had no more job and would exit to China each time her visa ran out.

The trial continues.

No malice intended in Peya booking mess, says Yanyan

By Daisy CL Mandap

Rhea Donna Boyce

The woman at the center of the airline booking scandal that saw hundreds of home-bound overseas Filipino workers unable to board their flights has insisted there was no intention to cause harm to anyone.

Rhea Donna Boyce, part owner and managing director of PEYA Travel which issued the dud confirmation bookings to more than 600 of its clients, spoke with The SUN on Dec.22, shortly after she declined an offer from the police to make a voluntary statement.

Boyce was nevertheless arrested on Christmas day three days later, and questioned for two days before being released on police bail.

The Filipina known to many in the community simply  as Yanyan, told The SUN during a phone conversation: "PEYA Travel does not have any intention to fool people. No malice was intended".

She was, however, cagey when asked what had caused a huge number of its clients not being issued tickets, and why PEYA failed to warn them in advance about the problem.

“It was an internal problem. Someone tasked to monitor the bookings failed to see that the tickets were not issued,” she said, without naming names.

It was a clear attempt to distance herself from an earlier excuse that a "technical glitch" had caused the problem.

Some industry sources had readily brushed away this excuse, and said PEYA simply did not have the money to buy the air tickets for its clients.

What was not readily apparent, though, was why PEYA had allowed its once formidable name to get tarnished in such a spectacular fashion.

In an earlier interview, Boyce spoke of how angry she was on hearing on Dec. 16 about the looming problem, and how she had bought tickets at $5,000 each, round-trip, to enable some of their clients to fly home as  scheduled.

That time, she said she had paid a premium for the tickets of about 100 clients, just so they could leave. But on hindsight, this could not have been possible as flights to the Philippines starting mid-December are often packed, and 100 additional seats would have been hard to come by, even if one had money to spare.

Boyce said she was willing to refund the money paid by the affected clients, and even hinted at providing freebies to make up for the inconvenience.

To do this, she said she needed some time to sort out the company's finances, including closing down PEYA's branch office in North Point.

“Babayaran ko sila, pero siguro in groups of 30 muna,” she said.

She also said the fact that she chose to stay put in Hong Kong after the scandal unraveled showed she had nothing to hide.

When asked why she slipped out of public view when irate clients began storming her office, Bpyce said it was because she got scared.

“Hinila nung isang Pilipina na nakakilala sa akin ang kamay ko nang minsang lumabas ako,” she said.

Boyce admitted that the booking mess could impact heavily on PEYA's business, but she was confident she could ride out the storm.

“PEYA has learned its lesson, but we have to be tough. What we have to do now is to regain the trust of the public. Pero makakabawi din kami.”

With all that has happened in the days since the first of its OFW clients failed to board their flights home, PEYA would need nothing short of a miracle to get back on its feet.

Yanyan ‘begged for 6 tickets’ as mess unfolded

By Vir B. Lumicao

An airline consolidator has told The SUN that PEYA Travel managing director Rhea Donna Boyce had tearfully begged him to issue air tickets to some of her clients on Dec. 16, two days before the travel agency's air booking mess unraveled.

Rhea Donna Boyce

Benny Hui, owner of AGC Travel and wholesaler of Philippine Airlines tickets, said he granted Boyce’s request to help her out.

“ She was crying when she called me, begging to issue six tickets for flights on Dec 16 and Dec 17 because some passengers could not go back to the Philippines,” said Hui, who claimed to have been a friend of Boyce for about four years as PEYA provided him "very good" business.

“She is my friend, so I issued the tickets,” Hui said, adding they cost a total of $21,000.

The supposed incident happened two days before hundreds of PEYA clients, mostly overseas Filipino workers, were turned away at the check-in counters at Chek Lap Kok Airport.  Airline staff told them PEYA did not pay for their tickets.

But months before this, Hui said he already sensed that PEYA was in trouble.  He said that a cheque issued to her by Boyce bounced in August, so by the end of that month his company stopped extending credit to PEYA.

But in September, October and November, Hui said he still provided PEYA one-way tickets for overseas Filipino workers priced at less than $1,000 each, saying "the amounts were not so big".

Not being a full member of the International Air Travel Association (IATA), PEYA had to buy air tickets from consolidators or wholesalers like AGC

Hui said Boyce promised to pay the six PAL tickets before 6pm on Dec 15. But when he called her, the PEYA executive was not in her office in World-Wide Plaza, and told him to come on Saturday afternoon, Dec 16.

“On Saturday afternoon, I kept calling her but she didn’t answer,” Hui said.

Despite this, Hui said he was not angry at Boyce.

“We are still friends. I’m not angry because I’ve known her for three to four years. I know she has been doing investments, like launching a credit card, the PEYA Card,” the AGC executive said.

Ano ang kapalaran mo sa simula ng taon?

TANDANG. Isinilang noong 1921/33/45/57/69/81/93
Paghuhusayan mo ang trabaho mo ngayon, lalo na kung may bago kang ginagawa. Suwerte ang love life, kaya masaya ang buhay ng may-asawa. Sa mga walang relasyon, ito ang tamang oras na makipagkaibigan. Mas malaki ang tsansa mong kumita sa trabaho kesa makipagsapalaran. Pananakit ng ulo at puyat ang mararanasan dahil sa labis na pag-iisip. Lucky numbers: 18, 23, 29 at 31.

ASO. Isinilang noong 1922/34/46/58/70/82/94
Sa umpisa ng taon ay makakaranas ka ng sari-saring problema. Maghinay-hinay upang makapag-isip at maiwasan pang lumala ang sitwasyon. Mahihirapan ka rin sa pakikipag-relasyon, at maging ang pagkakaibigan ay masusubukan dahil sa mga away. Habaan ang pasensya at piliting makontrol ang galit. Lucky numbers: 4, 13, 39, at 41.

BABOY. Isinilang noong 1923/35/47/59/71/83/95
Maganda ang pakikitungo mo sa lahat, at matutulungan ka ng mga taong ipinanganak sa taon ng Tigre upang mapaganda ang iyong trabaho. Kung naghahanap ng trabaho, makikilala mo ang taong maniniwala sa kakayahan mo. Mapayapa ang pagsasama kahit salat sa dating init ng pagmamahal. Maganda ang lagay ng pananalapi at kalusugan, pero iwasan ang kumain ng labis. Lucky numbers: 11, 29, 33 at 40.

DAGA. Isinilang noong 1924/36/48/60/72/84/96 
Maganda ang pasok ng taon dahil sa magandang simula sa trabaho. Kung gagawa ka ng plano para mapaganda ang kalagayan mo, at pagsisikapan na masunod ito ng unti-unti, malaki ang tsansang magtatagumpay ka. Mag-ingat sa pakikipag-usap dahil baka ka madiin sa isang bagay na maaring humantong sa demanda. Sa pamilya, ang hindi pag-uusap ng maayos ay maaring humantong sa hindi pagkakaunawaan. Lucky numbers: 3, 14, 28 at 45.

BAKA. Isinilang noong 1925/37/49/61/73/85/97 
Kailangan pang dagdagan ang sipag upang umangat ang kabuhayan. Huwag gaanong problemahin ang pagkakasakit; bigyan ng atensyon ang kinakain. Maging palakaibigan. Sa trabaho, kumilos ng maingat, pero sigurado sa ginagawa; huwag masyadong maging agresibo at huwag i-pressure ang sarili. Magiging maswerte ka sa pera ngayon, pero huwag maging tuso. Lucky numbers: 9, 17, 26 at 44.

TIGRE Isinilang noong 1926/38/50/62/74/86 at 98 
Magiging swerte ka sa trabaho sa unang bahagi ng 2018. Humingi ng tulong sa iba upang mapaganda ang trabaho. Hangga’t nagsisikap at nagsisipag ka, maraming oportunidad ang magbubukas sa iyo. Malaki ang tsansa na umangat pa dahil sa tapang mong makipagsapalaran, pero iwasang maging gahaman sa pera. Lucky numbers: 16, 27, 34 at 48.

KUNEHO Isinilang noong 1927/39/51/63/75/87 
Maganda ang dating ng Year of the Dog sa iyo. Hangga’t ginagawa mo ng maayos ang trabaho at mahusay kang makisama sa mga kasamahan, tuloy-tuloy ang pag-asenso mo. Ang away sa kapartner ay hindi nakakapekto sa relasyon sa ngayon, pero iwasang lumala pa ito. Maswerte ka sa pera ngayon, magandang i-share din ito sa iba. Lucky numbers: 11, 23, 37 at 42.

 DRAGON Isinilang noong 1928/40/52/64/76/88 
Pag-isipang mabuti bago ka maglabas ng pera, mahirap sumugal sa mga bagay, lalo kung hindi mo ito kabisado. Hindi ito ang tamang oras upang magsimula ng bagong negosyo, pag-aralan pa itong mabuti. Huwag pakialaman ang gawain ng iba upang makaiwas sa away. Maganda ang relasyon mo sa kapartner kaya madaling maayos ang anumang gusot. Pag-ingatan ang tiyan at sikmura, iwasan ang pagkain o pag-inom ng alak ng sobra. Lucky number: 12, 19, 25 at 30.

AHAS Isinilang noong 1929/41/53/65/77/89 
Mahihirapan kang gawin ang trabaho mo ngayon dahil kailangan mong isipin ang sariling kaligtasan at katatagan ng kalagayan. Madali ka ring mairita at mapa-away, piliting kumalma sa gitna ng mga problema. Sa walang karelasyon, may tsansang makilala mo ang taong nababagay sa iyo, at masisimulan ang matatag na relasyon, sa tulong ng iyong kaibigan o kaanak. Iwasang maglabas ng malaking pera. Ingatan ang pananakit ng sikmura. Lucky numbers: 7, 18, 35 at 40.

KABAYO. Isinilang noong 1930/42/54/66/78/90
Magiging masipag ka sa panimula ng bagong taon at magbubunga ito ng magandang resulta. Sa mga walang karelasyon, ito ang tamang oras na makihalubilo at makipagkaibigan dahil swerte ka sa pag-ibig ngayon. May pagkakataon ring kumita ng maayos ang iyong puhunan. Panatilihin ang magandang kalusugan sa pamamagitan ng pagkain ng wasto at balanseng pagkain. Lucky numbers: 20, 21, 38 at 46.

KAMBING. Isinilang noong 1919/31/43/55/67/79 at 91 
Lahat halos ng gawin mo ay magiging maganda ang resulta, kaya makukuha mo ang tiwala ng iyong boss at mabibigyan ka ng mahalagang posisyon. Maganda ang tubo ng iyong puhunan, ituloy mo lang ang sinimulan mo. Bigyan ng pansin ang sakit sa puso, lalo na kung senior citizen na. Mag-ingat din sa pagtaas ng presyon ng dugo. Lucky numbers: 16, 14, 18, at 32.

UNGGOY. Isinilang noong 1920/32/44/56/68/80/92
Makakaranas ng hindi inaasahang problema sa trabaho at dagok sa buhay, kaya mahihirapan kang makagalaw at makapag-isip ng maayos. Maging ang love life ay magkakaroon ng malaking pagbabago. Dahil sa mga pinagdaraanan, hindi napapanahon ang pagpasok sa mga delikadong pamumuhunan.Mag-ingat sa mga sakuna na magdudulot ng pagdurugo. Lucky numbers: 19, 21, 33 at 40.