The SUN HK

Infected Filipina could be released this week

Posted on 24 February 2020 No comments

By The SUN

The lone Filipino Covid-19 patient is being treated at Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan

The lone Filipino to have contracted the new coronavirus (Covid-19) is expected to be released from hospital within this week after all her recent tests turned out negative, according to a statement from the Consulate.

The statement said the patient had called to inform the Consulate about the good news, and that she remains healthy. The Filipina patient is being treated at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.

Reports from the Hong Kong government had said the 32-year-old Filipina domestic worker was tested for the virus after her 67-year-old ward was found infected on Feb. 13. Initial tests on the Filipina yielded negative results, but a subsequent test showed she had the virus.

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The government statement said the Filipina must have been infected by her elderly ward, with whom she lived in Mt Parker Lodge in Quarry Bay.

The older woman’s infection was traced to a family dinner she had at the Star Seafood Restaurant in North Point on Jan. 26. Five other people there, including her 37-year-old son, also caught the virus.

The Filipina's employer caught the virus from this now-shuttered restaurant in North Point

The Filipina reportedly had a cough and cold in early February but did not feel unwell. On Feb. 9 she took a day off and hung out with 10 Filipina friends outside City Hall in Central.

Following a call from the government for her friends to also submit themselves to tests, one said on social media that the Covid-19 patient had already given their telephone numbers to health authorities.

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Each one was reportedly called and asked if they felt unwell. After learning that all of them had worn masks that day and did not share a meal, they were reportedly let off with an advice that they should have themselves checked if they started having symptoms.

To date, not one of the Filipina patient’s only close contacts during the 14-day incubation appears to have shown any signs of having the virus.

Meanwhile, the PCG says only three Filipinos –including the lone Covid-19 patient – remained in quarantine as of today, Jan 23. All are said to be healthy and asymptomatic and expected to be released within the week.

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Three other Filipinos have been released since Feb 15 after completing their 14-day mandatory quarantine.

As of today, four more people in Hong Kong have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the city's total to 74.

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New Labatt also asked to sign risk awareness declaration at NAIA

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By Vir B. Lumicao

New Labor Attache Mel Dizon pays courtesy call on Consul General Raly Tejada before buckling down to work

If you think only OFWs flying to Hong Kong are required to sign and submit a declaration that they are aware of the coronavirus risk before they can fly out, here’s what the new Philippine labor attaché says about his pre-departure experience.

Labatt Melchor B. Dizon said during an interview on his first day at work on Sunday, Feb 23, that he himself was asked for his declaration form at the immigration counter of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

He said there were no exemptions for diplomats like him and his papers were checked by the officer to find out if he was indeed allowed to travel.

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Labatt Dizon said he personally felt the impact of the epidemic that began in Wuhan City in China when he could not leave Manila soon after receiving his visa in the first week of February because he was overtaken by the travel ban to Hong Kong.

“Noong nagkaroon ng partial lifting, doon lang nakasama ang diplomats at kami nga hinihingian din…tinitingnan nga kung kami ay talagang authorized na mag-travel. Minsan nga ay hinihingian pa rin kami ng declaration,” he said.

“Buti na lang dala-dala ko lahat ng documents, ang resolution pa ng Interagency (Task force on Emerging Infectious Diseases), which is the basis ng aming exemption,” he said.

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He dismissed reports that the declaration form that all overseas Filipino workers must accomplish before being allowed to fly to Hong Kong and Macau must be notarized and approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

“Actually, hindi naman kailangan ang notarized, hindi naman kailangang magbayad… Kasi kapag sa POEA ang nag-notarize, wala namang bayad iyon. Gusto lang nilang pumunta roon para makita na sila ang nag-declare,” he said’

He said it was the Interagency Task Force’s decision to require the declaration, in which a departing worker states he is aware of the coronavirus epidemic in his destination. He described the declaration as a “safeguard” for the partial lifting of the ban.

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“Pero hindi ibig sabihin niyon ay wini-waive na ng government ang kanilang responsibility, kasi…talagang tutulungan ng gobyerno ang ating mga kababayan because that is our responsibility,” Labatt Dizon said.

The labor official received his marching orders to come to Hong Kong around November last year while he was the labor attaché in Greece. But he said he had to wait for his replacement before he could leave.

As the top labor representative in Athens, his jurisdictions covered the whole of Greece with some 20,000 Filipino workers, and the Greek half of Cyprus, which has about the same number of OFWs.

He said he conducted outreach missions for Filipinos in Cyprus all by himself.

Labatt Dizon buckled down to work on his first day in office.

Congen says he also briefed Labatt on the Consulate's priorities

After a courtesy call and lunch with Consul General Raly Tejada, who heads the Philippine mission in Hong Kong, he toured and observed activities in Polo and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Congen Tejada later told The SUN that Labatt Dizon is “surely capable and experienced. An asset to us all.”

Labatt Dizon also spent some time helping Assistant Labor Attaché Tony Villafuerte clear workers’ contracts piling up on the latter’s desk then squeezed in this interview before meeting with the Polo/OWWA staff.

He said his visit to PCG coincided with a meeting presided over by Congen Tejada to update officers on the latest developments in the Hong Kong contagion, and touched on the case of OFWs still stranded in the country.

He said he had no qualms about taking up his new post at this inauspicious time when Hong Kong is reeling from the new coronavirus infection.

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New Philippine labor attaché to HK set to take up post tomorrow

Posted on 22 February 2020 No comments

By The SUN

Labatt Dizon in Greece, his last overseas post before HK (photo from his Facebook account)

A senior official of the Department of Labor and Employment is set to take up the post of Philippine labor attaché to Hong Kong tomorrow, Feb. 23.

Lawyer Melchor B. Dizon, who previously served as labor attaché in Greece, Libya and Taiwan, will make a courtesy call on Consul General Raly Tejada in the morning, before assuming his post as head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.

Dizon arrived in Hong Kong from Manila Friday night. He hails from San Pablo, Laguna, and obtained his law degree from Arellano University.

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He worked at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) before serving as labor attache.

He was posted to Tripoli during the 2014 evacuation of Filipino nationals from Libya amid an outbreak of civil unrest. The year before, he brokered a deal that allowed Filipino nationals in Taiwan to get paid annual vacation. His last overseas posting was in Athens, Greece.

He takes over the position left vacant by the recall to Manila in July last year of popular labor attaché Jalilo dela Torre, who opted for retirement instead of taking up the offer to move to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Dela Torre was twice recalled by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for allegedly playing favorites with employment agencies, but Filipino community leaders staged widely publicized protests against the order.

In the latest case, Bello based his recall on a supposedly unauthorized deal brokered by Dela Torre to upgrade Polo’s 13-year-old online contract processing system.

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Assistant Labor Attache Antonio Villafuerte was appointed officer-in-charge at Polo pending the appointment of a new head.

Dizon takes over as top labor official in Hong Kong amid a worsening outbreak of the novel coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, which has left many OFWs vulnerable to discrimination and possible abuse, including being prevented from taking their weekly day-off.

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Migrant workers say they bear brunt of HK employers’ paranoia over virus

Posted on 21 February 2020 No comments

By The SUN

A Filipina sends money home wearing a raincoat on orders of her employer

Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong have been sharing stories online about how they have been treated with scorn by their employers, as if they were the ones who caused the spread of the novel coronavirus or Covid-19 in the city, or the ones most likely to spread it around.

The discriminatory treatment appears to have intensified after a Filipina domestic worker was reported as having tested positive for the virus on Feb. 18. Lost in the blame game was the fact that the helper was infected by her 67-year-old employer, and not by fellow Filipinos.

The worst case so far appears to be that of J.A., who sought help online after running a fever on Feb. 10, a day after she insisted on taking short day off to her employer’s displeasure.

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J.A. told townmates that she had been locked in a room and was fed only rice for two days, the reason why she felt weak and her fever had not subsided. Her employer had apparently suspected that she somehow got the virus from her fellow migrant workers although she was gone for only a few hours.

Her case was relayed to Philippine Overseas Labour Office head Antonio Villafuerte, who immediately asked J.A.’s agency to check on her. The next day her employer was told to give her adequate food, and J.A. said she felt much better. However, she said her employer told her to start doing light work even if she still had slight fever.

Many of the helpers are kept mostly at home, so they could only share their stories on social media, the only easily accessible platform for them to air the unjust stereotyping and discrimination they suffer in their workplaces.

Migrant support groups decry the discrimination that arose from the Covid-19 spread

Migrant workers groups have been up in arms over the situation, and have repeatedly pointed out that the illness was brought to Hong Kong by infected travelers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Based on statistics, they say the chances of Filipino helpers passing on the virus to each other is insignificant compared to them getting it from their employers’ home.

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Of the 68 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in Hong Kong, only one was Filipino, a maid with no travel history during the 14-day incubation period who takes care of her elderly female employer who caught the virus during a dinner with relatives.

Despite this, many helpers say they have been treated by their employers with disdain, especially after spending their rest day meeting with relatives and friends, attend to personal business, or even just to have a whiff of fresh air.

The hysteria was compounded by an appeal by the Labour Department to foreign helpers to stay at home on their rest day as a precaution to the spread of Covid-19 in the community.

Filipinos cram the Philippine Consulate on a Sunday for official transactions

On Feb 2, a Filipina helper in Yuen Long who took her day off to send money to her family was met outside the door by her irate employer who ordered her to wash her entire body with a disinfectant solution and dump her clothes.

She was then told to take a shower and, again, to disinfect herself before going to her room. As a result, the traumatized maid said in a post on the Facebook group DWC Help Group that she wanted to break her contract.

Another maid, Thess Mari, said in a post to DWC on Feb 20 that since the Covid-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, her employers had barred her from touching their food, to the extent that she had to use chopsticks to wash rice for cooking and wear a mask while eating.

She said they treated her as if she had the dreaded infection. Worse, the employers cooked food for themselves and left her with just a little to eat. When she complained, the female employer allegedly scolded her, telling her she was being paid to work.

What upset her more was how family members would tell her to step aside when they passed by, so she had to sit in a corner for most of the day. Unable to bear the maltreatment, she prepared a resignation letter.

Many helpers say they're being treated as if they brought the virus into Hong Kong

Another maid, J. M., said in a post that she had been allowed to go home by her employers to attend to her child’s problem. But then the employers changed their mind on Feb 20 out of fear that she might bring back the virus from the Philippines.

When they gave permission the first time, the employers also told her that when she returns to Hong Kong, she would be quarantined, supposedly to protect their family against infection. Many of the Filipina’s friends egged her on to point out that all the three infected cases in the Philippines, including one who died, were all Chinese tourists.

In a bizarre show of the locals’ misimpression that the helpers are agents of the disease, a Filipina maid went to a remittance shop in City Garden, North Point on Feb 20 wearing a raincoat apart from a mask, which many locals see as necessary protection against the virus.

She said her employer was afraid that she would catch the virus and bring it home.

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