Mission eyes expansion as it marks 35th year

By Vir B. Lumicao

Church-based non-government organization Mission for Migrant Workers is celebrating its 35th anniversary this month with an eye on expanding its services to outlying areas of Hong Kong and boosting its work from plain policy advocacy to social advocacy.
The Mission's foundation day was on Mar 3, but it was work as usual for the handful of staff and volunteers who man its offices on the St John’s Cathedral grounds. Mission general manager Cynthia Abdon-Tellez said the NGO had just finished the third 10-year impact evaluation of its outreach to migrant workers, the very reason for its existence, and had lined up some simple anniversary activities, as follows:· offering a special song in a High Mass on Mar. 6 at the St John’s Cathedral in thanksgiving for the church’s setting up of the NGO;· publication of the Mission’s new brochure in line with its progress;· release of case statistics on the various services it rendered in 2015; and· extension of services to migrant workers in far-flung areas of Hong Kong such as Stanley and Yuen Long.

Mission's Cynthia Abdon-Tellez

“Actually the initiative came from the Anglican Church, dahil kahit na sinasabi nila na walang problema, yaong nami-meet nila na mga migrants na nag-a-attend ng church service, napansin nila may certain level of stress. Siguro dahil nga malayo sila sa mga pamilya nila, mga nanay na ang iba. So noong 1980, ang response sa atin sa Pilipinas was nagre-request nga sila ng church worker,”she said,
In 1980, a young and idealistic trio comprising Cynthia and Jun Tellez, and Gina Alunan conducted a three-month survey in Hong Kong to find out the conditions of the Filipino migrant workers in the British colony and see what program could be implemented for them. The three came from three different religious sects: Jun was Methodist, Cynthia was Aglipayan, and Gina was Catholic. From the consultations they held with different people who lived here, they designed a program for the Filipino migrant workers. The program was named Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers because the initiative was tailored for Filipinos, the dominant group of foreign workers in Hong Kong, and the originators were from Manila.
According to the program, someone would attend to individual workers with problems. An education plan would be implemented for the Filipinos here who were mostly educated to tertiary level but could not read the employment contract because it was too complicated, but needed to know their rights and responsibilities.
“Kahit maturuan mo silang lahat at lahat iyan ay successful, parang wala ring mangyayari dahil ulit-ulit lang ang problemang iyan, so kailangan mo ng organizing,” Tellez said.
So organizing, research and documentation related to the policies and laws back home followed. When she presented the program in 1981, St John’s Cathedral along Battery Path was also thinking of a similar survey on the Filipinos and what should be done to help them. The three met with church leaders and in 1981 they set up the Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers, now housed in a building next to St John’s.
Over the years, the NGO began catering to the needs of various Asian workers in Hong Kong, so in 2005 it shed the word “Filipino” from its name but retained the acronym, MFMW, which by now meant Mission for Migrant Workers.
Since the Mission’s founding 35 years ago, the number of abused and aggrieved workers it extends help to has continued to grow, and they come from various faiths and nationalities. The Mission is church-based but serves all who need help because it is driven by faith. “So it doesn’t matter what the client’s faith is, hindi iyon ang tinitingnan,” she said.
In its early years, the NGO attended to many cases of Indian and Bangladeshi victims of abuse by their Hong Kong employers. Today, it is handling many cases involving both Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers, mostly concerning employers’ violations of the Labour Code and an alarmingly growing number of physical abuse of the migrant women.
“We thought the number of physical abuse cases would taper off after Erwiana’s case, but now we are seeing an increase in similar cases,” said Abdon-Tellez, citing recent reports of domestic workers being physically abused by their employers.
As of March 8, at least two Filipinas, an Indonesian and a Sri Lankan, joined the more than two dozen migrant workers who sought shelter in the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge after they were illegally terminated, maltreated or charged by their employers with offenses such as theft. Bethune House was set up by the Mission in 1986 originally to provide temporary shelter for Filipino domestic workers who were often banished by their employers penniless and with nowhere to go in the middle of the night. The Mission is planning to expand this year in outlying areas of Hong Kong such as Stanley, and in the New Territories such as Yuen Long, and other distant places far from Central to reach out to workers who congregate there on their days off.
“This year we’re trying to see whether makapag-expand kami hindi lamang sa Central o Kowloon areas kundi sa New Territories at ibang areas ng Hong Kong na hindi masyadong matatao kung saan merong a number of functions na dinarayo naman ng mga Pilipino,” Tellez said.
She said initially the Mission would visit those places on certain days of the week or certain Sundays in a month to establish regularity until people who need its services would know where to go. Tellez said the Mission’s new tack is to involve Hong Kong people in its social advocacy projects so that they will get to see up close the situation and understand better the sentiments of migrant workers.
The NGO has started tapping the local youth, mainly students, professionals and corporates to support its projects, ranging from strengthening ties between the FDHs and the local community through outreach and forums, to sourcing funding for its operations.

Politicos must clarify stand on OFW issues, says Bayan

By The SUN staff

Politicians running in the coming Philippine general elections should make a clear stand on issues that affect OFWs and draw up concrete programs that will help them.
This was according to Bagong Alyansang Maka-bayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes who said in an interview with The Sun Radio on March 4 that it is the duty of the government to ensure that workers who are deployed abroad should not be victimized by greedy employment agencies.
“Tumatakbo man sa eleksiyon o hindi, mahahalagang isyu sa amin yung labor export policy ng mga nagdaang administrasyon, basically yung kakulangan ng trabaho sa ating sariling bansa kaya kailangang mangibang-bansa ang maraming mga Pilipino,” Reyes replied when asked what issues its allied candidates will push.
“Mahalaga rin pong isyu yung mga napakaraming bayarin  o yung mga hindi makatarungang bayarin na ipinapasa sa OFWs. These are very real and concrete issues,” he added.
Reyes also cited the big number of Filipino migrant workers still on Death Row, a concern that was highlighted by the case of former OFW Mary Jane Veloso, who faces a death sentence in Indonesia for allegedly trafficking 2.6 kilos of heroin into that country.
Veloso was already scheduled for execution at midnight of April 29 last year, but she received a last-minute reprieve from Indonesian President Widodo following an appeal by various sectors led by OFWs.
“I think these are valid issues, at lalo na ngayong may eleksiyon, dapat pag-usapan ng mga tumatakbo sa halalan at dapat maging malinaw ang stand nila – ano ang gagawin nila sa mga problemang ito na makakatulong sa mga kababayan nilang OFWs,” he said.
On the issue of employment agencies charging OFWs huge sums in the guise of training, processing, medical exam, and other fees long after the government abolished placement fees in 2006, Reyes said it is the government’s job to protect the workers against exploitation by the agencies.
He pointed out the importance of “kalampagin” (shake up) those in government to act, adding that the new president, whoever he would be, should be prodded by the workers to include their crucial issues in his agenda for the first 100 days.
“Hindi naman siguro kalabisan na humingi ng action from the new president within the first 100 days ng kanyang panunungkulan … lalo sa pag-aalis ng mga di-makatarungang bayarin at yung mga pagkontra sa pagpataw ng mga di-makatarungang bayarin,”  Reyes said.
On the question of where Bayan stands regarding the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China over some islands and reefs in the West Philippine Sea, Reyes denied allegations that the alliance was siding with Beijing.
“Iyon nga ang nakakatawa dahil sa social media yung mga alipores ng administrasyong Aquino iyon ang pinalalabas, ngunit alam naman ng Philippine media at alam din ng lahat ng sambayanang Pilipino na ang pinakamalaking protesta laban sa China sa pangangamkam nito sa ating mga dagat at isla ay pinamunuan ng Bayan noong June 12 ng nakaraang taon. Iyon po ang single biggest protest action na dinaluhan ng kung ilang libo sa harapan ng Chinese (embassy) sa Makati,” Reyes said.
He said Bayan had also been very consistent in denouncing China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters, including the harrasment of Filipino fishermen in international waters, and deploying offensive weapons on the reclaimed islands.

Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes emphasizes a point in the interview with The SUN Associate Editor Vir Lumicao and Editor Daisy Catherine L. Mandap.

“We have criticized the illegal reclamation activities and the placement of weapon systems doon sa mga isla at inaalalayan din po namin ang mga mangingisda sa Zambales dahil hindi sila makapangisda doon sa Panatag Shoal dahil nga itinataboy sila ng mga China coast guard,” Reyes said.
Perhaps what makes Bayan different from other groups is that it has also harshly criticized the United States “because we don’t believe that the US is there to help us but to exploit our dispute with China to advance its own agenda, which, at the end of the day, is again disadvantageous to the Filipino people,” he said.
On the Philippine Left’s embracing the democratic process by fielding candidates in national elections, Reyes explained that Bayan is not pushing for armed struggle.
“Notwithstanding that perception, the Left has participated in the past party-list elections since 2001 at maraming natutunan ng ating mga iba’t ibang grupo,” the Bayan leader said.  The movement has been fielding its own candidates because it is necessary that the voice of the people is heard in that field, no matter how narrow it is. There are many limitations even in that arena, however, said Reyes.
He cited the unceremonious closing of a House session on Feb 3 when Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Neri Colmenares tried to push a resolution seeking a congressional override of President Aquino’s veto of a bill hiking the Social Security System pension by Php2,000.
“Tumindig siya para isulong ang SSS pension hike kahit hindi siya sinuportahan ng mayorya at Kongreso noon, ipinaglaban niya ngunit noong patapos na ang session pinatayan siya ng mikropono at biglang nag-adjourn,” Reyes said. The resolution was not put to a vote, he said.
That shows what kind of arena the electoral struggle is, he said. “Papasok ka diyan na may magandang intensiyon para sa bayan pero makikita mo na napakakitid ng larangan na iyan at yaong mga nasa kapangyarihan, kapag hindi gusto ang sinasabi mo, papatayan ka ng mikropono.”

Vote-counting gear, ballots for 2016 polls arrive

Some 95,000 official ballots and 10 vote-counting machines (VCMs) for the month-long voting by Hong Kong-based OFWs and Filipino residents in April-May general elections have been delivered to the Consulate.The ballots, packed in 95 cartons sealed in polyvinyl wrapping, were delivered by cargo company DHL at 2 pm on March 10, while the sealed VCMs and 65 resealable plastic ballot bins and their matching plastic mounts were delivered on March 1.   The Commission on Elections did not inform the Consulate in advance about both deliveries, according to consular officers, who said it was DHL that called them about theconsignments. They said the Comelec also did not ship a spare machine.Philippine media based in Hong Kong were invited to witness the delivery of the election paraphernalia.The Consulate had asked for 11 machines so that one would be on stand-by just in case any of the 10 breaks down on voting day, but Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, who oversees the overseas electoral process in Hong Kong, said Comelec cited “budget constraints” fornot shipping a spare machine.“I immediately emailed Atty Vanessa (Comelec Deputy Commission Vanessa Roncal) and called her at ang sagot niya sa akin ay yung budget constraints,” said Vallespin. “Ang sabi niya, even Jeddah, which had eight SBEIs, got only six VCMS.”The paraphernalia are part of some 97,000 VCMs that the Comelec has ordered from Smartmatic, a global provider of ballot scanning machines manufactured in Taiwan.The Comelec said the VCM has a secured source code that makes sure the votes are interpreted correctly; has an ultraviolet lamp that determines whether a ballot is genuine or fake; has the digital signatures of the SBEI who will certify the poll returns. The machine has a built-in voter verification paper audit trail, which serves as a receipt ofa person’s vote, according to reports of Comelec’s description of the vote scanner that replaced its unpopular predecessor, the precinct count optical scan (PCOS). “We did not expect the delivery of the ballots today (March 10), just like what the Comelec did with the VCMs. We were only informed by DHL, which called up this morning,” said Jethro Tull dela Cruz of the cultural section.The ballots, VCMs and ballot bins are now locked inside a spare room in the cultural section. Consul-General instructed her staff to transfer the machines and bins to that roomfrom the conference room to free the latter for meetings.
Vallespin said the machines would be installed in the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Townon April 5 where they will be kept under guard. The Consulate’s lease on the venue begins on April 4 and lasts until May 16, he said. On April 5, the three-day training of members of the special board of election inspectors (SBEI) and special ballot reception and custody group (SBRCG).Once installed in the 10 voting precincts where the 30 members of the 10 SBEIs will be stationed, final testing of the machines will be held in the presence of the Philippine media in Hong Kong, Vallespin said. “Final testing and sealing will be on April 8, at 9:30am at the Bayanihan Center. We’ll again invite all of you from the media,” he said. Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim will be in Hong Kong to switch on the machines and cast his vote here.

Poke at Pinays’ penchant for beauty pageants backfires

By Vir B. Lumicao

Filipino domestic helpers’ penchant for joining beauty pageants is a “puzzling phenomenon” by which they try to cast off the stigma of being mere “maids” as they pursue their Cinderella dreams in Hong Kong, a university lecturer said.
But Filipinos in the audience took exception when Dr Ju-Chen Chen, an anthropology lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the women aspired for college education only to work as domestic helpers abroad. The opposition prompted her to rectify her remarks.

Dr Ju-Chen Chen

Chen said the helpers’ fondness for expensive beauty contests, along with their “baffling”aspirations of obtaining college education and working overseas, needs to be understood in a much broader context including class culture and colonial cultural legacy.
She tried to delve into the Filipinas’ Cinderella syndrome in a lecture she gave on Feb 25 at the Hong Kong Museum of History before an audience of around 50 academics, students, NGO representatives and journalists.
She encapsulated her research in a Powerpoint and video presentation titled “Keep Catwalking: Education and Beauty Pageants of Filipino Migrant Workers in Hong Kong”. This began with photographs of some pageants staged by OFW groups to raise funds or by companies to promote their products.
Chen said Filipina helpers in Hong Kong “are often homogenized, exoticized, and stigmatized” as having no other purpose than sending money to families back home.“Filipino domestic helpers are usually seen spending their day off in Central. But they also have dreams of buying houses and experience motherhood,” said Chen.
On Sundays people usually see the domestic workers sitting in Central’s Statue Square and open spaces chatting or playing cards, while others “actively attend to personal chores, church volunteer work and beauty pageants.”
Chen said her research intended to look into the motivation behind the Filipinas’ active participation in beauty pageants where they readily spend about $15,000 each, way abovetheir monthly salaries. She said this activity had, in fact, driven many of them into debt.She showed video footages of two big OFW beauty pageants held recently in Hong Kong– the Miss Pinoyshot Princess 2013 that featured lavishly but scantily clad angels strutting on stage and the equally impressive “Miss Barkadahan 2015” contest held at the Hong Kong Convention Centre.
She pointed out the differences between the Pinoyshot, where the domestic worker contestants strutted on ramps imitating beauties in big international pageants, and the Barkadahan tilt, where the women participated with their “lady-male” partners in Broadway-like numbers.
“Compared with the spectacle and din of people idling in Central to those in the pageants,what I see are the aspirations, the dreams, the passions, ambitions, desires, fears, talk, the cheers, shouts,” Chen said.“Whenever they see their candidates coming out, they shout...and then  yell, and then they cry, and then they shout so loud, and everyone of the ladies on the stage, you look at how they move their bodies…” she said.
Then Chen moved on to show “the aspirations” of the Filipinas through a video uploaded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who narrated how a young woman named Riza Mae described how women on her island in Antique spent their lives collecting seashells. Zuckerberg then tells about Riza Mae using Internet.org to earn a degree in Computer Science, relying on her mobile phone to access the program and reach out to team members so that they could work on their thesis. Through her sheer patience and the wonder of the Internet, Riza Mae successfully finished the course and, in the final video scene, was standing on a fishing outrigger wearing a gown and toga, clutching a diploma as she sailed back to her island.
Chen made the mistake of remarking that the Filipinas’ aspirations are to go to college and earn a degree and then work abroad as maids. In the question and answer session, Filipinos in the audience pointed out some misconceptions in Chen’s research, such as the stereotyping of the women as aspiring to earn college degrees and then applying for domestic jobs abroad. Holly Allan, manager of Helpers for Domestic Helpers, said the helpers are in Hong Kong not by aspiration but by choice because there are no opportunities at home by which they could fulfill their dreams. She pointed out that many Filipina professionals who went to universities in Manila and are now employed by various companies in Hong Kong.
Ramon Bultron of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants said the migration of Filipino workers started in 1974 when the government passed a law that turned labor exportation into an industry.
Another pointed out that labor exportation was the only recourse because the Philippine population had exploded and the local economy could not create enough jobs to absorb the 700,000 who graduate annually from colleges and universities in the country.

Two women take charge at SSS HK

Despite having a market share that is the envy of other attached agencies in the Consulate, the Social Security System is still looking at recruiting more members from the 200,000-strong Filipino community in Hong Kong.
That is no mean feat, especially for the two lady officers who have recently been tasked to oversee the Hong Kong operations of the state pension fund for private-sector workers.
Asked how she gauges her Hong Kong job, Lucille Blesilda L. Simbol, who is at the helm of the SSS HK office said: “It is very challenging. This is a challenging post, kasi marami iyong mga OFW na nabibigyan namin ng service, pero fulfilling din po dahil alam naming nakakatulong.”

SSS’s dynamic duo:  Lucille Blesilda L. Simbol
and Rhea S. Balicas.

With only three other people working with her, Simbol’s team faces a formidable job of expanding the coverage of the fund beyond its current membership of between 42,000 to 50,000.
Simbol, a 40-year-old Tarlaqueña, gets help from her deputy Rhea S. Balicas, 37, who joined the team in Hong Kong only last August. Two male staff who have been with the SSS office for far longer time assist in entertaining members’ queries and attending to their needs.
The team of four take turns manning the service counter at the Consulate’s public areas, and doing desk work in their office in an adjacent area.
On weekends, the two ladies still manage to find time to sit at some borrowed shops in Worldwide House to attend to members, in between doing their laundry and other household chores.
However, Simbol, who was assigned to take over the helm in April last year, takes greater satisfaction in serving members in the SSS office at the Consulate.
“Hong Kong is like a full-service branch, so all transactions take place here. There are new members applying for numbers so they could make their first contribution. We also serve all those applying for benefits, namely sickness, maternity, loans, disability, funeral claims, and death claims,” said Simbol.
The Hong Kong office also processes claims for retirement benefits, and assists housing loan applicants by giving them a list of requirements.
“But for the filing, we have a so-called housing and asset management section so, we assist them in filing their applications with the nearest SSS office in the province where their lot is located,” Simbol said.
Her deputy, Balicas, noted that there had been an increase in loan applications over the past two months.
“Since January, nag-a-average po kami ng mga 5 a day, so 25 (sa isang linggo),” Balicas said.
But Simbol attributed the growth to OFWs taking out personal loans in preparation for their vacation this summer for their children’s graduation. She said the loans could be paid by check drawn against a Philippine bank for ease of transfer to the intended beneficiaries.
Simbol said it would take her team more effort to educate the OFWs to enroll in the pension fund and understand the benefits that they would get when they have fully paid up contributions or when they retire.
“Right now we’re advising them to opt for the mid-range Php1,100 per month contribution or higher so that they could receive a bigger monthly pension when they retire,” she said.
At that rate, the SSS calculates a member’s income as Php10,000 a month, which is also used as a basis for the computation of  the monthly pension.
“For those paying the higher rate of Php1,700, the basis of computation is Php60,000, so they would get five or six times the amount they had paid up as pension from us,” said Simbol.
“Yung sample namin kasi, kung iyong isang member nagbabayad ng Php1,700 for 10 years, when they retire halimbawa at kinumpleto ang 120 months, ang makukuha nila ay Php6,000 a month. So ilang multiples na siya,” she said.
Those who are still young stand to get a much higher pension if they opt to go for the Php1,700 contribution plan.
“Meron po kami kasing napapa-pensiyon na nasa Php12,000 hanggang Php14,000 a month. Iyon po ang mga nakapagbayad ng 20 years na contribution or higher,” said Simbol.
Those who, for whatever reason, lost their jobs could continue paying contributions as self-employed or voluntary members, meaning they shoulder the burden of paying the monthly contribution as both employer and employee.
But if they find a new employer they could revert to paying just the employee’s share.
Hong Kong is the first overseas post for Simbol and Balicas, who are both single, so they feel less vulnerable to homesickness than the majority of migrant women driven by economic need to part with their families.
But they admit that like the OFWs, they find it difficult getting adjusted to Hong Kong life.
Simbol has been with SSS for 12 years and came here from the branch office in Pangasinan. She holds a degree in business management from the University of the Philippines in Clark.
Balicas has been working with SSS for six years and was last posted in Iloilo before being moved to Hong Kong. She is a business administration graduate of Silliman University. – VBL

Ex-couple sued for firing pregnant helper

By Vir B. Lumicao

It was supposed to be a landmark civil case laid by a foreign domestic helper against her former employers to claim compensation for terminating her two days after they forced her to take a pregnancy test in 2013.
The three-day trial from March 7 at the District Court had hardly got started when Judge Alex Lee adjourned it until May 9 because the male employer who signed the Indonesian maid’s contract was absent, while his former wife showed up sick on the second and third days.
But before adjourning the hearing after a wasted half-day on March 9, Lee instructed prosecutor Earl Deng to look deeper into the Labour Code’s stand on the termination of an employee who is more than six months pregnant, as the maid was fired when her pregnancy was seven months.
Lee also asked the sickly female respondent, Chan Man-hong, if she had no objection to continuing with the trial without her giving evidence. Lee even hinted the possibility of the case being dismissed when he asked Chan if she would object to her legal representative obtaining advice from the claimant, Waliyah, “to proceed or if she is willing to drop the case against you?”
“The lawyer can’t do anything about it. The claimant can only do it, but in order for the lawyer to talk to the claimant, it must be with your consent,” Lee said.
The trial at the District Court stalled on Day 1 when both Respondent No. 1 Terence Yip Hoi Sun, the contractual employer, and Respondent No. 2, his ex-wife Chan, did not appear in court. The court could not locate Yip, who has separated from his wife for more than a year. Chan, when contacted by phone, said she was not feeling well.
On Day 2, Chan appeared but the judge spent the morning session asking why she failed to show up on the previous day, inquiring about her illness, asking for medical certificate, and requiring her to call up the clinic to verify her medical appointments.
She said she was in the hospital the previous day because she felt pain in her chest and had some other problems, including lack of sleep and the need to see a psychologist. She said the doctor had recommended a two-day rest including Day 2 of the trial.
Throughout the session, Chan appeared sick, drowsy, shivering, and occasionally moaning, tapping her chest and retching.
Before the lunch break, Judge Lee decided that the trial could not proceed with the respondent in such condition, so he adjourned the hearing until the next day.
On Day 3, Chan returned looking better than previously and asking permission from the court to have a male relative beside her to help her listen to the Cantonese interpretation of the proceedings.
Taking the witness stand, claimant Waliyah recounted how she was ordered by Chan to urinate in a potty in the toilet when she woke up on Oct 31, 2013, and afterwards the employer’s former wife dipped a pregnancy test strip into the receptacle. On Nov 2, the maid was fired.
Waliyah said that after her termination, she had difficulty finding a job. After giving birth, she looked for an employer and found one, but the job lasted only for six months. It was only on Dec 14, 2015 that she found a new employer who signed her up for a $5,000 monthly salary and a two-year contract.
She said that during the time that she was jobless, she stayed with PathFinders, an NGO that provides support and shelter to distressed migrant women workers and their children.
Prosecutor Deng said the maid is now claiming from Yip and Chan her wages in lieu of notice and compensation for her pregnancy dismissal. But more than the money claim, Deng said, the case had two important aspects – pregnancy discrimination which is also considered sex discrimination, and breach of contract.
He explained outside the courtroom that if the court issues a favorable judgment on the civil case, whose maximum penalty is a fine, it could pave the way for filing of criminal charges against the former employers for firing her because of her pregnancy.

Maid accuses employer of burning her arm

By Vir B. Lumicao

For not blanching vegetables fast enough, a Filipina domestic helper allegedly got her right forearm burnt by her Hong Kong employer on Jan 17, just over two weeks after the maid began working at the latter’s home in Wanchai.
Florence M. Pacio, 39, suffered a second-degree burn from the attack, which allegedly took place in the kitchen of the employer’s flat at Miramar Villas in Shui Fai Terrace.The Filipina showed a two- by four-inch oblong burn scar left by the attack on her right forearm, as well as two small round bruises on both sides of her chest that allegedly resulted from repeated finger-poking by the employer each time she made mistakes.

Burn attack victim shows
scar on her forearm.

Pacio said the burning incident took place in the kitchen on Jan 17. The helper said her employer was watching her blanch a basinful of vegetables in a wok of boiling water and prodding her in Cantonese to do it faster.Thinking that the boss was telling her to do it in one go, Pacio put all the vegetables at once into the wok, irking her employer.
“Suddenly she grabbed the stainless steel basin that lay next to the blazing stove and pressed it against my arm. (I said) Ma’am, you hurt me. My arm aches!’ I cried as my tears rolled down my eyes because of the pain,” the Filipina said.
The employer reportedly told Pacio to look for medicine in her room, but all that the helper found was a tube of toothpaste which she proceeded to apply on the burn. The next day, the employer brought home a cream for her injury. But the injury got infected and developed a large blister. The helper said her arm became numb and she could not stretch it.
“When I was about to take my day off, she told me told me not to tell anyone about the incident. ‘Don’t tell your friends’,” said Pacio, a mother of four teenagers who returned toHong Kong for her second employment in the city only on Dec 28.
After the burn attack, the employer reportedly began hurting Pacio on a regular basis, from poking her temples or chest with her finger, squeezing her face, or pinching her.
“Ma’am don’t do that to me, it hurts,” she would reportedly plead each time.
The employer in turn would say , “What do you want me to do, die in front of you?”
Pacio said every morning the employer would nag her or shout at her to the point of torment. Each morning, too, she was made to handwash a towel and hang in the bathroom to dry, but because of her injury she could not squeeze the towel very well. One morning in January, when the employer saw water from the towel dripping on the bathroom floor, she accosted Pacio and allegedly kicked her hard in her bottom and left waist.
“It was very painful. I told her to stop but she was still very angry,” said Pacio, pointing to her bottom and left side where the alleged kicks landed. She said there were still bruises on her body because of the attacks. “Whenever she would get angry she'd hit me on my head or squeeze my face,” Pacio said. “She also always calls me ‘chi sin’ (crazy).”
On Feb 17 at between 10 and 11 pm, the employer reportedly asked the maid to bring her a mug of hot water in the bedroom. When Pacio was already helping the employer’s mother with her Nebulizer, the employer came over and asked why she brought her hot water in the room. “I said I did just as she ordered, and she got mad,” the helper said, adding that before she realized it, her employer had already poured the hot water on her back from the nape down, as the Filipina screamed in pain.
On Feb 18 at around 4pm, the employer’s mother also allegedly attacked the maid, squeezing her ears and poking her head after seeing that the clothes were not hung properly in the room. The old woman again allegedly pinched her ears and squeezed her face the next morning after Pacio could not fix a defective lighting. “When my employer left, I texted my friend and told her I couldn’t take it anymore,” Pacio said.
On Feb 20, when she took her day off, her friend accompanied her to the employment agency where the agent allegedly offered to pay her salary and one month’s pay in lieu of notice in exchange for not reporting to the police. But Pacio, a vegetable farmer’s wife from Atok, Benguet, went to the police on Feb 24 after running away from her employer’s house, and told her story.

2 transiting OFWs fined for stun guns

Two Filipino workers were fined a total of $900 on Feb 29 in Tsuen Wan Court after pleading guilty to carrying three stunning devices in their baggage.
The two were arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on Feb 27 by aviation security officers who saw the banned items while scanning their baggage on an x-ray machine. They were charged with carrying unlicensed weapons.
The court was told that the two Filipinos were transiting Hong Kong for a connecting flight to Manila from Jakarta. One of the accused told investigators that he bought the two stunning devices found in his suitcase for US$24 each two years ago in Indonesia. The other said he bought his device for the same amount also in Indonesia.
They said that they were unaware the weapons were banned in Hong Kong, and that they were bought to be used for illuminating. The gadgets are a combined stun gun and flashlight.The first accused was fined $600 and the other, $300.

‘One strike’ rule set for rogue recruiters

By Daisy CL Mandap

In the clearest signal yet of the Philippine government’s desire to go after undesirable recruitment agencies, the new labor attache for Hong Kong has vowed to use the iron fist in dealing with recruiters found violating the laws.

Labatt Jalilo de la Torre.

Speaking to The SUN in an exclusive interview in Manila. days before he was set to assume his post in Hong Kong on Mar. 15, Jalilo or “Jolly” de la Torre, said he intends to strictly implement the “one strike policy” of the Philippine government. That means, immediately imposing strict sanctions on a Hong Kong-registered agency and its Philippine counterpart for a single infraction of the law.
“One violation will lead to disciplinary action to both Hong Kong and Philippine agencies,” de la Torre said.
The policy extends in particular to agencies found to have violated the Philippines' no-placement fee rule.
“The most immediate concern is obviously to protect OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) against excessive placement fees,” said de la Torre, who also vowed transparency and account-ability during his watch.
He added that with 590 agencies in Hong Kong accredited with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in Manila, there appears to be a need to weed out the undesirables.
“There are far too many of them, anyway,” he said.
An investigation conducted by the Consulate two years ago revealed that nearly 100 of these agencies were accredited only during the time of former labor attache Manuel Roldan, whose case for serious misconduct in office is still under review by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
De la Torre hinted he may adopt a freeze on accreditation, but would have to consult first with POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac.
The lawyer and veteran labor official said he will anchor his term in Hong Kong in the acronym REPEAT, to reflect his having been posted here previously as a deputy labor attache.
“R stands for reintegration planning, E for easy, faster and clean transactions, P for protection of OFWs, E for ethical recruitment, A for awareness of rights and T for teamwork (with the Consulate, Filipino community organizations and NGOs),” he said.
In line with his desire to work hand-in-hand with the stakeholders in the recruitment process, de la Torre promised to immediately convene the regular leaders’ forum which was the hallmark of the term of a predecessor, Bernardino Julve, now a commissioner at the National Labor Relations Commission.
De la Torre said he also intends to resume his old practice of doing a walkabout in Hong Kong on Sundays and attending Filcom events to better feel the pulse of the community.
He promised to look at the outstanding demands of OFWs, such as the resumption of selective direct hiring of domestic workers from the Philippines, the non-compulsory collection of membership fees to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the scrapping of the overseas employment certificate (OEC), but said these were matters that could be not be addressed readily at his level.
What he promised to work on immediately is to speed up the online processing of the OECs to put an end to the long queues seen during the peak application periods.
“I don’t understand why people would want to queue up for hours when they can do it (secure the OEC) in 5-10 minutes in the comfort of their homes?” he said.
He was aghast when told that because of the inexistent data base of OFW workers in Hong Kong, one has to queue up longer at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office to get enrolled in the much-touted Balik Manggagawa Online system than to secure the manually processed OEC.
He promised to immediately look into how the online registration process could be streamlined and improved to make it easier for workers who need the all-important OEC before going home to the Philippines for a vacation.
In the meantime, he said it may be worth looking into using the Bayanihan Centre again for OEC issuance while the online system is being improved to make it fully responsive to the needs of the 170,000 or so migrant workers in Hong Kong.
Another immediate concern is to work on the agenda of the planned resumption of high-level talks between labor officials in the Philippines and Hong Kong, originally set for Mar. 15, but has been indefinitely postponed so the two sides could continue to work on the agenda.
“Secretary Linda Baldoz would like to come if we could firm up the agenda,” he said.
He added the planned talks are an “honest to goodness” attempt to provide better working conditions and protection to OFWs.
De la Torre, who is in his late 50s, is a lawyer and bar topnotcher, and was previously a consultant at the National Reintegration Center of OWWA. He was last posted as a labor attache in Canberra, Australia, and also served in this capacity in Israel and Saudi Arabia.
His first posting abroad was in Hong Kong, where he served as a deputy to the late Dante Ardivilla.

Voyage to Fog Island

By Vir B. Lumicao

It was virtually a voyage into the unknown, at least for the first-timer who was on board the slow boat steaming south from the Central piers in the afternoon of Feb 13.

But for the four of us – my son Alvin, his wife Cocoa and daughter Athena -- who had been to Cheung Chau a few times some years ago, nature lent a bit of eeriness to the trip on that balmy day.

The Xin Guang had left the quay just 15 minutes earlier on its regular sailing to Cheung Chau and about a dozen or so of us on the aft deck were busy taking selfies and groupies against the diminishing skyline on both sides of the Victoria Harbour.

Most other passengers of the New World First Ferry vessel were content relaxing on their seats, snacking and chatting, or busy tinkering with their mobile phones while several others took advantage of the slow sailing to take a nap.

For the few of us who might have been tied down by our jobs during the week, the 45-minute boat ride spent on the deck was a welcome change, especially as warmer weather took over that weekend from the chilly days earlier in the week.

Suddenly the passengers on the deck were astir. From the starboard thick fog could be seen creeping towards Hong Kong Disneyland, Kwai Chung and Stonecutters’ Island. That was about 3:30pm. Five minutes later, there was only dense fog ahead of the ship; another five minutes later and we were in the midst of the mist.

One could say visibility was zero because even the afternoon sun could not shine through the blanket of fog. Twice the Xin Guang had to stop for a few minutes in response to the horn blasts of invisible but ostensibly large passing vessels, apparently ocean-going container ships headed for or coming from the Kwai Chung terminals.

The voyage was about 10 minutes towards its end when the ship had sailed past the mist and in the distance loomed Cheung Chau, an outlying island that has transformed from an ancient fishing village and pirate lair to a holiday destination bursting with visitors on weekends and public holidays.

Once we disembarked, our first instinct was to look a for a food shop to calm our hunger, but McDonald’s lone outlet on the island was full, and so were other eateries on the waterfront.

As an alternative, we tried Cheung Chau’s famous mango mochi, a sweet sticky rice bun filled with a slice of Philippine mango, spiral crispy fried sweet potato, and fried ice cream – yes, fried ice cream. It’s a scoop of ice cream wrapped in sticky rice flour dough then deep fried until crispy brown.

Originally we planned to take a dip in the quiet waters of Tung Wan Beach, but during the hour or so of our food tripping and stroll on the island’s streets, the fog had moved in again.

At 5pm it was already dusk and gloomy on the beach, with only three or four youngsters discernibly playing in the knee-deep water on the beach. Where the shoreline started all we could see was fog so eerily thick that the people on the beach looked like they were standing on the edge of the world.  

We could see no farther than 100 meters such that the Cheung Chau landmark, Warwick Hotel, on our right was nowhere in sight, and so was the allegedly haunted Bela Vista Resort, notoriously called “Suicide Hotel” to our left.

Deterred but thrilled by one of nature’s quirks, we decided to take the next voyage back to Hong Kong Island.

How to get there:  At Central Ferry Piers, take NW First Ferry to Cheung Chau on Pier 5.  The company operates both slow and fast ferry services every hour 22 hours a day to and from Cheung Chau, with intervals varying from 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes for the Central-Cheung Chau outbound sailings and from 5 minutes to 30 minutes for the Cheung Chau-Central sailings. From Monday to Saturday the fare on the slow boat is $13.30 ordinary and $20.70 de luxe. Fares are higher on Sunday and public holidays at $19.40 ordinary and $30.20 de luxe. Seniors, children and the disabled pay $6.60 ordinary and $10.40 de luxe.  Fares on the fast ferry are $25.80 Monday to Saturday and $37.20 on Sundays and public holidays. Seniors, children and disabled pay $12.90 Monday to Saturday and P18.60 on Sundays and public holidays.

Undocumented OFWs also eligible for SSS membership

By Vir B. Lumicao

Perhaps unknown to most Filipinos, TNTs (tago nang tago or illegal immigrants) and undocumented OFWs can still become bona fide Social Security System members eligible for pension and other benefits when they return home.

That’s if they enroll as self-employed members in the state-run pension fund for private-sector workers, an SSS officer at the Consulate has told The SUN.

“The only requirement is their (applicants’) birth certificates or passports, whichever is available,” Rhea Balicas, SSS representative in Hong Kong, said.

Balicas, who moved to Hong Kong in August last year from the regional office in Iloilo, said she had noticed an increase in the number of OFWs in Hong Kong reactivating their dormant membership in SSS since the middle of January.

She explained that undocumented workers who apply for membership now would also be covered by all benefits accruing to other members when they return to the Philippines.

Balicas had been assigned to oversee the pension fund’s Macau operations in addition to her job in the SSS Hong Kong office at the Consulate.

She estimated that there are about 45,000 Filipinos working legally in Macau, mostly in the enclave’s hotel and gaming industry. Several thousand more of undocumented OFWs are also working in the same industry or in households as domestic helpers.

To serve the Filipinos in Macau, SSS has posted a staff member at the Philippine  Consulate there. But Balicas said she expects to make regular weekend trips there to help attend to the needs of clients, and to encourage more OFWs to sign up for membership, or inactive members to reactivate their accounts so they could get full benefits.

Balicas cited her father’s experience as example of the importance of being fully covered by SSS. “My father, 25 years siyang OFW sa Middle East. Pinabayaan din ng papa ko yung Pag-IBIG niya at yung SSS niya, talagang wala. But later on,  siguro noong malapit na siyang mag-60, mga 50 something, na-realize niya na, ‘Uy! Meron palang ganito.’ ‘Yun nga, itinuloy niya ang SSS niya,” Balias said. Now her father has retired and is receiving a monthly pension. 

Baldoz to return for talks with HK counterpart

By Daisy CL Mandap

Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz is set to return to Hong Kong middle of next month for another round of talks with her local counterpart, Matthew Cheung.

Sources in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) say the visit of Secretary Baldoz has been tentatively set for Mar. 15. However, the agenda for her meeting with Cheung, the second in seven months, has yet to be set.

In the meantime, DOLE is said to be working on getting newly appointed labor attache Jalilo de la Torre to take up his post ahead of the scheduled talks.

De la Torre, a lawyer and former deputy labatt in Hong Kong, had been expected to arrive as early as January this year, but his appointment has yet to be cleared by the SAR government.

Eman Villanueva, chairperson of Bayan Hong Kong and Macau, said he does not expect much from the upcoming meeting between the two labor officials, as not much was achieved from their earlier talk on Aug. 7, hailed as a “breakthrough” by both sides.

“Kahit yong sinasabi nilang ‘sharing of information’ ay hindi naman malinaw kung paano magbebenepisyo ang mga OFW,” said Villanueva.

“Tuloy pa rin naman ang illegal collection (ng placement fee) hanggang ngayon. Madami sa ating mga kababayan ay nagbabayad ng between Php70,000-Php85,000 pa rin”.

During their talk, the labor officials agreed to be more transparent in the amount of fees that should be collected from both employers and domestic workers. Baldoz said she raised concerns about the excessive charges made by employment agencies to OFWs "which put them in debt bondage that defeats their purpose of working abroad".

In response, Cheung reportedly said it was an issue of mutual concern, and stressed that

Hong Kong does not tolerate any abuse of foreign workers and is "very serious about violations of its laws, rules, and regulations, particularly against women."

Since the meeting, Hong Kong has cracked down on employment agencies reported to be charging excessive fees. Last year, nine agencies were convicted of the offence, and most had their licenses cancelled.

In contrast, DOLE has overruled a cancellation order issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration against Findstaff Employment Services, Inc. after it was found guilty of overcharging seven Hong Kong-based domestic workers. In a recent order, DOLE sent the case back to POEA for further hearing.

This came nearly a year after Findstaff’s Hong Kong counterpart, Satisfactory Employment and Travel Services, was found guilty of collecting as much as $21,000 each from four Filipina domestic workers. Satisfactory was fined and ordered to return the excess charge. It has since shut down.

Drugs arrests set off warning from Consulate

By Vir B. Lumicao

The arrests of two Filipinas in seven days in connection with suspected drugs trafficking into Hong Kong have prompted the Consulate to issue a warning for vigilance among would-be travelers to the territory.

Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, who is acting head of the assistance to nationals section, said Filipinos should make sure any goods or presents that friends request them to carry do not contain illegal items.

“Pinapaalalahanan namin ang ating mga kababayan na bumibiyahe papuntang Hong Kong, whether tourists, workers or residents, na huwag magdadala ng mga ipinagbabawal na droga at gamot dahil definitely napakahigpit ng Hong Kong airport,” Vallespin said.

He also said the latest arrests were alarming as they involved bigger amounts of drugs. He said the Consulate had been communicating to the airport authorities in Manila its misgivings about why such huge consignments of illegal drugs could clear Customs undetected at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The warning came after the two Filipinas -- one a domestic helper in Dubai and another who claimed to be a merchant from Cebu – appeared separately in Tsuen Wan Court on Feb 15 and 16 to face charges of trafficking in dangerous drugs.

The OFW, identified in court documents as Gimena Penascosa, was arrested on the evening of Feb 13 shortly after arriving from Dubai with 248 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing a total of 4.46 kilograms with a market value of $4.8 million.

The second was Rizza Mae Argamaso, 28, who was held after arriving in Hong Kong from Cebu with 5.3 kilos of suspected cocaine hidden inside shoes, folders and handbags.

“Pinapaalalahanan natin ang mga kababayan natin na kung nakalusot sila, darating at darating ang panahon na mahuhuli sila,” Vallespin said.

“Hindi basta-basta ang parusa. Five million dollars yaong pinakamataas na fine at life imprisonment ang nakasulat sa Hong Kong Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. Hindi po biru-biro iyon,” he said.

The usual excuse of arrested carriers is that they have only been requested to deliver parcels for friends and other people without knowing what the contents are, said Vallespin.

But as shown by a number of cases over the years, the courts or juries rarely accept this as a valid excuse. “You’ve got to be vigilant, especially if you don’t know what’s inside the package,” he said.

HK agency in deeper trouble over illegal fees

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Hong Kong recruitment agency is in deeper trouble as more Filipino domestic workers have emerged in recent weeks complaining against its alleged collection of excessive placement fees which they were made to pay by borrowing from a lending company.

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office says it has endorsed the complaints of seven helpers against Best Choice Employment Centre Co Ltd to Hong Kong’s Labour Department for “appropriate action and assistance”.

POLO has also referred the cases to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for the suspension or cancellation of the agency’s accreditation.

In the meantime, Acting Labor Attache Ma. Nena German said she has also suspended the verification of all documents submitted to POLO by Best Choice.

The new cases were reported about a month after The SUN reported the case of Filipina helper, Dexter Vargas, who filed a complaint against Best Choice with Labour’s Employment Agencies Administration for allegedly charging $9,000 in placement fees.

Hong Kong’s laws allow the collection of only 10% of the domestic worker’s first monthly salary.

Vargas alleged that the agency forced her to borrow money from a lending firm upon her arrival in Hong Kong on Aug 23 so she could pay the fee. It was the same modus allegedly used by the agency in exacting illegal fees from the latest batch of complainants, although the amounts they were forced to borrow from the lending firm varied.

On Feb 11, German endorsed to both the EAA and POEA a complaint filed by Jacquiline G. Bernardo, who alleged that the agency charged her $10,600 which she was made to pay upon her arrival by taking out a loan from the lending company.

Bernardo had sought help from The SUN and POLO on the night of Feb. 4 so she could leave her employer’s house after terminating their contract. Bernardo said she did not wish to go with the agency’s representative who had been called by her employer to fetch her.

On Feb 14, six other helpers went to POLO and filed their complaints against Best Choice. They were Wong Rachel l C. Frio, Noralyn A. Ternate, Monaliza B. Adarayan, Gladys Mae G. Villegas, Mary Ann J. Buna and Mariel Joy G. Juan.

Asked what action POLO could take against erring agencies aside from referring cases to to POEA, she replied: “Cancellation of accreditation is within the jurisdiction of POEA. We stop processing, hindi na sila makakapag-process. So it has also the same effect as accreditation being cancelled.” 

Tayo na sa Inspiration Lake

Ni Jo Campos

Sawa ka na bang umistambay sa mga bangketa ng Central? Napuntahan mo na ba ang halos lahat ng mga mall? Nakakasakal na ba ang maingay, masikip at maruming hangin sa siyudad?

Kung ganoon, tara na at pumasyal sa may bandang HK Disney, sa Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre. Ang pasyal na ito ay para sa mga kapos sa budget, at hindi kaya ang entrance fee sa Disney na nagkakahalaga na ngayon ng tumataginting na $539.

Ang buong Recreation Centre na bahagi rin ng Disney, ay may lawak ng 30 ektarya at makikita sa Penny’s Bay sa Lantau Island. Ang Inspiration Lake na nasa sentro nito ay may lawak naman na 12 ektarya, at kilala bilang pinakamalaking artipisyal na lake o lawa sa buong Hong Kong.

Ang lalim nito ay nasa pagitan ng 6.5 hanggang 7.5 metro, at nagsisilbi itong irigasyon o patubig sa kabuuan ng Penny’s Bay. Binuksan ito sa publiko noong 2005 bilang isang pasilidad na pasyalan at reservoir para sa irigasyon.

Bukod sa pasyalan, ito ay may jogging path na 1,500 metro ang haba, playground para sa mga bata, mga gazebo, water cascade at water jet o fountain na bumubuga ng 18 metrong tubig pataas.

Sa lawa ay may mga isdang koi na makukulay at nakaaliw pagmasdan. Maaring libutin ang lawa sa pamamagitan ng bangkang de pedal na mauupahan sa halagang $120 bawat oras, at nakakapagsakay ng hanggang apat na katao.

Maari ding magsapin at mag-picnic sa ilalim ng malalagong puno na nagkalat sa malawak na damuhan. Dahil sa ganda ng tanawin sa paligid, tiyak na magkakasayahan ang mga magkakabarkada sa pagkuha ng mga litrato. Kaya’t huwag kalimutan ang mga camera o smartphone, at higit sa lahat, ang selfie stick at power bank, para walang patid ang kasiyahan ng barkada.

Dahil sa nakalilibang na tanawin, maaliw sa paglalakad sa kabuuan ng lugar na hindi namamalayan ang oras at pagod, kaya makakapag-eehersisyo na rin. Iba kasi ang sariwang simoy ng hangin sa paligid na napalilibutan ng kabundukan ng Lantau.

Sa ibang hindi mahilig maglakad, may mga paupahang “surrey bikes” o pedicab sa ating lenggwahe na maaring gamitin sa pamamasyal. Sa halagang $120 kada oras, maaaring mamasyal magkakasama ang hanggang apat na katao.

Sa isang bahagi ng Inspiration Lake ay isang kubling lugar na kung tawagin ay arboretum. Ito ay isang hardin ng mga punong kahoy na may iba’t-ibang uri at katangian. May mga malilim na lugar na pahingahan din dito.

Kung walang baon na pagkain ay may tindahan sa bungad ng Inspiration Lake, kung saan maaring bumili ng mga pang meryenda na pantawid gutom

Matapos ang maghapong kasiyahan at salu-salo kasama ang barkada, bistahin na rin ang bungad ng HK Disney at ituloy ang pag-se selfie at litratuhan sa harap ng Mickey Mouse fountain.

Kung nais manood ng fireworks sa Disney, hintayin ang gabi at tiyak na abot tanaw ito mula sa inyong kinaroroonan sa Inspiration Lake. Siguradong isang masayang pamamasyal at ika nga ay “bonding” ng barkada ang biyaheng Lantau!

Mararating ang Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre mula sa Central Station ng MTR patungo sa Disneyland. Paglabas ng MTR, sa gawing kaliwa pumunta at bagtasin ang malawak na parking area. Lumakad patungong Magic Road hanggang sumapit sa Fantasy Road. Sundan lang ang mga karatulang nagtuturo papunta sa Inspiration Lake. Higit kumulang sa 15 minutong paglalakad ay mararating na ang patutunguhan.

Ang Inspiration Lake ay bukas araw-araw mula 9:00 ng umaga hanggang 7:00 ng gabi at ito ay libre para sa lahat.

Ang Inspiration Lake ay naging puntahan na ng maraming Pilipino (itaas) at mga magsing-irog dahil sa magandang tanawin.