Platinum Plans clients press fight to regain money

Hong Kong-based OFWs who have invested in Platinum Plans Philippines Inc. are planning another attempt to recover their money from the pre-need company which went under several years back.

Five customers with a total exposure of nearly Php2 million in the company are planning to join a court action in the Philippines to force the court-appointed liquidator to pay up. They also rejected an offer by the liquidator to pay each investor a measly Php1,000 as initial payback for their investment.
Platinum Plans Philippines, Inc. was put under a court-ordered rehabilitation plan in August 2005, which was to last for eight years. Under this plan, the company's assets were held in trust by a liquidator for distribution, payment or settlement of claims from stakeholders.
However, many investors found out recently that their names were missing from the master list of claimants published by the liquidator.
The five Hong Kong-based plan holders led by Marlyn Agasa, paid a call to The SUN on  Jan 3 to ask for help in getting hundreds of other investors who are still working in Hong Kong to join them in their claim.
"Nag-alok ang liquidator ng Platinum Plans na bigyan ng paunang-bayad na tig-isang libong piso kaming mga plan holder, pero hindi kami papayag," Agasa said.
"Ilang taon naming pinaghirapan ang perang inihulog sa mga kinuha naming plan, tapos ganun lang ang ibabalik sa amin," she added.
A certain Liquidator Cruz said on his Facebook webpage that only claimants with a BDO bank account would receive the full amount of Php1,000; those with accounts in other  banks would be charged Php150.
Plan holders in Manila who accepted the initial payment said they were asked to sign a quitclaim, which means they cannot file a case against the company.                                                                       Agasa, who herself had invested Php257,000 in two pre-need plans offered by PPPI, estimated that 500 investors of the fallen company are still in Hong Kong.
She wants all her fellow investors in Hong Kong to link up with Platinum Plan Philippines Plan Holders Association Inc., which is spearheading the fight to recover their money.
Agasa said plan holders who went to the Public Attorneys' Office in Makati in January to pursue their case were told that each member must submit his/her original indigent certificate, a copy of his/her certificate of full payment as proof of being a plan holder, and pay a membership fee of Php1,000 to pay for costs.  
In January 2007, investors in Hong Kong formed the Migrants Action for Protection of Rights and Livelihood "to defend themselves against unscrupulous schemes and practices" that victimize OFWs.
But Agasa said this group seems to be inactive now.
"Gusto naming kontakin ang lahat ng mga kumuha ng pre-need plan sa Platinum Plans para magbubuklod kami at sumama sa grupo ng iba pang mga planholder sa Pilipinas naghahabol ngayon sa kumpanya," Agasa explained to The SUN.
She said by linking up with claimants in the Philippines, there is hope they could recover their investments estimated to run into hundreds of millions of pesos.
Agasa, a domestic worker here for 20 years now, said she bought a Schoolmaster Plan in 1999 for a quarterly premium of Php4,822, or a total of Php98,440. She also bought a Savings and Investment Plan 100 that was to pay her a Php100,000 lump sum pension upon maturity on Aug 16, 2015, in addition to a yearly Php20,000 allowance starting from 2006.
Her companions Bernadette Fajardo has a total investment of P500,000; while Fe Ablola has Php280,000; Juliana S. Cara, more than Php300,000; and Rubelyn Adriana, has  Php400,000.
Although they are not optimistic of recovering all the money they have invested in the company, they are hoping that by joining up with the Philippines-based victims, they could get relief.
Platinum Plans, along with other, even bigger pre-need companies College Assurance Plans, attracted tens of thousands of investors, many of them OFWs,  during their heyday in the '70s and '80s.
When it sought court protection to undergo rehabilitation and suspend payment of claims from investors in July 2005, Platinum Plans had 37,000 plan holders.
Agasa said plan holders who want to link up with her group may call her at 944414643 and 94373068; Fe Ablola at 95469865; Bernadette Fajardo at 94518454; and Juliana Cara at 67343922.

Netizens debate jailing of Sasa owner’s maid for theft

The recent jailing of a Filipino domestic worker for allegedly stealing $50,000 worth of branded goods from her employer, Eleanor Kwok, the founder of cosmetics group Sa Sa, has set the internet abuzz.
Irene Canoneo Gomera, the 34-year-old helper, was jailed for two months after she confessed to stealing bras and branded handbags, among other valuable items, from Kwok’s house on Island Road in Deep Water Bay.
The helper was immediately fired after her arrest.
Not a few netizens, especially on expatriate sites like GeoExpat, questioned why the helper was jailed for taking “a couple” of items” from her employer.
The opening post from “Lord Dashwood” read: “My take...why was she sent to prison? Was that really necessary? Finally, would you have called the police? I'm not sure I would have...anyway, how the hell is this news...someone steals a couple of handbags and some phone chargers??”
But Sri, another commenter countered: “$50K worth of product taken from you and you'd not call the cops? What would your threshold be? I read the news over the weekend and thought everyone got what they deserved.”
To this, Hullexille replied: “If she stole HKD 50k worth of stuff from a shop what would her sentence have been? Personally I would have tried to get my stuff back and/or the money, then sacked her rather than call the police.”
Another who goes by the name TheBrit, opined: If anyone stole from me, I would call the police and expect to see them prosecuted.” But as an afterthought added: “I have not followed this case at all, but it does strike me as pretty odd that the "stolen goods" were simply lying about in the maids room. It also highlights yet another issue with the FDH system forcing maids to live in with their employers - making the potential for framing very easy. No idea if this happened in this particular case though - presumably not as she seems to have pleaded guilty”.
Court records showed Kwok was Gomera’s first employer. In mitigation, the defense lawyer said the made had given in to “temptation” as she’d never been exposed to so many valuable items in the past.
Apart from handbags and bras, Gomera reportedly stole T-shirts, socks, umbrellas and phone chargers.
The court was told Gomera is a single mother of two, and her children are currently being looked after by their grandparents. She would most likely be deported back to the Philippines after serving her sentence. – The SUN

Terminated DH claims agency made her take out loan to pay illegal fee

By The SUN staff

Vargas

A Filipina domestic worker has filed a complaint with the Hong Kong Labour Department against a local employment agency that allegedly forced her to take out a loan from a lending company so she could pay a $9,000 placement fee.
Dexter F. Vargas, 25, filed the complaint on Jan. 11, after failing to recover the excessive fee allegedly charged by her recruiter, despite seeking help from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO).
Under Hong Kong’s labor laws, only 10% of the helper’s salary for the first month, which in this case is $410, should be collected as agency fee. Moreover, obliging a worker to take out a loan to pay for the illegal fee is seen to be exacerbate the offence.
Vargas told The SUN that within hours of her arrival in Hong Kong on Aug. 22 last year, she and two other Filipina workers were taken by staff of the agency to Ample Corporation Limited in Wanchai so they could each apply for a $11,000 loan.
The loan agreement stipulated a 48% interest per annum, making the total amount she needed to repay in six months to $12,672.
However, Vargas said she did not get to touch the money. The agency staff took the $9,000 as payment for her placement fee, and held on to the remaining $2,000 so it could be sent to her parents in the Philippines. The latter was apparently a ruse to show that it was Vargas who had received the money from the financing company.
The Filipina said the $9,000 was on top of the $20,000 or so that her employer claimed to have paid the agency for recruiting Vargas to work for her.
In the complaint form she filled out and sent to the Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) of the Hong Kong Labour Department, Vargas said, “I was forced to loan (sic) in a finance company by my agency amounting to HKD11,000 as payment for training fee, processing fee, medical in the Philippines, and including the agency fee upon my arrival in Hong Kong last August 22, 2015. The HK2,000 was sent to my family in the Philippines”.
On Dec. 14, or exactly three months and 21 days after she started working for her employer in Cheung Sha Wan, Vargas was told that her work contract was being terminated. Her employer, who cited financial incapacity for letting her go, told her to go to her recruitment agency to collect all payments due her.
But when she got to the agency’s office in Causeway Bay, all she got was a scolding because the employer had reportedly complained that Vargas had been dishonest and was stealing things from her house. The employer reportedly cited these reasons for refusing to pay any money to her. All she was given was a return air ticket to her hometown in Bicol.
 “I was surprised because my relationship with my employer was very good, we were friends and she was very cordial. On the night before she terminated me, she explained that the family had financial difficulties and could no longer afford to pay me,” she said.
Vargas said the employer even saw her off, and promised to write her a favorable release letter. She was thus shocked to read a termination letter handed to her by the agency citing her alleged dishonesty and theft as reason for the termination.
“If I really took things from her, why did she not accuse me directly, or call the police?”, Vargas said. “Why wait until I had left before making up all those allegations?”
She could only surmise that her agency was also behind the bad termination letter, in an attempt to keep her from getting any money from her employer.
As she had no money left on her, Vargas said she tried to claim back the $4,000 that had been withheld by the agency from the $11,000 loan that she was forced to take. However, the agency told her this could not be done because half of her loan was still unpaid.
In desperation, Vargas said she went to POLO to seek help and ask for a computation of the money that she knew was due her, but the people there were not helpful.
“Ate, tatlong buwan ka lang? Wala kang makukuhang bayad,” a staff member she later identified as welfare officer Lorna Obedoza reportedly told her in a smug tone.
Even Acting Labor Attache Ma Nena German was not helpful. During a conciliation meeting with her agency’s representative, German reportedly told Vargas that if she was terminated summarily for personal reasons, the employer is not obliged to pay her a month’s salary in lieu.
But nowhere in the Labour Department’s Practical Guide for the Employment of Domestic Helpers is “personal reasons” cited as justification for terminating a helper without notice or payment in lieu of notice.
Labour’s guidelines advise employers: “You may summarily dismiss your helper without notice or payment in lieu of notice if your helper, in relation to the employment: willfully disobeys a lawful and reasonable order; misconducts himself/herself; is guilty of fraud or dishonesty; or is habitually neglectful of his/her duties.”
However, the fraud cited in the guidelines must be backed by proof, and not simply alleged by the employer as in this case.
Vargas said she was in a series of conciliation meetings with German and the agency owner between Dec 23 and Dec 29. During this time, the helper told German about being taken by her agency to apply for a loan so she could pay the illegal placement fee.
The agency owner readily admitted taking $9,000 from the loan, but reportedly said he used part of it to pay ATD Employment & Training Services, its counterpart agency in the Philippines.
As a compromise, he agreed to pay the balance of Vargas’ “loan”. Subsequently, the agency owner handed Vargas a certificate dated Dec 29. stating that her loan to Ample had been “fully repaid”.
Surprisingly, German reportedly showed no sign of disapproval over the agency’s irregular act of forcing Vargas to take out a loan to pay for an illegal placement fee.
Vargas even quoted German as saying, “Ngayon quits na kayo. Wala ka nang utang.”
In reality, Vargas paid the money lender nearly $7,000 during the three months that she had worked for her employer. Of the $11,000 originally pocketed by the agency, a total of $4,950 was paid back to the financing company to settle the balance, leaving the recruiter still with a hefty $6,000 for the placement that had gone sour.
When she told the labor official about the agency’s offer for her to move to Macau, German, instead of dissuading her, reportedly just asked if she was interested in the offer. Vargas said it was she who turned it down, as she knew she could become an undocumented worker there, and also because she had no money for the placement fee that the agency was again charging her.
As a consolation, German reportedly told Vargas that she could claim her $4,000 from ATD, her agency in Manila, but did not give her an endorsement letter or any document that could help her pursue her claim.
The SUN tried to get German’s side on Jan. 11, but she said she was rushing to a meeting. She said she did not recall any case concerning the agency in question, and complained that the questions about it were making her tense.
Later, she reportedly told Vargas that The SUN should have asked for an appointment first if it wanted her side in the story.
Meanwhile, Vargas has decided to stay put. With help from the Mission for Migrant Workers, she has filed a claim against both her employer and her agency, saying “this is the right thing to do”.

Congen Bernie makes post-Christmas wish

By Vir B. Lumicao

Congen Catalla and her guests.

After one and a half years in Hong Kong, Consul-General Bernie Catalla is wishing for one thing to happen this year: that she becomes an ambassador, which will mean her being sent to another overseas post.
“I’m wishing na ma-post na ako, for my own professional growth.  Para maging ambassador naman ako,” Catalla told The SUN in an interview on Jan 4.
“Kasi hindi naman ako magiging ambassador (in Hong Kong)… I’ll be frank, sa totoo lang, gusto ko ang Hong Kong.”
But she said fulfillment of that wish would depend on the successor of President Benigno S. Aquino III, who will appoint replacements when the incumbent steps down along with his appointees after the May elections.
“I wish the new President or the new secretary of foreign affairs won’t forget me.”
Catalla spoke with The SUN after hosting a Christmas party for the second year in a row for the neighborhood OFWs at the official residence at Villa Venetto in Mid-Levels, this time with a bigger attendance as new faces joined the merriment.
The event was planned after Congen’s OFW friends asked her back in early December if there would be another Christmas party at her home as they had in 2014. So the diplomat, a renowned cook, prepared food with help from some visting relatives, but was surprised that about 50 guests turned up, most of them new faces.
 “Wow! Sabi ko, siguro mga kaibigan ng mga tagaroon. Karamihan naman sa mga tagaroon hindi nakapunta dahil may mga Christmas party ang kanilang mga amo,” she said.
Like the tens of thousands of OFWs in Hong Kong who come from different, remote regions of the country, the revelers came from various corners of the territory to celebrate the day with the consul-general.
“May dumating ng mga 10pm, nag-prepare pa ng sayaw,” Catalla said, showing The SUN a cellphone photo of a group of ladies performing a modern dance.
“May mga dumating mag-aalas-dose na ng gabi, kasi raw may party ang kanilang mga amo. May grupong nag-exchange gift.”
As the arrivals were staggered, there were some who took leave early, saying they had come all the way from Yuen Long; while another woman said she lived in Aberdeen. Another woman left an impression.
“Eto, ang ingay ng babaeng ito, akala ko taga-Villa Venetto. Pagdating ng 9pm, sabi, ‘Maam, mauuna na kami. Sa Repulse Bay pa ako.’ Parang sanay na sanay na rito,” Catalla said, showing the photo of a group of women. “Siya raw ay dating tagarito, lumipat na raw.”
A Filipino family who used to live in Villa Venetto, came and shared the fun. They said they were now staying along Robinson Road.
Then came a big group led by a pastor and his preacher-wife from Yuen Long. Catalla said they were invited by the Filipina helper in the flat above hers. “Sinabi raw nila kasi, ‘Pakisabi naman kay Congen baka puwede kaming umatend’ and I said yes, so they came, marami sila.”
The host welcomed their presence because the Pastor would be able to bless the food.
In retrospect, Catalla said the first Christmas party she hosted for the OFWs in 2014 had been propitious. “I opened my house to them, so, kapag day-off ko, Friday, may magri-ring. ‘Madam, nagluto kami ng ganito.’ ‘Ma’am, gumawa ako ng puto. Tikman nyo.”
She said that for three months last year while she was home alone and grieving the loss of a slain nephew, she reaped the benefits of the goodwill she had built with her OFW friends on her block.
“They came and gave me food, they took care of me. Nakita kong nagmamalasakit nila sa akin,” the diplomat said. She said they felt at ease with her and sometimes sought her help regarding some friend’s problems.
One helper on the block who was set to go home after undergoing eye surgery needed to do exit paperwork at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration but could hardly see. So Catalla asked the woman’s friends to bring her the documents, and she took care of them. On Dec 25, the OFW flew home.

Good pay lures Pinays to illegal work in China

By Vir P. Lumicao

This month, Rita, a 30-year-old former supermarket saleslady in Manila, is returning to her employer in China after a two-month vacation in her hometown in Bataan.
But unlike any other OFW who has to go through normal government procedures such as obtaining an overseas employment certificate to be able to board a plane at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, she is leaving as a tourist for Kuala Lumpur.
If she plays her card well and with luck on her side, Rita would be able to fly to the Malaysian capital without a hitch, taking advantage of the two-week no-visa arrangement between the Philippines and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.
From there, an agent of her mainland employer would meet and hand her a six-month multiple entry business visa obtained from the Chinese embassy. A day or two later, she should be back in Guangdong province working as a domestic helper in the house of her employer, the general manager of a Chinese provincial bank.
Rita’s story is replicated by hundreds of other Filipinos who have gone to China as “tourists” and found jobs as workers in Chinese homes, in food and beverage shops, in factories and farms.
China bans the importation of blue-collar and menial workers, and many Filipinos who have taken on the illegal jobs have been jailed, fined or deported, but many still take this dangerous route.
Many others, however, have been lucky to find employers who treat them well and pay good money. Among them are Rita and Chet, a 28-year-old BS Nursing graduate from a Catholic college in Abra.  
“My employers (husband and wife) are very good to me. They are generous, they treat me well and I have no complaints against them,” Rita, hired by the wife as helper in the couple’s Hong Kong home in January 2013, told The SUN in a recent interview.
Rita was initially deployed in Hong Kong, where she had a working visa. But her old friend Margie, who recommended Rita for the couple’s Shatin home while she would be based in Guangdong, ran into trouble with Hong Kong Immigration and was sent home.
That left the employer with no choice but to deploy Rita for a few weeks in Hong Kong and then take her across the border for two months to serve the couple in the Guangdong home. Rita was paid RMB5,000 for doing this, had her own big room and enough time to rest and relax, and do crochets in her free time.
When Rita’s Hong Kong work contract ran out last year, the employer applied for a multiple entry tourist visa for her at the Chinese consulate in Wan Chai but was rejected. The employer found a placement agency in Guangdong that got her the same visa in the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur, so, Rita traveled there at her boss’ expense and obtained a one-year tourist visa to China with the condition that she exited every three months.  
Last November, Rita took her vacation in her hometown for the first time with instructions to return to Guangdong via Kuala Lumpur, where this time around the agency would get her a year-long business visa at the Chinese embassy.
Chet, also a lucky ex-worker in China, told The SUN in an interview on Jan. 3 that she was recruited in 2009 by a mainland agency known to her aunt who had been working there since 2008. She had just finished college and was asked to go to the mainland as a tourist.
“I went there after graduation in April 2009 on a one-month tourist visa via Hong Kong and when I got to Guangdong I started looking for a job,” Chet said. She found one and when her 30-day visa expired, the employer took her passport to Singapore to secure a business visa for her at the Chinese embassy there.
“When I got hold of my passport again in July of that year, it bore a one-year multiple-entry Chinese business visa that cost RMB8,000,” Chet said. Her boss was a Chinese businessman with a two-year-old son whom she taught conversational English daily.
“My only work was to teach the child to converse in English. At night I would take him to a special school for his English lessons. Everyday I searched online for English words and taught the boy how to pronounce them correctly. For that I received RMB4,000 a month, half of which went to the agency for six months,” Chet said.
After six months she left her job but the agency did not give the two months’ worth of salary her boss told her to collect. She said she couldn’t do anything, so she looked for a new employer and found an old, sickly Dutch businessman and his Taiwanese wife who paid her RMB5,000 a month.
Chet traveled to Hong Kong with her employers once a week. When her business visa ran out, she traveled eight hours by bus to Xiamen to renew her visa with a man who did the application for her.
“I didn’t have to go to Chinese Immigration myself, I just filled up and signed the form,” she said. When the visa ran out and her employer died, she went home.
Her worst experience happened at NAIA Terminal 3 in April 2010, when an immigration officer offloaded her because of questions about why she was in and out of China, what she had been doing there for almost a year, etc.
Just half an hour before the Cebu Pacific plane was to take off, she called the Manila travel agent-partner of the mainland agency that recruited her for another job, which  allegedly gave the immigration officer RMB1,000. He let her board after that.
Another harrowing experience for Chet was when she was meticulously searched by a mainland female immigration officer at the Shenzhen border on her way back after she exited to Hong Kong because her visa was about to expire. She was let go after the search yielded no contraband.
Back in China, she worked for another employer and lodged in the agency’s dormitory. But when her visa ran out, she decided to go home for good.
“I couldn’t overcome my fear. Other Filipinos would choose to overstay but I decided to go home. I was afraid to overstay,” she said when asked what had prompted her to go home.
Chet admits it was the high salary in China that attracted her. Now it has even risen to RMB6,000 a month. When she was working for the Dutchman, her salary was equivalent to Php35,000, she said.
One time, when the employer was in Holland for a month, she worked part-time for a playing card factory below the dormitory and got paid 35 cents per deck of cards packed, making her even more money.
Rita says it’s also the good money she earns in China that motivates her to return to her employer. She says she works from 6am to late in the evening when her employers go to bed, but she is happy with her job because her employers are kind and generous, bringing her presents every time they come home after travel abroad.
She eats the same food as her employers and she is driven to the market or to Hong Kong by her bosses’ chauffer.
“I’ll keep working there for as long as my employers keep me because I’m helping my family,” Rita said.
She is sending her younger sister to university and helping her farmer-parents in their daily expenses.
On the other hand, Chet, now a domestic worker in Hong Kong for the past five and a half years, said she is putting up with her Caucasian female boss of four months with an attitude problem until she finishes her contract.
She plans to return home afterwards, enroll in a review course and take the board exam for nurses.
She hopes to eventually work as a nurse in her homeland, no matter how low the pay, but is still setting her sights on going abroad —maybe to Canada, where she can continue practising her profession, and ultimately, become a permanent resident or citizen.

HK authorities under fire over Pinay’s claim of forced illegal work in China

By The SUN staff

Legislator Leung Kwok-hung 

The Hong Kong government said it is committed to protecting the rights of foreign domestic workers after a newly-arrived Filipina maid disclosed on Jan 12 that her Hong Kong employer had taken her to China to work for a friend.
The 23-year-old Filipina, identified in news reports only as Rosgen, told local media that she was under the impression that she was being taken by her employer on a vacation in China on Dec. 29.
“My employer told me we were travelling to the mainland, but when we got to her friend’s place, she said I must work there,” Rosgen was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying. When she protested, her employer reportedly warned her that she would be sent back to the Philippines if she did not comply.
Rosgen’s case is not unique. Several Filipinas who have gone through the same experience have told The SUN they agreed to work across the border for fear of losing their jobs.
But a press statement posted on the Hong Kong government’s website on Jan. 13 reiterated that the contracts of foreign helpers provide that “a helper shall work and live in the employer's home in Hong Kong.”
“The contract also provides that an FDH shall only perform domestic duties in the employer's residence as set out in the contract,” he said.
However, it is not uncommon for Hong Kong employers to take their helpers along with them for extended vacations abroad, with the mainland being just one of several destinations,
Rosgen said she arrived in Hong Kong in early December and was taken shortly afterward by her employer to a friend’s house in a remote town in Guangdong where she was made to work.
She worked in the mainland home for 12 consecutive days before she was brought back to Hong Kong on Jan. 10 via the Lok Ma Chau border crossing.
At the border, the Filipina said she passed a note to an Immigration officer asking for help in contacting her recruitment agency but it was ignored.
Legislator Leung Kwok-hung who is assisting Rosgen, hit out at the department for ignoring her appeal.
However, a spokesman for the department said a review of the closed-circuit television footage showed the domestic helper acting and behaving normally as they walked past the immigration counter.
The representative said officers thought the domestic helper merely wanted to contact her agent and suggested she use the public phones in the border control building.
Immigration officers subsequently took Rosgen to police to file a complaint. At the same time, the department said it has begun an internal investigation into the handling of the Filipina’s request for help.
It said a separate investigation was underway into Rosgen’s allegation that her employer had caused her to do illegal work while in China.
Rosgen said she plans to file a complaint against her employer with the Labor Department, with help from her agent.
In a statement, a Government spokesman said the Hong Kong government is committed to protecting the rights of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong.
“The Employment Contract for a Domestic Helper Recruited from Outside Hong Kong (the Contract) provides that an FDH shall work and reside in the employer's residence in Hong Kong as stated in the Contract.  The Contract also provides that an FDH shall only perform domestic duties in the employer’s residence as set out in the Contract.  Moreover, the employer and the FDH are required to undertake in the relevant visa application forms that the FDH will reside in the employer’s residence as stated in the Contract and will not perform duties other than those set out therein.
“Further, under the prevailing laws, a person who makes false statement to the ImmD commits an offence and is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.  If it is found that other offences are suspected to have been committed, relevant law enforcement departments will follow up with the matter in a serious manner.
“As a complaint has been lodged by the person concerned, relevant departments have commenced investigations.  As regards the FDH’s allegations on how her case was handled by the staff of the boundary control point, the ImmD is conducting an internal investigation.”

NGO helps migrant moms mount legal fight

By Vir B. Lumicao

Indonesians comprised the majority, or 68%, of migrant mothers and their babies who sought help in 2015 from PathFinders. However, the number of Filipinas who consulted the NGO rose to about 30%, slightly more than in the previous year..
This was according to Jenny McAlpine, project manager of Pathfinders' Access to Justice Programme. Citing preliminary figures, McAlpine told The SUN that the two nationalities dominated the NGO’s estimated 800 clients last year, up 29% from 621 in 2014.
The Access to Justice program, a relatively new service of the NGO, makes mothers and their children aware of their legal rights in Hong Kong. The project's launch in September 2014 brought to six the number of services that PathFinders offers to distressed migrant mothers and their babies.
“We have founded Access to Justice program to help mothers and their children achieve their rights in Hong Kong,” McAlpine said in an interview at the PathFinders offices in Tai Kok Tsui on Dec 15.
“There is a great legal framework in Hong Kong, but it gets difficult sometimes for our clients to get access to that,” said McAlpine, who had been a magistrate in Britain for 17 years before coming to Hong Kong to offer her services to the organization.
She said the whole idea was to open the eyes of migrant working mothers to some realities in the SAR that could impact the care of their children
The work of the five pro bono lawyers in Access to Justice focuses on legal issues that involve child protection, adoption, discrimination, employment, maternity immigration and identity, paternity and criminal law
McAlpine said she joined PathFinders in May last year but did not get the program going until September. “Since then, we have handled over 60 cases. At the moment, we have about 20 live cases – cases that are actually active,” she said.
The mothers got pregnant mostly by their boyfriends -- not necessarily local Chinese, but men of other nationalities who the women met in Hong Kong -- expatriates, asylum seekers who hold recognizance papers, and fellow domestic workers.
Most of the women are afraid to take the children to their home countries for fear of reprisal from their husbands or from the stigma arising from their illicit affairs.
“There are different clients who come in. There are those who come to us still employed and are pregnant, and want to know how to manage that with their employers,” said McAlpine. Sometimes PathFinders gets involved in negotiating with the employers, explaining to them their obligations and workers’ rights.
Pregnancy is a problem for migrant domestic workers as many Hong Kong Chinese employers are reportedly reluctant to give their maid paid maternity leave as provided for in the Labor Law.
Another problem is where the nursing mother stays, as Hong Kong’s live-in rule for domestic workers makes it unlawful for them to live outside the homes of their employers, who mostly don’t want to share their roof with a helper’s baby
As a result, many of the babies live with their fathers in Hong Kong, about 9% are put up for adoption, and a few others are taken home by their mothers, McAlpine said.
If the pregnant mothers are terminated illegally, “we can make claims with the Labour Department but also we can make claims in the District Court for sex discrimination and all forms of discrimination,” McAlpine said.
At the beginning of 2015, PathFinders filed in court its first sex discrimination claim on behalf of a domestic worker and is due for mention in March 2016. A second claim was aborted when both parties settled; four other claims are in progress, she said.
“Other matters are making claims of paternity and maintenance for children. A lot of the fathers are local men with Hong Kong ID,” McAlpine said. It would be good for the child if the father could be proved so the child could get Hong Kong support,” McAlpine said
She said making paternity or maintenance claims is difficult not just with the migrants fathers. “The Hong Kong Chinese or expatriate fathers can be equally cold and won’t provide” for the children, McAlpine said.
Child protection is one service the Access to Justice offers, as McAlpine says there are instances where children are subjected to abuse, such as being abandoned or treated badly by their mothers, “and that’s when we step in.
Asked about the number of such children, she said she could recall three who were born to domestic workers who had lost their jobs and become undocumented.
She said when these mothers approached PathFinders, the NGO insisted they went to Immigration first before coming to them for help.
Clients learn about PathFinders and its services from friends, community newspapers, social media and community events which the NGO organizes or participates in actively.
For instance, on Dec 13, PathFinders organized a community event called “Migrants’ Health Day” in Yuen Long that was attended by mostly Indonesians and South Asians. PathFinders chief executive Kay McArdle said the event attracted about 1,000 migrant workers who watched the cultural program and visited the 10 booths that offered free services ranging from acupuncture to HIV/Aids test to job placement.
The NGO has taken part in so many such events that at least one female helper came looking for PathFinders among the “Care for Caregivers” booths during the 20thanniversary of The SUN on Chater Garden on Dec 20, but it was not there.
McAlpine recalled that in December, her team helped a maid allegedly raped by her employer’s husband claim maintenance for her baby. She is back home with her child
In another case, a helper sent to work in the house of her employer's daughter was allegedly raped by the woman’s boyfriend. When she got pregnant she told the police but they ignored the case. McAlpine said she was helping her file a claim against the boss.
In many cases, abused helpers simply left Hong Kong because they didn’t have the resources to mount a legal battle against their assailants, McAlpime said. But with the establishment of Justice Without Borders in Hong Kong, people can make claims even when they have already gone home through lawyers in their home countries, she said
Since arriving in May 2014, McAlpine has been to prisons and hospitals and seen the bad side of Hong Kong. “Sometimes when you tell people about what’s happening here, it shocks them too much…it’s a real shock to me how they treat people.”
She said PathFinders has helped around 3,000 cases since its founding in late 2007.
“When they come to us, we can provide shelter, we can provide food, we can make sure they go to immigration, and they can get birth certificates for the children, everything. We provide a healthcare program. And then we can offer counseling and education and we prepare them to make some time for their lives, whether that is to continue working in Hong Kong or returning home. Or, if they stay on in Hong Kong, we can help them get a visa,” McAlpine said.
PathFinders aptly said in its 2014 annual report issued earlier this year: “We are the voice of the babies and children we serve.”

CG gets plaque from The SUN

Consul General Bernardita S. Catalla received a plaque of appreciation from The SUN publisher Leo A. Deocadiz and editor Daisy CL Mandap on Jan. 8 for her wholehearted support of the newspaper’s 20th anniversary celebration last month.

ConGen Catalla had to cancel her attendance as guest speaker at the event held on Dec 20 in Chater Garden, Central at the last minute because of a death in her family. Deputy Consul General Christian de Jesus attended in her stead.
But before this, she directed all agencies of the Consulate to join the various groups that offered services to the Filipino community, in line with The SUN’s advocacy.
The Consulate was also instrumental in getting the HK Labour Department to open a booth that offered counseling and distributed leaflets about its services to foreign domestic workers.
Aside from supporting The SUN’s advocacy, the plaque also cited ConGen for supporting freedom of information, as when she readily responded to calls for a meeting on easing the seasonal queues for the overseas employment certificate. She also responded immediately to a request from The SUN for the release of an investigation she ordered into a misconduct complaint against former Labor Attache Manuel Roldan.

New Panay group holds post-Christmas party

A newly formed group from the Visayas held a post-Christmas and New Year splash on Jan. 10 in its haunt near the General Post Office in Central with guests from various organizations.
Those who attended the Panay Overseas Workers Association (POWA) Hong Kong’s first ever gathering were welcomed by officers led by their president Lindy Paclibar.
Among those who came were The SUN’s editor Daisy CL Mandap and associate editor Vir Lumicao, Unifil-Migrante chair Dolores Balladares Pelaez, Diwa’t Kabayan Benlife’s Naty Manalo, Dafwa’s Zeny Navarro, and bankers Katherine de Guzman and Babes Mercado.
POWA is among more than 30 organizations that banded together to form Global Alliance, a breakaway group of Philippine Alliance.

Fate falls to SCAA in rainy duel

By Emz Gaborno

Fate A fought fiercely in the third inning to make up for lost ground in the first two, but errors foiled the attempt, allowing their rivals SCAA Diamond to clinch victory, 5-4, at rain-soaked Tin Kwong Road field on Jan 3.
Zenny Badajos, batting first for the away team, struck the ball to the outfield and ran safely to first base.
But she was stuck on first base as batters Emelie Mabaquiao and Don Gaborno were caught standing out by fast balls of pitcher Wong Cho-hei.
A subsequent pitching error by Wong gave Ma. Eva Mendez a free walk to first base and allowed Badajos to advance to second. Sherlyn Gamata struck the ball next, but she was put out on first base.
At SCAA’s turn to bat, Cho Kiu blasted the ball to the outfield and cruised safely to first base, but was later put out on the second. Chan Sze-lam was caught by Mabaquiao on a fly ball. Tang Ng-man slammed the ball to the center outfield for a safe passage to second base.
Chan sailed to home base unstopped when Leung Tsz-yan struck another outfield ball that took her to third base. But Leung failed to reach the home base when Chan Sze-yan was called standing out.
Rainy weather turned the field muddy, slowing the match as both teams slogged on the boggy field and became vulnerable.
Cherry Octaviano was caught standing out in the second inning, while Romela Osabel hit the ball to the left outfield then raced to second base. Eunice Locop was also called standing out.
The Filipinas’ hopes rose when Marivic de Guia helped base runner Osabel dash to home base with a powerful hit to the center outfield. De Guia herself ran safely to first base.
Badajos then slammed the ball to the center outfield, enabling her to run safely to first base and De Guia to second. But the two base runners were stuck on the plate when Mabaquiao was called standing out.
Wong was first on the batting plate for the locals in the second inning but was caught out by Badajos on a fly ball. Leung Tsz-hei was also caught on a pass ball by Gaborno to first baseman Osabel.
Then a pitching error by Gaborno allowed batter Lee Hoi-ling to run to first base. Lee race to home base unhampered when Lui Yi-nok struck the ball to the outfield to gain safe passage up to second base.
Cho Kiu also struck the ball, but Analiza Ocampo put her out on a fly ball.
The played a tight game in the third inning with Fate determined to a score in order to overtake Diamond. The Filipinas successfully made three via Gaborno, Ma. Eva Mendez and Gamata to lift Fate, 4-2.
But the locals were equally eager to win the battle against the Filipinas, also scoring three runs courtesy of Chan Sze-lam, Tang and Chan Sze-yan to win the match, 5-4.

Tamis ng chocolate cake, pait sa OFW

Sa pakikipag-usap namin sa isang kasambahay na natanggal sa trabaho kamakailan ay nakita namin ang tahasang pagsasamantala at pagpiga ng mga recruitment agency sa Hong Kong at sa Maynila sa mga katulong hanggang sa kahuli-hulihan nilang pera.
At nalaman naming sa pagdulog ng kasambahay sa Philippine Overseas Labor Office sa Konsulado ay mas magiliw pa ang mga opisyal ng POLO sa mga ahensiyang pumiga sa katulong.
Ang naging biktima sa halatang kutsabahan ay si Dexter Vargas, na pinababa ng kanyang amo noong Dis 14. Maayos daw ang usapan nilang mag-amo dahil naitindihan naman daw niya ang paliwanag ng huli na "financially incapacitated" ang pamilya kaya kinakailangang tapusin nang wala sa panahon ang kanyang kontrata.
Nangako pa umano ang amo na bigyan siya ng magandang release letter upang madali siyang makakuha ng bagong employer. Ngunit taliwas sa inaasahan niya ang sumalubong pagdating niya sa ahensiya, dahil isinumbong pala ng amo na siya umano ay "dishonest" at pinaratangan ng "stealing".
Nagtataka kami sa lakas ng loob ng ahensiya na lumabag sa batas laban sa paniningil  ng labis sa mga kasambahay.
Batay sa salaysay ni Dexter, pagdating na pagdating pa lang ni Dexter sa Hong Kong ay dinala na siya ng ahensiya sa isang lending company para mangutang ng $11,000, ngunit ni isang kusing ay walang napunta sa kanya. Kinuha diumano ng ahensiya ang $9,000 at ang $2,000 ay ipinadala nito sa mga magulang ng Pilipina. Ayon sa kasunduan na pinapirmahan kay Dexter, may patong agad na $1,672 ang pera sa loob ng anim na buwang termino.
Tatlong beses pa lang nakakapaghulog si Dexter ng mahigit tig-$2,000 sa utang nang siya'y nasisante. Tumangging magbayad ng kahit magkano ang kanyang amo.
Sa ganoong sitwasyon ay kanino pa dudulog ang katulong kundi sa POLO, ngunit wala ring nagawang tulong si Acting Labor Attache Ma Nena German. Sa paghaharap nina Dexter at ng opisyal ng ahensiya sa tanggapan ni German ay inamin umano ng ahente na kinuha nito ang $9,000 sa utang ng Pilipina bilang agency fee.
Sa kabila nito ay hindi sinita ni German ang ahensya sa pagpapautang nito sa Pilipina, na labag sa batas ng Pilipinas at Hong Kong, kundi ay inutusan ito na bayaran na lang ang natitirang utang sa financing company.
"O ayan, quits na kayo, bayad na ang utang mo," sabi raw ni German.
Pinayuhan daw nito si Dexter na doon na lang habulin ang $4,000 sa ATD Employment & Training Center, ang ahensiyang nagpaalis sa kanya sa Maynila, pero hindi siya binigyan ng kahit anong papeles para maisagawa ito.
Tinanong din diumano ni German si Dexter kung payag siya sa alok ng ahensya na lumipat na lang siya sa Macau, na tinanggihan naman ng katulong.
Sa dakong huli, talagang ni isang kusing ay walang nakuha ni Dexter, dahil ang mismong POLO ang nagsabi na depende na sa amo niya kung may matatanggap siyang kabayaran, pati na ang para sa tiket niya pauwi sa Pilipinas.

Sa nangyaring ito, maliwanag na inamin ng ahensiya sa POLO na sumingil ito sa katulong nang labag sa batas ng Hong Kong at Pilipinas.  Sa Section 57 ng Employment Ordinance and Regulation 10(2) ng Employment Agency Regulations, ang pinakamataas na maaaring singilin ng isang ahensiya sa aplikante ay di dapat hihigit sa 10% (o $411), ng unang buwanang sahod ng katulong.
Ibinabawal din ng Employment Agencies Administration ang pakikisangkot ng mga ahensiya sa Hong Kong sa mga usapin sa pera sa pagitan ng dayuhang katulong at ng ahensiya nito sa ibang bansa.
Bawal din sa isang ahensiya ang tumanggap mula sa aplikante ng iba pang kabayaran para sa mga nagastos nito sa at iba pa, maliban sa nasabing komisyon.
Sa Pilipinas, nakatakda sa batas na walang dapat bayaran ang katulong dahil ang amo ang dapat magbayad ng lahat ng gagastusin sa pagkuha ng katulong.
Natataka kami dahil malinaw na nilabag ng lokal na ahensiya ang batas ng Hong Kong, gayundin ang kundisyon ng akreditasyon nito sa POLO, pero bakit kaya walang ginawang aksiyon ang POLO? May patakaran din ang POLO na bawal mag-exit sa Macau ang isang na-terminate na katulong, ngunit bakit pakunswelong tinanong pa ni German kung gusto ni Dexter ang magtrabaho sa Macau?
Sa pagtatagni-tagni ng mga naganap ay naikuwento tuloy ni Dexter ang isang pangyayari noong papunta na siya rito sa Hong Kong noong Ago 22 kasabay ang dalawang iba pang bagong-saltang kasambahay.
Nasa NAIA na sila nang may pinabitbit sa kanila ang manedyer ng ATD na tig-iisang kahon ng Red Ribbon chocolate cake. "O, ito dalhin ninyo at ibigay sa best friend ko sa Consulate...kay Nenita (na malamang ay ang dating Labor Attache na si Nenita Garcia). Favorite niya yan, Red Ribbon chocolate cake. Mag-ingat, baka masira ang design."
Halatang napakatamis ng relasyon ng mga opisyal ng POLO at mga recruitment agency. Natatandaan pa tuloy namin ang dalawang Huwebes ng hapon sa bagong opisina ng POLO sa Admiralty Centre Tower 1, nang dumating ang mga may-ari ng mga ahensiyang taga-Hong Kong na may bitbit na mga pagkain.
Tandang-tanda rin namin nang pinasinayaan ang bagong opisinang iyon, na ang tropa ring iyon ang mga panauhin, at nagtaka kami kung bakit walang inimbita sa hanay ng mga OFW na siyang kinakatawan ng POLO.
Ngayon ay napag-ugnay-ugnay na rin naming ang mga bagay-bagay. Paborito pala nina Ma'am ang chocolate cake.

How to recover illegally collected placement fees

This is a continuation of our November 2015 topic column on illegal agency fees. We traced the historical development of government policies and laws in imposing agency fees and why, despite the prohibition against the collection of placement fees under the 2006 POEA Guidelines for Filipinos taking up household service work overseas, they still find themselves indebted because of exorbitant and illegal agency fees.
We gave some pointers on what to do when you find yourself in such situation. The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong (POLO -HK) is the place to go to pursue the refund of illegal fees collected, or seek punishment for erring recruitment agencies.
Remember that the Hong Kong-based agency is the principal agency in the whole recruitment process from your application in the Philippines for job in Hong Kong and is therefore equally responsible to ensure legal procedures are observed in placing individual foreign workers. But take note that the Hong Kong government does not require any migrant worker to process their papers through a recruitment agency.
If your case/claim is to be referred to the POEA and you are returning home to the Philippines, you need the following:
1) Your detailed statement that will be attached to the "First Indorsement" issued by POLO-Hong Kong. Always remember to make sure that you have with you your detailed statement, which is an account of the process on how the illegal charges happened. This is a sort of a statement of facts and incidents that will prove your case, including instances where you might be forced to take up a loan. You can visit the Mission for Migrant Workers before you leave if you need any assistance.
2) Prepare all pieces of evidence that you can gather to prove your case and keep photocopies of them.
3) Make sure you have a copy of your employment contract and passport.
Bring all documents referring to the termination of contract if it is a case of premature termination. It should also carry with it your detailed statement relating to the contract termination.
Once in the Philippines, proceed to the POEA with all your documents. Make sure that what you submit to any government offices are photocopies only of your documents and if the original document is required, ask the particular office to make an official receipt of those documents.
Keep a diary of all these procedures that you are going through and organize your document files.
Your first visit to the POEA is important to note down as you are proving that you are serious in your claim. If you can, make sure to ask for the next appointment. If no definite date is given you, follow it up after a month. Take note of the name of officers who dealt with you, reference number, file number, Docket Number and all information that can trace your case when you follow up.
Many times, what discourages a claimant is the period of waiting. This is when you are most vulnerable to offers of small amount of money to appease you. This is actually an amicable settlement, which will prohibit you from pursuing your full contractual claims/case.
So we say, do not be too bothered by the waiting period. PREPARATION FOR EVERY VISIT AND FOLLOW-UP IS IMPORTANT but you should avoid thinking only of the case every minute of your life to the point of immobilizing you. Make a calendar, a schedule of these visits or appointments to be able to know when to pause from your daily chores/work /preoccupation and prepare for your next visit to pursue your case. Remember, you are claiming back what is yours that was taken away from you deceitfully.
The MFMW can also refer you to our partners in the Philippines such as Migrante International who can provide guidance through its Rights and Welfare Assistance Program (RWAP).
When we come across such agency fees-related problems at the Mission with kababayans who are still employed, one of our initial suggestions would be to let the employer know about the situation as it is your responsibility to explain how it all happened so they will understand your difficulty. In many cases, in the absence of such explanations, some employers tend to generalize that their workers are simply "fond of borrowing money". In this situation where the loans are made upon arrangement of recruitment agencies, this is not true.  To be able to address this problem without jeopardizing your employment, tell your employer the story especially if you are one who was forced to borrow money at the very last minute (a few days before your departure) you may yet be able to make your employer understand a stark reality in overseas migration.
So if you wish to pursue your claim but are unable to return home because of your job, you should assign a person that you know is knowledgeable or well informed about the process, as well of the details of your story.  So, together with the "First Indorsement", you should make an affidavit with help from the assistance to nationals (ATN) section of the Philippine Consulate General (PCG-HK) giving your representative a "Special Power of Attorney" to act on your behalf in filing such claims and making decisions at any given time. Thus, in choosing such representative, s/he should be someone you definitely trust in:
- answering questions related to the details of your case;
- consulting with you or with any legal/paralegal officers any time it is needed; and
- making decisions  when necessary.
At the Mission, we connect you with our network to ensure that you have someone to consult with when you decide to pursue your case; because apart from claiming back illegal agency fees, the agency is solidarily liable with your former employer in Hong Kong for any unpaid wages and contractual obligations. If you are able to prove that the termination of your contract is not your fault, or that it was because you had committed a crime, you may claim all benefits that are due you, subject to the existing policy on migrant workers.


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This is the monthly column from the Mission for Migrant Workers, an institution that has been serving the needs of migrant workers in Hong Kong for over 31 years. The Mission, headed by its general manager, Cynthia Tellez, assists migrant workers who are in distress, and  focuses its efforts on crisis intervention and prevention through migrant empowerment. Mission has its offices at St John’s Cathedral on Garden Road, Central, and may be reached through tel. no. 2522 8264.

AlDub you

Araw ng Linggo kamakailan ay mistulang pilahan sa pagkuha ng OEC ang haba ng pila sa BDO sa Worldwide Plaza. Kabilang si Ellie sa pumila para lang makabili ng tiket para sa pelikulang My Bebe Love na ipalalabas dito sa Hong Kong. Sa pag-aakalang wala pang pila ay inagahan ni Ellie ang pagpunta doon. Bago pa mag-alas otso ng umaga ay nasa harapan na siya ng bangko, na ang takdang pagbubukas ay alas nuwebe, pero ganoon na lang ang gulat niya dahil mahaba na ang pila. Inabot siya ng halos kalahating araw para lang makabili ng tiket para sa kanilang magkakaibigan. Masugid silang mga tagahanga nina Alden Richards at Maine Mendoza na mas kilala bilang AlDub. Ayon kay Ellie, daan-daang katao ang pumila para bumili ng tiket at mapanood ang kanilang mga idolo. Mabuti naman na hindi siya nainip dahil marami siyang nakilala at naka-kuwentuhan na kapwa niya fans ng AlDub. Karamihan sa mga nakapila ay miyembro ng fans club sa Hong Kong ng kanilang mga idolo. Gulat si Ellie dahil napakarami daw pala nila. Kahit diehard fan siya ay hindi sila sumasali sa mga grupong ganito, at sinusubaybayan na lang ang mga idolo sa Twitter at sa Facebook. Matapos ang ilang oras na pagtayo at pakikipagsiksikan ay masayang napasakamay na rin ni Ellie ang pinilahang tiket. Tuwang tuwa siya dahil marami siyang nakilalang mga bagong kaibigan na kapareho niya ang hilig. Masayang nagpaalam si Ellie sa mga bagong kakilala sa pamamagitan ng “pabebe wave” at pagsasabi ng  “AlDub you” na pinauso ng kanilang mga idolo sa TV.  Si Ellie ay isang dalaga at kasalukuyang nagtatrabaho sa Pokfulam. – Jo Campos

Luho

Nitong huling uwi ni Gloria sa Pilipinas ay walang ibang kahilingan ang anak na pasalubong kung hindi hoverboard. Medyo may kamahalan na luho para sa 12 taong gulang bata pero pinagbigyan ng Gloria ang anak. Sa kanyang pag-iikot sa Mong Kok ay may nakita siyang mura kumpara sa presyo nito sa Pilipinas kaya binili na niya. Pero hindi niya ito nadala pauwi dahil tinanggihan siyang i-check in ito sa eroplano. Ganun na lang ang pagkadismaya ng anak niya nang dumating siya na hindi dala ang pasalubong. Ayaw nitong tanggapin ang  paliwanag niya at dahil ayaw niyang sumama ang loob niya ay pikit-mata siyang bumili ng isa pang hoverboard sa Pilipinas. Habang ikinukwento ni Gloria ang nangyari sa kasama niyang si Mila ay hindi nito napigilang magbigay ng unsolicited advice. Hindi daw kasi dapat na ibigay ang lahat ng kahilingan ng mga anak lalo na kung hindi naman kailangan ang hinihingi. Pero sumagot si Gloria na hindi naiintindihan ni Mila ang ginawa niya dahil wala naman itong anak. Para hindi mauwi sa debate ang kanilang pag-uusap ay iniba na lang ni Mila ang usapan. Si Mila ay taga-Cebu at taga-Bohol naman si Gloria. ---Gina N. Ordona

Walang forever

Mahigit 10 taon din naging magkasintahan sina Ditas at Jeff. Dito na sila nagkakilala sa Hong Kong at nagsimulang mag-ibigan. Di man ito gaanong tanggap ng lipunan dahil si Jeff ay isang “tibo”, di ito naging hadlang sa kanila ni Ditas dahil hindi naging balakid ang kani-kanilang pamilya sa kanilang relasyon. Para sa kanila, ang mahalaga lang ay ang kanilang damdamin para sa isa’t-isa. Sa pagdaan ng mga taon ay unti-unti silang bumuo ng mga pangarap. Pero pagkatapos ng matagal na panahon ay nagkaroon sila ng matinding problema dahil sa selos, at sa sinasabing “third party”, na nauwi sa hiwalayan. Pagkatapos ng ilang taon ay naging magkaibigan muli ang dalawa, hanggang si Ditas ay nagdesisyong umuwi na sa Pilipinas. Hindi naman naputol ang kanilang komunikasyon sa isa’t-isa kahit pareho silang nagkaroon ng ibang karelasyon. Si Ditas ay nag-asawa at naging kaibigan din ni Jeff ang lalaki. Kalaunan ay nabalitaan ni Jeff na nagpunta si Ditas ng Canada matapos makipaghiwalay sa asawa. Patuloy pa rin ang kanilang komunikasyon habang nasa Canada si Ditas, bagamat madalang na lang. Kamakailan ay nag-chat sila online, na nauwi sa mas madalas nilang kamustahan. Nalibang silang dalawa sa pagbabalik-tanaw sa mga nakaraan nilang alaala. Unti-unti ay napansin ni Jeff na nahuhulog muli ang loob niya sa dating karelasyon, at alam niyang ganoon din ito sa kanya. Hindi magawang buksan ni Jeff ang paksang iyon dahil natatakot siyang baka totoo nga ang kanyang hinala. Sa ngayon ay patuloy pa rin ang kanilang chat ngunit umiiwas na lang si Jeff na mauwi ang usapan sa kanilang nakalipas. Ayaw na daw kasi niyang masaktang muli ang dating karelasyon. Mas mabuti daw na manatili na lang silang magkaibigan. – Jo Campos

Kalabisan!

Patapos na ang pangalawang kontrata ni Ailene sa kanyang amo na taga-Shatin nanag sabihin ng kanyang amo na hindi na ito pipirma ng panibagong kontrata. Nanghinayang si Ailene dahil sa loob ng 10 taon niya dito sa HK ay sa naturang amo lang siya nakatapos ng kontrata. Nang magkaroon siya ng pagkakataon ay dumulog siya sa tanggapan ng OWWA dahil gusto niyang ipakuwenta kung magkano ang makukuha niyang severance fee. Bitbit ang manipis na libro na naglalaman ng labor ordinance para sa mga kasambahay sa Hong Kong ay matiyaga siyang pumila kahit maraming tao para malaman kung magkano ang makukuha niya. Walang humpay ang pagkukwento niya sa mga kasama sa pila na obligasyon ng amo na bigyan siya ng severance fee, pero sumabad ang isa sa mga kausap na makakatanggap lang siya nito kung hindi na siya pipirmahan ng amo dahil sa redunduncy o kalabisan. Ibig sabihin, hindi na ito kukuha ng ibang katulong, at hindi lang dahil ayaw na sa kanya. Nanlumo si Ailene dahil sa palagay niya ay may balak pang kumuha ng kapalit niya ang amo dahil dalawang taon pa lang ang anak nito na pinaalagaan sa kanya. Halata ang pagkadismaya niya kaya sinabi ng kausap na ituloy pa rin ang paghingi ng kuwenta ng maaari niyang matanggal kung sakaling sabihin ng amo na hindi na ito kukuha ng bagong katulong. ---Gina N. Ordona

Maltrato

Maysakit ang amo ni Anna at tila wala nang lunas. Unti-unting nagiging paralisado ito at kinakailangan ng pag-aalaga. Hindi na rin nakakakain mag-isa at ang mga bagay na karaniwang ginagawa ay hindi na nito kaya. Dahil dito ay kinailangan na kumuha ng kasama ni Anna para ito ang tumutok sa pag-aalaga sa kanilang among babae. Hindi man gaanong nagkakasundo ang dalawang Pinay ay maayos naman nilang nagagawa ang  kanilang mga tungkulin sa bahay. Matagal nang nagtatrabaho si Anna sa mag asawang Intsik at wala siyang masasabi sa mga ito dahil napakabait, kaya lubha siyang nalungkot nang malaman niya ang kondisyon ng kanyang among babae. Lumipas ang mahigit isang taon, at kahit paano ay natuto na ring pakisamahan ni Anna ang kakaibang ugali ng kasama niya. Pero nitong mga nagdaang araw ay nagtataka siya dahil nahahalata niya na parang takot ang kanyang amo sa tagapag-alaga niya. Kapag aalis kasi si Anna ay tila nalulungkot at nababalisa ang kanyang amo, at tuwing magpapaalam siya ay mahigpit siyang hinahawakan, at ayaw bumitiw. Inobsebahan ni Anna ang biglang pagkabalisa ng kanyang amo at napansin niya na kapag kaharap na ang kanyang kasamang Pinay ay parang takot ito. Napansin din ni Anna na medyo marahas ang ginagawang pagpapasubo ng kasamahan sa kanilang amo tuwing pinapakain ito. Naririnig din niya na pasigaw at tila galit ang kapwa katulong kapag kausap ang inaalagaang maysakit. Naikuwento ito ni Anna sa isang kaibigan at hinala ng kaibigan ay baka minamaltrato ang amo ng kanyang kasamang Pinay. Likas kasing mabait ang amo at malamang na hindi lang ito nagsusumbong. Mungkahi nga ng kaibigan ni Anna, dapat daw ay sabihin na niya sa kanyang among lalaki ang mga nangyayari sa loob ng kanilang bahay dahil karatapan naman iyon ng kanyang asawa. Hindi naman magkaroon ng lakas ng loob si Anna na magsumbong dahil baka itanggi lang iyon ng kanyang kasama at siya pa ang lumabas na gumagawa ng usap. Hindi rin naman kasi nagsusumbong ang among babae sa kanyang asawa. Ang ginawa na lang ni Anna ay hinigpitan ang pagbabantay sa kasama para masiguradong hindi nito sinasaktan ang matanda. –Jo Campos

Pahirap

Halos araw-araw ay nagkukumahog si May sa paghahanda, pamamalengke at pagluluto ng pagkain para sa kanyang mga amo sa Tai Po. Hapon pa lang ay nakasalang na ang sabaw at mula alas singko ay naghahanda na ng pagkain. Hindi naman niya puwedeng lutuin ng maaga ang apat na putaheng ulam hangga’t di dumarating ang buong pamilya dahil nagagalit ang kanyang amo kapag ininit lang niya ang mga pagkain. Kadalasan ay naghihintay siya hanggang alas otso ng gabi at doon pa lang siya mag-uumpisang magluto. Ang problema ay isang burner lang ang kalan na gamit niya kaya kung minsan ay natataranta siya lalo na’t kada minuto ay tinatanong siya ng kanyang alaga kung luto na ba ang pagkain. Minsan ay dinaya na niyang lutuin ng maaga ang isang putahe para di siya gabihin sa pagluluto pero sinumbong naman siya ng kanyang alaga sa ina nito. Sermon ang inabot ni May kaya hindi na niya ito inulit. Kadalasan ay mga madadaling lutuin na lang ang inihahanda niya para di na siya makarinig pa ng reklamo. Sa isip niya, hindi naman niya kasalanan kung ginagabi sila sa pagkain ng hapunan dahil alas otso na kung dumating ang kanyang mga amo. Inaabot tuloy ng hanggang alas diyes ng gabi ang paghuhugas niya ng mga gamit sa kusina at mga pinagkainan. Halos araw-araw ay ganito ang gawain niya kaya lupaypay na siya pagpasok sa kanyang kuwarto. Si May na may asawa at dalawang anak ay halos dalawang taon nang nagtatrabaho sa kanyang mga amo. Balak niyang lumipat ng amo kapag natapos na ang kanyang kontrata dahil sa hindi makatarungang pagpapahirap sa kanya ng mga ito. –Jo Campos

DH faces jail term for beating boy

By Vir B. Lumicao

For losing her cool and hitting her seven-year-old ward with a wooden back scratcher, a Filipina domestic helper has been told by a magistrate in Kowloon court that she faces a "deterrent sentence", meaning she will have to spend time in jail.
Rosemarie Castillo, 32, pleaded guilty on Jan 8 to a charge of "willful assault causing injury to a child" for beating the boy when he threw a tantrum and refused to take a shower over his elder brother's refusal to play with him.
The incident happened in the evening of Oct 5, 2015, in the employers' flat in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon.
The maid said she lost her temper as she was suffering from a headache and was busy trying to finish all her chores before her employers returned home from work.
In a “momentary loss of control,” Castillo grabbed the scratcher and beat the boy, leaving bruises on his left cheek, on the left side of his neck and on his left arm.  
The parents saw the bruises when they arrived and called the police. Castillo was arrested and taken into custody. She was later granted bail.
During mitigation, the defense lawyer asked that the magistrate spare the helper from a custodial sentence, saying that the parents themselves had instructed the maid to hit the boy if he became uncontrollable.
She said that on that fateful evening, the boy was throwing a tantrum after a fight with his brother over his refusal to play with him.
“The defendant had a big headache and was busy doing all the chores, and when she told the boy to stop and go take a shower, the more he rolled on the floor crying and yelling,” the lawyer said.
“I hope you will accept her remorse. This is not a case that calls for custodial sentence,” she said.
But Magistrate Eric Cheung turned down the lawyer’s plea. “I will adopt a deterrent sentence because the defendant has committed a serious offense. The parents hired a domestic helper to take good care of the child,” he said.
Cheung said that before sentencing he would call for an impact assessment report “to find out if the child has suffered psychological harm.”
The female prosecutor stood up and tried to dissuade the magistrate from doing so by saying the boy was back in his usual self just days after the incident and that such an assessment could only revive the trauma from the incident.
The magistrate told her that he needed to see the impact assessment report nevertheless.
Cheung adjourned the sentencing to Feb 2.
“Defendant, as you heard from the discussion between this court and the lawyer, I will impose a deterrent sentence and cancel your bail. You will be put in custody,” he said.

Elderly Pinay overstayer jailed 6 months

By Vir B. Lumicao

Tarcila Alabastro, the 65-year-old former domestic worker who gave herself up after overstaying for more than 12 years in Hong Kong, was convicted and sentenced on Jan 8 by a Shatin court to six months in jail term.
Alabastro, fondly called "Nanay Tarcila" by her OFW friends and supporters, appeared before Principal Magistrate Andrew Ma and pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching her conditions of stay.
Esther Bangcawayan of the Bethune House Migrant Women's Refuge who attended the hearing, said Ma gave a discount in the sentence for Alabastro's voluntary surrender and in consideration of her physical condition.
Alabastro could hardly walk because of osteoarthritis when she surrendered on Dec 9 to the Immigration authorities. Two weeks later, she was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by Bangcawayan after her blood pressure shot up.
The woman was accompanied to court by Lorna Mojica of the Consulate's assistance to nationals section, and had her picked up by a consular vehicle because of her condition.
"Kalmado naman si Nanay nang sinisintensiyahan siya ng mahistrado, ngunit halata rin sa kanyang mukha ang pagkabahala," Bangcawayan told The SUN.
"Inihanda naman namin siya sa anumang magiging resulta ng kanyang pagharap sa korte at hindi namin siya pinaasa na hindi siya makukulong," she said.
Bangcawayan said she had explained beforehand to Alabastro three possibilities in the event of her conviction: immediate deportation; a suspended sentence that would allow her to return home soon, or a discounted jail sentence based on the number of years she had overstayed.    
News of her jailing has saddened the OFWs who helped work out Alabastro's surrender, including Alexise Tiu, who helped Alabastro inch her way to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and to the ATN when she surfaced on Dec 6, and to the Immigration Department to surrender on Dec 9.
"Ang final result na nakulong siya nakakalungkot..nakakaawa dahil sa katandaan niya pero bago pa man isinuko alam ko naman na may katapat na parusa ang pag-overstay niya dahil ang batas dito ay batas at kailangan na sundin," Tiu said.
But she philosophically said the elderly woman's stay in jail would give her time to recover her health and get proper medical care as she was not able to see a doctor during the years that she overstayed.