Responsive Ad Slot

Latest

Sponsored

Features

Buhay Pinay

People

Sports

Business Ideas for OFWs

Join us at Facebook!

Move on na, pagkatapos masaktan

Posted on 13 October 2016 No comments
Dati nang OFW si Emily nang makilala niya si Chris. Naging magkasintahan sila at ikinasal. Hindi na bumalik si Emily sa abroad dahil nagkaanak na sila ni Chris. Ang problema nga lang ay walang permanenteng trabaho si Chris at umaasa lang sa kanyang mga magulang sa lahat ng kanilang pangangailangan.

Ilang taon din na ganito ang pamumuhay nila kaya kalaunan ay hindi na natiis ni Emily ang umasa pa sa kanyang mga biyenan, at nagpasyang mag abroad muli. Madali naman siyang nakaalis dahil marami siyang kamag anak at kapatid na tumulong sa kanya. Makalipas ang isang taon ay nakaipon sila ni Chris ng sapat para makapag down payment sa isang bahay.

Pero lingid sa kanyang kaalaman ay may kinalolokohang babae na pala ang kanyang asawa. Dahil kapitbahay lang nila ang babaeng kalaguyo ng asawa, mabilis na kumalat ang balita at nakarating kay Emily.

Kinausap niya ang kanyang mga biyenan at napatunayan niyang totoo ang mga balitang nakarating sa kanya. Halos mabaliw si Emily sa nalaman niya. Mabuti na lang at mabait at maunawain ang matandang employer niya at inunawa ang kanyang pinagdadaanan. Ilang buwan ding halos maubos na ang luha ni Emily sa sakit na dinanas niya.

Kinausap niya si Chris tungkol dito at ito pa ang nagalit imbes na umamin sa kanyang kataksilan.

Nagpasiya si Emily na umuwi sa Pilipinas upang ayusin ang problema ng kanyang pamilya. Nagpaalam ito sa kanyang among taga Cyprus at pumayag naman. Sinabi din ng matanda na ano mang oras na gusto niyang bumalik ay bukas palad siyang kukunin muli.

Kinuha ni Emily sa poder ng pamilya ni Chris ang nag-iisang anak nila at tuluyan nang hiniwalayan ang kanyang asawa, at namuhay silang mag-ina sa  tulong ng kanyang mga kapatid. Pero dahil hindi sanay na umasa sa iba, matapos ang mahigit isang taon ay nagsabi siya sa dating amo na babalik na siya sa trabaho.

Masaya naman nitong tinanggap muli si Emily na agad na nag-process na ng kanyang papeles. Noon na biglang “nagpaparamdam” na muli si Chris, na kung minsan ay bigla na lang kakatok sa kanilang pintuan at dadalaw umano sa anak.

Natatawa na lang si Emily dahil sa isip niya, kay tagal niyang nagdusa hanggang naka move on sa mapait na sinapit, kaya hindi na muli siyang papayag na masaktan pa muli. Nasira na ang tiwala niya sa dating asawa at kahit dalawang beses pa silang kinasal ay hindi iyon sapat para hayaan niyang masaktan pa siyang muli.

Ngayon ay ituring man niyang kaibigan ang dating mister ay dahil lang sa kanilang anak. Handa siyang magsimulang muli ngunit hindi na kasama ang dating asawa. Ika nga niya, “move on, move on din pag may time.”  -Jo Campos

Employers group slams window cleaning ban for Filipino domestic workers

Posted on No comments
By Daisy CL Mandap

HK Labour Department's cartoon shows right way of cleaning windows

A support group for Hong Kong employers has sent a letter to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, urging him to stop the implementation of a ban imposed by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office on the cleaning of exterior parts of windows by Filipino domestic workers.
The ban is set to be included in contracts for the hiring of Filipino maids filed with the Philippine Consulate from Oct. 15.
Workers’ groups, on the other hand, applauded the move, saying the Philippine government must be commended for taking up the cudgels for domestic helpers’ safety.
Employers' group letter
In their letter, the Support Group of Employers of Foreign Domestic Helpers, cited four reasons why the unilateral ban imposed by POLO should be overruled by the Hong Kong government:
1)      most windows in Hong Kong are fixed with grills which can prevent workers from falling out;
2)      it is unreasonable to get the helper to clean only the inside part of windows
3)      this could set a bad precedent for groups that may want to impose various conditions on the workers’ scope of duties; and
4)      the ban bypasses the Hong Kong government as it effectively adds a clause to the standard contract for the hiring of FDHs
In response to the letter, the Hong Kong Labour Department reportedly issued a statement reiterating its concern for the safety of all workers. It added that it was still consulting with the Philippine Consulate on the ban.
During a recent visit to Hong Kong by the new Philippine Labor Secretary, Silvestre Bello, he sought but failed to get the host government’s support for excluding the cleaning the outside part of windows in the list of duties for foreign domestic helpers.
A week later, POLO, through Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre issued a memorandum to all accredited employment agencies saying that from Oct. 15, only employment contracts stamped with the window cleaning exclusion will be accepted for processing.
POLO’s order was immediately applauded by the Association of Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB), a coalition of migrant support groups, while the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies expressed support but with reservations.  
Villanueva
AMCB spokesperson Eman Villanueva said, “We welcome POLO’s initiative. It’s a positive move because even with limited capacity and jurisdiction, Labatt de la Torre found a way to respond to our call for improved safety for our workers”.
Thomas Chan, head of the agencies’ group said, “My association supports this idea”. However, he expressed reservations about De la Torre’s plan to print the exclusion directly on the contract, saying this might invalidate the document.
“What we told Labatt is that the exclusion should just be included in a separate document outlining the agencies’ undertaking,” said Chan.
He also admitted that some agencies had reservations about the ban, as they anticipate most employers to express resistance.
Chan
“They might be thinking, ‘who would clean the windows then?’, but we plan to educate the employers so hopefully, they would come to accept it”.
Villanueva said that a ban on window cleaning is not unusual as it has been in force in Singapore since 2012, also as a result of accidents involving domestic workers.
But Hong Kong has reportedly balked at the idea because it does not want to open the floodgates to other concern groups demanding changes in the standard employment contract, including an employers’ organization that is pushing for a trial period for newly hired maids.
“Ni-raise na naming iyan noon pang August, pero ang mabilis nilang sagot e, mahihirapan silang i-amend yung standard contract kasi yung mga employers at agencies ay may gusto ding ipabago”, said Villanueva.
Still, he said his group will keep on pressing the government to include the prohibition in the contract to enhance workers’ safety.








Spending passive income

Posted on 12 October 2016 No comments
Question:  What are the consequences of spending the passive income versus compounding it?

Reply:  It is admirable that you are talking about spending passive income!  That only means that you have been investing your savings.  Investing your savings is the best way to increase your wealth provided that you choose the right investment options.

As you know, you can choose to spend the income that you earn from your investments.  This follows the principle:  Use your active (earned from your sweat and actual time spent) income for your needs.  For your wants, use only your passive income.  You let your money work for you and you are entitled to spend it, if you want to.   However, if you reinvest all or even only part of your passive income, you will get to your wealth goal faster.

Reinvesting your passive income is “compounding” ,i.e., You do not touch the passive income and just keep on reinvesting it.  Therefore, your money works for you and the income that your money earned again works for you to earn you move passive income and so on and so forth.  Compounding is exponential…meaning the increase in income is very rapid.

It is easier to allow the compounding of your passive income when you choose an investment option that will automatically do it for you.  If you have to make a decision to re-invest the passive income each time you receive it, you will be tempted to spend it or you might not know where to invest it again or you might just forget to re-invest because you are so busy.

If you spend your passive income as you receive it, that is the end of the income.  It will no longer grow.  It becomes even more of a pity if you spend the passive income in a “want” that is not truly so important to you.  Just make sure that you really enjoy whatever it is so that it is not wasted.

This is also one of the reasons why I also like mutual funds for investment.  When you invest in a well-managed mutual fund and leave your money there, it automatically compounds it for you.
In addition, there are the Variable Universal Life Insurance plans that are available to cover your Health, Investment and Protection.  Learn more about it.  Write info@colaycofoundation.com

---
Francisco J. Colayco is an entrepreneur, a venture developer and financial advisor.  He is the Author of Seven Bestsellers in the Pera Palaguin Series, the latest of which is now available in bookstores:  “Wealth Reached. Money Worked. Pera Mo, Pinalago Mo!” Find his works and catch him on TV and radio.  Check out: www.colaycofinancialeducation.com, www.franciscocolayco.com, www.kskcoop.com, FaceBook and Instagram.

Huwes na tunay

Posted on No comments
Ni Ate Kulit


Noong Setyembre, bumagsak ang peso laban sa dolyar sa pinakamababang level nito sa nakaraang pitong taon, at ang ating stock market ayiniiwan na ng kapital mula sa ibang bansa: Mga balita na nagpapaalala sa atin na humihina ang ating ekonomiya.

Ang ekonomiya ay gaya ng report card ng mag-aaral. Kung maayos ang ginawa mo, tataas ang grado nito, ano man ang paninirang gawin ng iba sa iyo. Kung mali naman, babagsak ito kahit ano ang kuwentong ihabi mo upang pagtakpan ang iyong kapalpakan. Ito ang huwes na tunay, tinagurian ng philosopher na si Adam Smith  na “invisible hand” — isang puwersang hindi nakikita na nagtutulak sa mga tao na makatulong sa lipunan nang hindi nila sinasadya, sa pamamagitan ng kani-kanilang pansariling kayod.

Ang mga OFW ay nakakaramdam na ng epekto ng panghihina ng peso: mas mura ngayon ang ibibabayad natin sa pagpapadala ng nakagawian nating halaga sa ating mga mahal sa buhay. Pero panandalian lang ang pagiging mura nito, dahil bukas makalawa ay tatawag sila upang sabihing kulang ang ating padala at hihingi ng dagdag.

Huwag nating kalimutan na ang halaga ng pera ay iba sa halaga ng nabibili nito, kaya nakakaranas tayo ng pagtaas ay pagbaba ng presyo. Kung mas marami ang pera kesa sa hinahabol nitong bilihin, bababa ito pera.

Ang stock market naman sa Pilipinas ay bumagsak sa 23 sunod-sunod na araw nong Setyembre. Kahit wala tayong pera sa stocks, apektado tayo ng galaw nito.

Ayon sa taga gubyerno, walang kinalaman dito ang pagmumura ni Pangulong Duterte sa USA, European Union at iba pang ka-alyansa ng Pilipinas. Sabi naman ng taga-stock market, ang pag-alis ng kapital sa Pilipinas ay nagpapakita ng pagkawala ng tiwala sa kakayahan ng Pilipinas na umasenso.

Para kay Alan Greenspan, isang economist na naging chairman ng Federal Reserve, ang tumatayong Central Bank ng Amerika, ang stock market ay dapat bantayan: “I don’t know where the stock market is going, but I will say this, that if it continues higher, this will do more to stimulate the economy than anything we’ve been talking about today or anything anybody else was talking about.”
Ano sa palagay mo?

Goodbye, Central

Posted on No comments
By Daisy Catherine L.Mandap

After 18 memorable years of being at the center of Filipino community life in Hong Kong, we bid goodbye to Central two weeks ago.We have now moved to North Point, an equally vibrant, though maybe slightly less genteel, part of the city.

Our move to Central all those years ago was prompted by the realization that it was the place to be if we wanted to be close to the action. Filcom-related action, that is.

Before this, we spent two years in Tsim Sha Tsui, in a gentrified part of Chung King where several other Filipino companies somehow ended up setting up shops.

Though we were just beside an MTR exit and had rather pretty shop-front offices, there was hardly any pedestrian traffic coming our way. Hardly anyone, apart from friends and neighbors, dropped in, least of all, advertisers.

In Filipino parlance,  “nilangaw kami”.

We decided then that it was time to cross back to our side of the harbor, and  settle in Central.
With a Filipino newspaper that could hardly keep up with demands from readers hungry for information and advertisers looking for a vehicle for their products, this was the only place for us to do business.

In fact, every Filipino who gets to Hong Kong will realize soon enough that there is no escaping Central.

Ever heard of the “Black Man” where Pinoys often choose to meet? It is there, right smack in Statue Square, which in the pre-selfie days, was the favorite backdrop for photos of homesick Pinoys.

Nearby of course, are Chater Road and Chater Garden, the venues for some of the biggest and most memorable variety shows, festivals and mass rallies to have been staged by, and for, our community.

And who could possibly miss the two huge lions guarding the entrance to the HSBC headquarters, home to many of our card-playing compatriots? Before the public part of the building was substantially reduced in the aftermath of the Occupy protests, many enterprising Pinoys offering services such as mani-pedi, fortune-telling and even witchcraft, used to regard this as their Sunday office.

But if there was to be just one Pinoy hub in the district, it could only be World-Wide Plaza and the two alleys just a stone’s throw away from it.

It used to be that if you were a Filipino-oriented company and had a big budget for rent, you had to be in World-Wide.  If you had a smaller capital the alleys were your only option. Now, with the MTR lines having been extended every which way and with the internet that could lead you practically to every shop’s doorstep, the options have become almost limitless.

Being in the heart of Central also meant you were just a short ride, or hike away, to places regarded as important by most Filipinos, like the Philippine Consulate and its adjunct offices, and St. Joseph’s Church or St. John’s Cathedral, Likewise, the offices of NGOs extending help to migrant workers in distress, such as the Mission for Migrant Workers, Bethune House shelter. and the Helpers for Domestic Helpers.

For us, being in Central also meant being close to big events that unfolded in Hong Kong, like the pro-democracy protests nearly two years ago, and the intermittent hearings in Legco on big domestic workers issues.

But the times, they are a-changing. Many people, including advertisers, have been eschewing personal dealings in favor of quick, and sometimes, more productive email exchanges. People hardly come by to drop cheques, preferring instead to just mail them, or transfer online from their own accounts

This, coupled with our increasing aversion for haggling with greedy landlords over rent every two years, made us decide to move our base elsewhere.

But Central will always be a part of us, and our long history of serving the Filipino community.  We have simply changed our office address.

Elderly tourist held for ‘bomb’ joke at HK airport

Posted on 10 October 2016 No comments
By Vir B. Lumicao

If you intend to joke about carrying a bomb in your luggage, think again.
Departure gates at HK Intl Airport
An elderly Filipino tourist missed his scheduled flight back to Manila on Saturday night, Oct 8, after he was arrested for allegedly cracking a joke about having a bomb in his hand-carried luggage.
Not only that, he will have to remain in Hong Kong until his next hearing date more than a month away.
The 67-year-old defendant, surnamed Cano, appeared in Kowloo City court earlier today, Oct. 10, charged with communicating false information.
Magistrate Veronica Heung who presided over the special half-day session because of the Chung Yeung festival, allowed Cano to post $1,000 bail, but ordered him to remain in Hong Kong until his next court appearance on Nov. 21.
While waiting for his next hearing date, Cano will live in a shelter provided by the Consulate.
The defendant and his family, including his wife who is a cancer patient, two daughters and a grandson, had just taken their seats in a Cebu Pacific plane bound for Manila when he reportedly quipped that there was a bomb in his luggage.
A Filipino airline staff who heard what Cano had said informed airport security, which proceeded to arrest the defendant and offload the rest of his family.
A daughter of the defendant told The SUN the family had just ended a five-day holiday in Hong Kong and were about to return to Manila when the incident happened.
“Maliit lang naman na bagay iyon,” she said. (Read the full report in the next issue of The SUN)



Agency groups unveil new shelters

Posted on No comments
AHKMA chairwoman Teresa Liu shows Secretary Bello one of the rooms at the AAC. With them are ILAB lawyer Allan Ty and AKHMA Secretary Mirian Sim.


By Vir B. Lumicao

On the day Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III visited two shelters for distressed Filipino workers, Hong Kong employment agencies also unwrapped a surprise– their own halfway houses for the maids.

The agency groups’ shelters highlighted separate meetings on Sept. 24 that two agency groups had with the visiting labor official.

Bello asked Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Hans Cacdac and Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration head Rebecca Calzado to disclose details of the meetings.
“Administrators Calzador and Cacdac had had longer time with them. I had to cut my meetings with them because of other meetings,” the labor secretary said.

Cacdac said the discussions covered the Hong Kong labor market, “especially in terms of protecting our OFWs, especially domestic workers”.

“The agencies anticipated our questions with respect to how well they protect our workers who are in need here in Hong Kong as well as issues that challenged us over the years, such as excessive recruitment fees and other fees that they charged workers,” the POEA head said.

“These matters were taken up amid continuing assertions from the Philippine side that employment agencies should especially look after the welfare of the Filipino workers here in Hong Kong,” he said.

Bello and his team first visited the OWWA-run Filipino Workers’ Resource Center  in Kennedy Town, where the secretary listened to the stories of the  maids housed in the shelter while waiting for their cases to be resolved.

The  entourage then drove to the Bethune House Migrant Women's Refuge  in Sheung Wan to speak with a dozen residents there. They were received by Bethune executive director Edwina Antonio and her clients.

During the meeting, Bello told the residents of President Rodrigo Duterte’s resolve to strengthen the economy so Filipinos would not have to leave the country to earn a living.

“The President loves you. He is cleaning up the country of crime and corruption so that investors will come in and revive the economy,” he said.

From Bethune House, Bello went to a luncheon meeting with owners of member agencies of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies.

Administrator Calzado said that while the discussions between the POEA and the agencies centered on ethical recruitment, “our focus was more about the welfare of overseas Filipino workers they recruited”.

She said the talks also focused on how the agencies and the government could  cooperate in strengthening the pre-departure and post-arrival orientation for the Filipino workers.

Calzado said the agencies were asked how they could help better prepare the OFWs to avoid potential tensions between them and their employers

The HKUEMA briefed the Philippine labor officials on its coming shelter for distressed domestic workers that would house not just Filipinas but other Asian nationalities as well.

Not to be outdone, the Association of Hong Kong Manpower Agencies led by chairwoman Teresa Liu launched its Assistance Action Centre, a halfway house for Filipino and Indonesian helpers who get terminated.

Secretary Bello and Liu unveiled the signage of the shelter, which is on the 11th floor of Phoenix Apartments at 70 Lee Garden Road in Causeway Bay.

The shelter can house as many as 40 people who would stay for free, Lui told The SUN. Its only requirement is for the clients to be recruits of member agencies of AHKMA.

“Our facility is open 24 hours to domestic workers, Filipinos or Indonesians,” Liu said.

The two shelters run by the agency groups impressed the labor officials, who welcomed the idea that there are more shelters for workers in need of a place to go when they run into trouble.

“This is a welcome development and obviously caters to the needs of OFWs,” said Cacdac of the AHKMA facility, which has a Filipina manager.

Passenger from Manila found with 4 kg of cocaine

Posted on 09 October 2016 No comments
Customs officers at Hong Kong's airport have arrested a man who arrived from Manila with nearly 4 kilograms of suspected cocaine  Friday night.
The confiscated drug is estimated to be worth around  $4.4 million.
 A report posted on the Customs' website did not identify the suspect or cite his nationality  but said he arrived in Hong Kong after traveling on a circuitous route from Bogota, Colombia via Panama, Brazil, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Philippines.
Officers spotted suspicious X-ray images inside the man’s suitcase during Customs clearance, the report said.
Upon examination of the suitcase, three slabs of suspected cocaine weighing 3.9kg were found concealed inside false compartments.
The suspect, said to be 20 years old and had claimed to be a merchant, was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at Kowloon City Court on Monday, Oct 10.
It's not clear how he eluded tight security checks at Manila's airport amid a controversial and bloody campaign anti-drugs being waged by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte..
The latest case is the second time in just over a month that a passenger from Latin America used Manila as a transit point to apparently smuggle cocaine into Hong Kong.
On Sept 5, a female passenger arriving from Manila was arrested after Customs officers found 3.33kg of suspected cocaine valued at $3.9 million in her baggage. The drug was concealed in 37 packets of hair care products.
Officials of the Consulate immediately contacted Hong Kong authorities after hearing the report of the arrest, but found out the woman was a Venezuelan who also traveled from Brazil via the Middle East and Manila.
She was charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs in Tsuen Wan Court on Sept 7.
/Vir B. Lumicao

OFW mom hopes missing sailor son alive

Posted on 07 October 2016 No comments
By Vir B. Lumicao

Somewhere on dry land in the North Pacific, a brown man who may not remember his name, his loved ones, or his origin, could be drawn to the seaside everyday, staring at every passing ship, straining to listen to messages from the waves.

If his reckoning is right, he has just turned 40 and, except for his fuzzy memory, he is hale and hearty, and shares a home happily with an old couple who he has come to know as his parents.

Some 13 years after disappearing in mysterious circumstances in the North Pacific while on board the Taiwanese fishing vessel Tah Yuan II, Filipino seaman John Morales Lopez is still alive, his Hong Kong OFW mother believes.

“As a mother, I can sense that John is still alive.”said domestic worker Carmen Grace Morales, 55, in a recent interview with The SUN in Yau Tong.

In March this year, Morales went home to Nueva Vizcaya to attend the graduation of John’s 16-year-old daughter Diane, and the absence of her father again relived for the family painful memories of his disappearance. Diane was just 3 when Lopez disappeared.

Little is known about the circumstances of Lopez vanishing in the high seas on Sept 6, 2003. But Morales’ tale indicated her son was a victim of human traffickers who prey on the gullibility of jobless rural men to fill the demand for slave labor in Asia’s fishing industry.

The whole episode began when Lopez, just back from being a security guard at the Iglesia Ni Cristo in Manila, met a woman in Barangay Bintawan, Villaverde, who was recruiting able-bodied men purportedly for jobs on an international container carrier.

Lopez, a Philippine Maritime Institute graduate and licensed deck officer, insisted on applying despite Morales’ objections, saying the US$500 monthly salary was tempting, and that the recruiter had said that most of his farm peers had already boarded ship.

Despite her qualms, all Morales could do was advise her son to “take care” when she rang up Lopez on June 24, 2003, as he waited for his flight to Singapore where he was to board the container ship.  “Remember you have a family waiting for you” were her parting words – a caution due to stories about sailors having women at every port, and abandoning their families back home.

Three years after Lopez vanished, crewmen of the Tah Yuan II who came home told Morales her son had suffered from intense homesickness as he was thousands of kilometers away from land.
“Nagpaalam daw siya sa kapitan na gusto na niyang umuwi ngunit sinabi sa kanya na nasa gitna ng dagat pa sila,” the mother recounted.

Lopez got so distressed that on Aug. 29, 2003, nine days before he disappeared, he jumped into the rough waters of the Northern Pacific but was rescued by his fellow crew. After that, the Taiwanese captain chained him in a lower-deck cabin so he wouldn’t do silly things again. On the ninth morning, the captain told everyone Lopez was gone.

Wife and children are also waiting.
Lopez’s next of kin, his wife Marie, was informed of the tragedy only in October, more than a month after it happened. Morales said she had contacted the “managing agency” in Singapore named Beverly Agency, the broker in Taiwan, and the fishing boat operator for details on the case, but was told her son was considered “still missing”.

She went to the Consulate to seek help, but despite providing staff there all the details and documents, nothing happened.

“Kaya ipinaalam ko sa kanila noon, iyon nga po I’m just a simple OFW,” Morales said with bitterness. “I feel in my heart, as a mother, buhay siya kaya nga po lahat ng details ko ay nasa net, inilalagay ko po tunay kong pangalan, nagbabaka-sakali. DFA ang may mga koneksiyon. Wala po akong kakilala na maging tulay para po makahingi ng tulong kung ano po ang nararapat. I had all the details of the company, the ship, the broker in Taiwan, in Singapore,” she said.

Eventually, a seafarer sibling of Hong Kong old-timer Jun Paragas connected Morales to the Maritime Industry Authority, the Philippine shipping sector watchdog, and the family was able to secure a half-million-peso insurance payout. The case was considered closed after that.

The case is just one of many tragic incidents on Taiwanese fishing boats on the high seas involving young Filipinos who had fallen for the lure of supposedly high-paying jobs offered by neighborhood recruiters.

These dream merchants turn out to be acting for people in Manila who are mere sub-agents of “managing companies” in Singapore contracted by manning brokers in Taiwan for the country’s large fleets of ocean-going fishing boats.

The seafarers’ travails are documented in the report, “Troubled Waters: Trafficking of Filipino Men into the Long Haul Fishing Industry through Singapore” written by Sallie Yea and published in December 2012.

Yea says the Singapore government is aware of the travails of the Filipino seamen who arrive in the city-state and are picked up by foreign vessels at its port. But she says the government has not a single report of seamen like them having been trafficked.

The research said that “although the Singapore government recognises that these men are exploited (in international waters), because men are labouring outside the country and are therefore not issued with work permits for Singapore, they are not covered by Singaporean regulations governing the employment of foreign manpower”.

In Yau Tong, Lopez’s mother Morales, who has been working in Hong Kong for 21 years, is still hopeful about reuniting with her son. She says a clairvoyant consulted by her friend had said Lopez is in another coastal country, mentally lost but otherwise healthy and in the care of an elderly couple who pulled him out of the sea years ago.

Guided only by a mother’s intuition, she feels her son is still alive, and dreams of the day when she would see him again.

Filipinos reportedly seeking asylum in HK citing Duterte’s anti-drug war

Posted on No comments
By Vir B. Lumicao

Iconic picture of a woman gieving over
 a victim of the anti-drugs war
Some Filipinos citing the wave of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines amid the government’s anti-drugs campaign are reportedly trying to seek asylum abroad and Hong Kong is one of the places in their sights.

According to sources who contacted The SUN recently, a few of these asylum-seekers have already come to Hong Kong, overstayed their tourist visas and applied for non-refoulement claims, citing President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-drugs campaign.

“Some people have found a new reason to justify their bid for asylum, and the anti-drugs campaign is quite a convenient and credible excuse,” one of the sources said.

Previous asylum-seekers have cited various reasons, from death threats by cuckolded husbands, debtors and parties in property disputes, to being threatened with harm by their own relatives for bringing shame to the family.

“The new Filipino asylum-seekers are invoking Article 2 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, which guarantees the right to life,” said another source, who added that the bloodletting at home could set off a wave of refugees.

The anti-drugs war was a platform of Duterte when he ran for the presidency in the Philippines’ national elections in May this year, which he won overwhelmingly.
His victory was immediately followed by a daily spate of summary killings of known and suspected drug suppliers, pushers and addicts, even before he assumed office on July 1.

Statistics from July 1 cited by the Philippine National Police in a Senate probe into the killings was 3,441 dead --1,375 in legitimate police operations and 2,066 “deaths under investigation”, a euphemism for summary executions attributed to vigilantes.

Some of those spooked by the campaign have reportedly left the country to take up residency in another country, or seek a safe haven, as did these asylum or torture claimants in Hong Kong.
The SUN sent an inquiry to the Hong Kong Immigration Department to verify the reports, but failed to get a direct reply. A spokesperson for the Department merely directed this writer to a site which showed that as of June this year, there were a total of 461 Filipinos out of 11,169 torture claimants in Hong Kong.

There are no statistics yet for the relevant period of July to September, when the Duterte administration has been in power.


Inapi, lumaban, nabigo

Posted on No comments
Ilang buwan ding naghintay at lumaban sa kaso si Remy laban sa kanyang among pinalayas siya ng walang dahilan. Ilang buwan pa lang siyang dumating dito sa Hong Kong ay napasabak na agad siya sa isang malupit na amo. Bukod sa dami ng kanyang gawain ay kulang pa ang pagkain.

Minsan ay umaalis ng ilang araw ang kanyang amo at noodles lamang ang kanyang kinakain dahil hindi ito nag-iiwan ng perang pambili ng pagkain. Kadalasan nga ay siya na ang gumagastos sa kanyang pagkain.

Isang araw ay agad na siyang pinalayas nito at hindi niya alam ang dahilan. Bagong salta siya sa kanilang lugar sa New Territories at hindi niya alam kung saan siya pupunta nang gabing pinaalis siya ng amo.

Mabuti na lang at may isang Pinay na tumulong sa kanya. Dinala din siya sa isang NGO na tumutulong sa mga nangangailangan. Nanatili pa si Remy ng ilang buwan dito sa Hong Kong dahil may tumulong sa kanya na idulog sa Labour Dept. ang kanyang kaso upang makuha ang kanyang mga benepisyo.

Tumagal din ng halos tatlong buwan ang kaso dahil sa hindi pagsipot ng kanyang amo. Nakituloy lang si Remy sa mga nagmamagandang loob na kapwa Pinay at kung minsan ay inaabutan din siya ng pera at pagkain.

Kalaunan ay natapos na rin ang kanyang kaso at nabigo siyang maparusahan ang among umapi sa kanya. Napakaliit din ng benepisyong nakuha niya. Ang suweldo lang na hindi niya nakuha at ang ilang mga bayarin sa kanya ang natanggap.

Sa kasamaang palad, hindi rin nakakuha ng bagong amo si Remy. At sa takda ng kanyang visitor’s visa, walang nagawa si Remy kundi umuwing luhaan at hindi na nabawi man lang ang malaking halagang binayad niya sa placement fee para makarating lang dito sa Hong Kong.

Ngunit tila walang dala si Remy dahil ayon sa kanya, mag-iipon lang siya at mag-aaply muli sa abroad. –Jo Campos

Filipino DHs will no longer clean window exteriors from Oct 15

Posted on 06 October 2016 No comments
No more cleaning of windows
from outside from Oct 15
From Oct. 15, employers of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong will be prohibited from ordering their maid to clean the exterior part of windows.

This is in line with a new memorandum issued by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office on Oct. 1, and directed to all accredited employment agencies.

The move came in the wake of calls for the said exclusion from domestic work, following a rash of cases of maids falling from height while cleaning windows, including Rinalyn Dulluog who fell from a Lohas Park high rise on Aug. 9. Her death has led to the coining of the so-called  “Rinalyn Exception”.

Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello tried during his visit to Hong Kong from Sept 23-25 to get his local counterpart Matthew Cheung to agree to the exclusion, but failed to get a definite response. 

Following that visit, Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre issued the memorandum which in part said:

“Pursuant to POLO's mandate to protect the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers, and by virtue of a directive from the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, effective Oct 15, 2016, all contracts of employment submitted individually and by agencies should contain a Rinalyn Exception in the Schedule of Accommodation and Duties, No. 5, which our online filing system, EmployEasy, will automatically print on all contracts as:

"For safety purposes, cleaning the exterior of windows is not part of the domestic helper's duties." 

Please ensure that employers read this part and understand it before they sign the contract you will submit to us for verification and authentication”.

AMCB's Eman Villanueva
POLO’s order was immediately applauded by the Association of Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB), a coalition of migrant support groups, and the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies.

Unifil-Migrante spokesperson Eman Villanueva said, “We welcome POLO’s initiative. It’s a positive move because even with limited capacity and jurisdiction, Labatt de la Torre found a way to respond to our call for improved safety for our workers”.
Thomas Chan, head of the agencies’ group said, “My association supports this idea”. However, he expressed reservations about De la Torre’s plan to print the exclusion directly on the contract, saying this might invalidate the document.

“What we told Labatt is that the exclusion should just be included in a separate document outlining the agencies’ undertaking,” said Chan.
HKUEA's Thomas Chan
He also admitted that some agencies had reservations about the ban, as they anticipate most employers to express resistance.

“They might be thinking, ‘who would clean the windows then?’, but we plan to educate the employers so hopefully, they would come to accept it”.

Villanueva said that a ban on window cleaning is not unusual as it has been in force in Singapore since 2012, also as a result of accidents involving domestic workers.

But Hong Kong has reportedly balked at the idea because it does not want to open the floodgates to other concern groups demanding changes in the standard employment contract, including an employers’ organization that is pushing for a trial period for newly hired maids.

“Ni-raise na naming iyan noon pang August, pero ang mabilis nilang sagot e, mahihirapan silang i-amend yung standard contract kasi yung mga employers at agencies ay may gusto ding ipabago”, said Villanueva.

Still, he said his group will keep on pressing the government to include the prohibition in the contract to enhance workers’ safety.

In the meantime, he said his group plans to lobby the Indonesian consulate to also include the prohibition in the contracts for their newly hired domestic workers.

If both the Philippine and Indonesian governments would add the safety provision, Villanueva said more than 90% of all foreign domestic workers would already be covered, and Hong Kong would not have much reason not to extend the protection to others.- The SUN-HK

Pagsubok ng magkakaibigan

Posted on No comments
Sa kanilang magkakaibigan, unang nakakaranas ng pagbabago sa trabaho at sa bagong pamilyang pinagsisilbihan si Aida. Nang umalis ng Hong Kong ang pamilyang pinagsilibihan niya ng apat na taon, nakakuha naman ng bagong amo si Aida sa Mid-levels.

Bukod sa nahihirapan siyang mag-adjust, ika nga, iba ang ugali ng bagong among Eurasian kesa sa dating amo niya na mga Australian. Ang akala ni Aida ay mas madali ang trabaho dito dahil wala siyang batang aalagaan, ngunit tila nagkamali siya dahil bukod sa napaka demanding ng bagong amo ay parang hindi sila magkakasundo.

Isang araw ay nadatnan ni Aida isang araw pag-uwi niya galing sa day off na may bagong tuta at kuting na sa bahay nila. May bago na siyang aalagaan. Wala namang problema sa kanya dahil mahilig naman si Aida sa hayop; yun  nga lang, napakaraming kaartehan ang kanyang among babae pagdating sa pag-aalaga ng mga ito. Hindi na lang kumikibo si Aida at sinusunod na lang ang lahat ng utos dahil ayaw niyang magkaroon pa sila ng sagutan ng kanyang mataray na amo.

Si Nene naman ang kung tutuusin ay pinakamasuwerte sa amo, bukod sa malaki ang kanyang sahod sa mga Amerikanong amo, halos nalibot na niya ang mundo dahil kasama siya sa lahat ng holiday ng pamilyang kanyang pinagsisilbihan.

Nakatakda nang mag for good ang pamilya sa UK sa susunod na taon at gusto siyang isama ng mga ito, kaya lang, kung  hindi siya makakuha ng working visa doon, malamang na maiwan siya dito sa Hong Kong. Ito ang pangamba ni Nene dahil alam niyang makahanap man siya ng bagong amo dito ay imposibleng makuha niya ang dating sahod niya.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit nag-aral siya ng pagmamaneho ng sasakyan. Sakaling pumasa siya at makuha bilang lady driver ay malaki ang pag-asa na makakuha siya ng sweldo na malaki.

Ang kaibigan naman nilang si Mary ay may pangamba din sa nalalapit na pagreretiro ng kanyang amo dahil balaki nitong lumipat ng ibang bansa. Sampung taon din siyang nagtrabaho sa mag-asawang Australian at nakasanayan na niya ang mga ito na tinuring na rin siyang pamilya.

Nangangamba si Mary na maninibago siya sakaling lumipat siya ng ibang amo. Ang sabi naman sa kanya ng kanyang mga kaibigan, hindi siya mahihirapang maghanap ng bagong amo dahil napakasipag niya at magaling magluto.

Sa apat na magkakaibigan, si Jay naman ang may among walang balak mag for good dahil kahit retirado na ito ay hindi aalis ng Hong Kong. Ang matandang Briton ay 20 taon na niyang amo. Sa pagtatapos ng kanyang ika sampung kontrata, uuwi na si Jay sa Pilipinas.

May mga pangamba din siya na maninibago tiyak siya sa pamumuhay sa Pilipinas ngunit nakahanda siya dito dahil na rin sa matagal na siyang pinauuwi ng kanyang mga kapatid. Mahigit 30 taon na rin siya dito sa Hong Kong at gusto na rin niyang makasama ang kanyang pamilya.

Maraming mga pagbabago ang nakaamba sa kanilang magkakaibigan ngunit alam nilang makakaya nila ang mga ito dahil lahat sila ay may mga pangarap at magkakaiba man ito, alam nilang matutupad din nila ang mga ito. –Jo Campos

Ipinaglaban niya ang ipinagbuntis na baby

Posted on 05 October 2016 No comments
Pinayuhan ng doktor si Bella na ilaglag ang kanyang ipinagbubuntis pitong taon na ang nakakaraan dahil may diperemsiya daw ang sanggol, at maaaring pati ang buhay niya mismo ay malagay sa alanganin dahil sa kanyang karamdaman  Masyadong mababa ang bilang ng red blood cells niya dahil sa nilalabanan niyang sakit  at ayon sa doktor hindi kakayanin ng katawan niya ang magbuntis.

Ngunit hundi pumayag si Bella sa gusto ng doktor, at ang sabi ay Diyos lamang daw ang may karapatang bumawi sa kanyang ipinagbubuntis.  Naniniwala daw siya na dahil sa kanyang pananampalataya ay magiging maayos ang kalagayan nilang mag-ina.

Medyo may edad na din kasi si Bella noong ikinasal siya dahil inunang tinulungan ang mga kapatid sa kanilang pag-aaral.

Laking pasasalamat niya sa Panginoon dahil lumabas na normal at malusog ang kanyang anak, na ngayon ay nasa Grade 7 na.  Napakaganda at matalinong bata ang kanyang naging anak, at lagi niyang naiisip  ngayon na kung hindi lamang daw malakas ang paniniwala niya sa Panginoon ay wala sana siyang anghel  ngayon.

Regular pa rin ang check-up niya para makontrol ang sakit niya sa dugo, habang patuloy na naninilbihan sa kanyang mga mababait na among Chinese sa New Territories. Ang anak niya ay nasa pangangalaga ng kanyang butihing asawa sa Pilipinas. - Marites Palma

Bello to seek legal status for 200K Pinoys in China

Posted on No comments
By Vir B. Lumicao

President Rodrigo Duterte may visit Beijing before the end of October, ostensibly in a bid to improve frayed relations between the Philippines and China over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea.

This was disclosed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III in a press conference in Hong Kong on Sept 25, who also said that he was himself  planning to visit Beijing this month to seek legal status for as many as 200,000 Filipinos working illegally in China.

Bello, answering a question from Gloria Cheung of the Financial Times about Filipino illegal workers on the mainland, said he wanted to visit China soon, but he would have to go to Oslo, Norway first for the resumption of peace negotiations talks with Communist rebels.

“After my visit to Oslo, I may join our President who earlier intimated to me his intention to visit China. So it would be before the end of October, unless he decides first to go to Saudi Arabia to thank the King for having been very generous and very protective of our overseas workers. If the President goes, then I go,” the labor secretary said.

He said he intended to pursue his earlier plan to visit China, maybe Beijing, “and talk to the authorities on how to legitimize the stay of our workers and at the same time look at the possibility of bringing in more workers under legitimate circumstances.”

The secretary said that two weeks before flying to Hong Kong on Sept 23, he was informed by Labor Attaché Jalilo de la Torre that there are 100,000 to 200,000 Filipino overseas workers in China.
“Of course, the news was alarming, so, my immediate reaction was to go to China and make representation with the Chinese government on how to legitimize the stay of our overseas workers there,” Bello said.

Asked by Cheung why he thought Beijing would allow Filipinos to work on the mainland despite an oversupply of domestic workers there, Bello said he believed the market was big enough to absorb the OFWs already there.

He also said the Filipino workers would not necessarily compete with locals.

"Our intention is premised on the fact that your country will always need the services of our people, otherwise we won’t be bringing in anymore new workers to your country except to look into the problems of our almost 200,000 workers there now whose stay must be legitimized,” Bello said.

Bello, tumugon sa hinaing ng migrante

Posted on 04 October 2016 No comments

Ni Gina N. Ordona  

Positibong tinugunan ni Labor Secretary  Silvestre Bello III ang karamihan sa mga panawan ng mga migranteng manggagawsa Hong Kong sa isang pagpupulong na ginanap sa University of HK noong ika-25 ng Set.

Kasama ni Sec. Bello na humarap sa mahigit 200 lider ng iba't-ibang organisasyon gaya ng dating pinuno ng Philippine Overseas Employment Administration na si Hans J. Cacdac at si Rebecca J. Calzado,  dating administrator ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Karamihan sa mga isyu ay agarang binigyan ni Bello ng kasagutan pero ang ilan ay sinabi niyang pag-aaralan muna nang husto. Isa dito ang usapin tungkol sa pagbabawal ng direct hiring. Hindi man lubusan niya itong sinang-ayunan pero sinabi niya na pag-aaaralan daw muna nila ng husto ang mungkahing tanggalin ang pagbabawal ng direct hiring. Sinabi niyang mahirap itong ibalik dahil ngayon nga daw na may recruitment agencies ay marami pa rin ang nagiging biktima ng mga illegal recruiter.

“Kasi maingat ako e. Kapag direct hire, meron danger na magiging biktima ng human trafficking,” sabi ni Bello.

Gayunpaman, matapos bigyang linaw nina Dolores Balladares at  Eman Villanueva na ang hinihiling lang naman ay para sa mga dati nang nandito sa HK at sila mismo ang nakahanap ng amo. Ito ay para daw maiwasan ang mga ilegal na bayarin  na sinisingil ng recruitment agencies.

"Pag-aralan kong mabuti at baka papayag ako kung ire-recommend ni Administrator Cacdac at Administrator Calzado. Basta meron yung tinatawag na proseso,” sabi ni Bello.

Kaugnay naman sa ilegal at sobra-sobrang sinisingil ng mga ahensiya, sinabi ni Bello na kung wala nang placement fee, wala na din dapat training fee.

"My idea is that, when you recruit, you select the right people for the job. You train at kapag hindi natuto huwag mong kunin,” sabi niya.

Ngunit nilinaw ni Cacdac na wala nang babayaran na placement fee sa POEA kundi training fee na lang. Ayon daw sa Tesda, dapat Php7,000 lang ang training cost pero kung kasama ang board and lodging ay aabot ito ng Php 15,000.  Ang babayaran naman sa pagsusulit para  makakuha ng sertipiko ay Php 400 lang. Sa kabila nito, lumalabas daw sa kanilang pagsisiyasat na idinadagdag ng ilang recruitment agencies ang placement fee sa training fee. Dahil dito ay  marami na daw silang kinansela na lisensya ng mga recruitment agency .

Ayon kay Cacdac mahigit 240 na ang bilang ng mga ahensiya na kinansela ang lisensiya dahil sa ilegal na pagsingil ng placement fee. Hinikayat din niya ang mga biktima na isumbong ang mga ahensyang lumalabag sa batas upang mapatawan nila ng kaukulang parusa.

Sa panig naman ng Philippine Overseas Labor Office,sinabi ni Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre na dumalo din sa pagpupulong, paparusahan din niya  din niya mga ahensiya na naniningil na sobra sa itinakdang 10% ng isang buwan na sahod.

Sa usapin naman ng OEC o overseas employment  certificate, sinabi ni Bello na may  ginawa na siyang circular tungkol dito. Sinabi niya na kapag umuwi at bumalik ang manggagawa sa parehong employer at parehong lugar ay hindi na kailangang magbayad ng OEC.

“Pero puwede siguro nating pag-usapan pa na kung puwede ay huwag na,” sabi ni Bello.  Bukas daw ang kanyang  tanggapan para pag-usapan ang tuluyan nang pag-alis sa OEC. Pero dapat daw na kunsultahin  muna ang POEA at OWWA tungkol dito.

Bilang dagdag paliwanag, sinabi ni Cacdac na maiging pumunta sa Polo para alamin kung nasa talaan ng POEA ang pangalan.

“One time only lang ang pagpunta ninyo sa POLO. Tutulungan nila kayo pala malaman kung nandun na kayo sa data base. Kung hindi naman,ipapasok ang pangalan ninyo sa talaan. After that, puwede na ninyong gawin ang update sa online,” sabi ni Cacdac.

Sinabi din niya na may dene-develop silang mobile application para lalo pang mapadali ang proseso sa pagkuha ng OEC.

Samantala, nais din ni Bello na tuluyan nang tanggalin ang pre-departure orientation seminar o PDOS dahil ginagamit daw ito ng ilan para kumita.

“Ayaw kong mangako pero basically I’m against PDOS specially  kung may babayaran,” sabi ni Bello.

Sa usapin ng OWWA, hindi pumayag si Bello na ibigay ang kahilingan na gawing voluntary ang membership at hindi gawing kundisyon sa pagproseso ng kontrata.

“Bakit ayaw ninyong maging member? Proteksiyon niyo yan,”sabi ni Bello.

Binanggit din niya ang plano ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na magkaroon ng sariling bangko ang mga OFW. Baka raw bilhin ng  OWWA ang Philippine Postal Bank at tatawaging itong OFW Bank.
Sa kasalukuyan, sinabi ni Bello na umaabot na ng Php 19.2 billion ang pondo ng OWWA at ipinangako niya na para sa kapakanan ng OFWs lang gagamitin ang pera.

Nangako din si Bello na titingnan ang kasong isinampa ng Coalation of Service Providers for Ethnic Minorities laban sa dating Labor Attache na si Manuel Roldan. Sinabi ni Bello na pag-aaralan niya ang pagsampa ng kasong palsipikasyon imbes na misconduct lang laban kay Roldan.  Maging ang abogadong humahawak sa kaso ay kakausapin daw niya dahil matagal na itong nakabinbin.

Dininig din ni Bello ang kahilingan ng mga migranteng manggagawa sa Macau, kabilang ang pagbubukas ng Konsulado  doon tuwing araw ng Linggo, at ang pagkakaroon ng matutuluyan ng mga manggagawang may problema.


Nagmalaki si Pinay, pinababa tuloy

Posted on No comments
Nasisante si Joy dahil ayaw sumunod sa pakiusap ng amo na umuwi siya nang medyo maaga tuwing Linggo ng gabi dahil kinabukasan ay may pasok sila sa kanilang trabaho. Matapang pa si Joy sa pagsasabing araw ng pahinga niya iyon kaya uuwi siya kung kailan niya gusto.

Hindi niya naisip na  maaga pa lang ay pinapayagan na siyang lumabas tuwing Sabado ng gabi, at kinabukasan na ang uwi.

Kampante siya na hindi siya papalitan ng amo dahil spoiled daw siya sa kanila. Dahil likas na mababait ang mga amo ay hindi sila nagparamdaman ng kakaiba kay Joy.

Pero isang araw, nabigla na lamang si Joy at halos mapaiyak sa sama ng loob nang dumating na ang kanyang kapalit at pinapababa na siya ora mismo. Noon lamang siya natauhan ngunit huli na ang lahat. Gayunpaman, nanatili siyang mapang-mataas.

Naikuwento niya sa isang ka building na pinababa siya dahil hindi daw siya  pumayag sa gusto ng amo na isama siya sa Amerika, at mag-anak ng isa pa. Dahil daw umayaw  siya ay pinababa siya nang wala sa oras.

Tiyempo namang nagkakwentuhan sa bus ang kinuwentuhan at isang malapit kay Joy, kaya lumabas din ang katotohanan. Napatawa na lamang ang dalawang Pinay at ang sabi ng isa ay napakayabang kasi ni Joy at abusado kaya iyon ang napala niya.

Si Joy ay isang Bisaya. at kandarapa ngayon sa paghahahap ng bagong amo. - Marites Palma

Bello eyes falsification in case against Roldan

Posted on 03 October 2016 No comments
By The SUN Team

The case against former labor attaché in Hong Kong, Manuel Roldan, is not yet over
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III promised to review the case against Roldan, who was accused of allowing his driver to operate an employment agency in violation of anti-graft laws and accrediting 90 new agencies despite a long-standing freeze on the practice.

Bello said at a community forum organized by Unifil-Migrante and Bayan HK on Sept 25  that he would consider charging the former labor attaché with falsification of public documents instead of simple misconduct.

This stemmed from a finding made by an investigating panel formed by the Consulate that the employment contract of Roldan’s driver, Donald Retirado, had been tampered with to make it look like he was no longer employed by the government when his daughter formed an employment agency.

Roldan allowed the agency to be accredited with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration but denied knowing beforehand its connection to his driver.
The labor secretary said he would also speak to the lawyer handling the case of Roldan because, accordingly, it had long been pending.

The case against Roldan was filed in mid-2014 by the Coalition of Service Providers for Ethnic Minorities, a group of NGOs that is helping distressed migrant workers.

An investigative panel formed by Consul General Bernardita Catalla to look into the complaint found he had a case to answer. Congen Catalla endorsed the findings to the Department of Foreign Affairs, which in turn referred the case to the Department of Labor and Employment.

Roldan returned to the Philippines in October that year, after completing his tour of duty.

But after a hearing where only Roldan was called to testify, a. Dole panel formed by then Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz found the former labor attache guilty of simple misconduct for which he was to be suspended from work for one month, or pay the equivalent in pay as fine
Bello admitted that the case had not yet reached his desk, but invited parties with other complaints against Roldan to come forward.

“First, it (Roldan’s case) has not officially reached my desk. But I was just reading awhile ago about the case of Mr Roldan, who was convicted of an offense of grave misconduct but, upon motion for reconsideration, his conviction was reduced to simple misconduct and was given a one-month suspension or fine,” Bello said at a press conference at the Consulate.

“I understand that Mr Roldan appealed the resolution lowering his penalty to one month or fine. But, anyway, it was a fine. In other words, this case has not become final and executory, so we will have to do away with a resolution on his motion for reconsideration,” Bello said.

The labor secretary said he did not know if there were other complaints against Roldan. “If you have additional information, I would appreciate it,” Bello said.

CSPEM and migrants’ groups have long been outraged that Baldoz had practically cleared Roldan of the charges without calling them to present their evidence against him.

Dole said then that Roldan was not aware that the agency he allowed to be accredited was owned by Retirado's daughter.

It also did not deem him to have acted in bad faith when he approved the accreditation of 90 new agencies during his three-year term.

OWWA contribution now valid for two years

Posted on No comments
A long-standing demand by overseas Filipino workers has finally been addressed, though Ironically, not by the present administration, but the past.

Addressing Filipino community leaders on Sept. 25, former OWWA administrator Rebecca J. Calzado announced that a law signed on May 31 this year by former president Benigno S. Aquino III made the US$25 members' contribution valid for two years, unlike in the past when an OFW had to pay the fee for each employment contract processed.

“Which therefore means, if you are prematurely terminated, your membership is still good for two years,” sabi ni Calzado.

Under OWWA Act 108001, longtime members will also be entitled to a rebate “Those of you that have made a minimum contribution of 10 years, pero hindi pa siya naka-avail ni minsan sa benefits ng OWWA, meron kayong rebates,” Calzado said.

However, she cautioned that the new law still needs implementing guidelines, which in turn, would require a consultation among stakeholders on how the rebate program could be put into effect.
Another benefit provided under the new law is the increase in the number of OFW representatives in the OWWA Board of Trustees. OFWs, both land-based and sea-based, will now have two representatives each, instead of just one. - Gina N. Ordona

HK gov’t says Emry's will be prosecuted

Posted on 02 October 2016 No comments
Visiting Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III  meets with representatives of Emry’s victims.
By Vir B. Lumicao

Hong Kong government officials have given assurance that an employment agency said to be behind a multi-million dollar jobs scam to Britain and Canada that victimized hundreds of Filipino workers will be prosecuted.

This was according to Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre, who said the assurance came during talks on Sept. 23 between Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello IIII and his Hong Kong counterpart Matthew Cheung.

The recruitment agency in question, Emry's Service Staff Employment Agency, along with its former owner, Ester P. Ylagan, have beenx identified by more than 200 Filipino complainants as being behind the fraud.

Bello, who visited Hong Kong between Sept 23-25, was grilled, along with key members of his delegation, on the issue of Emry’s and other agencies that offered non-existent jobs to OFWs in places like Britain, Canada, Russia, Turkey and Saipan.

“The (Emry’s) issue has been discussed with Labour Secretary Matthew Cheung and he assured us in no uncertain terms that there will be prosecution in the Labour Court by the Employment Agencies Administration and summonses will be issued,” De la Torre said.

However, a criminal prosecution is still not in the cards as the Hong Kong police are still said to be investigating.

POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac said his office is also on top of the case.

“To show our resolve to look into this matter, we have suspended Emry’s from the Philippine employment program both from the POEA and on their (Hong Kong) side. We are starting with the first significant step and we’ll dig deep into this matter,” he said.

He also hinted that a human trafficking case  could be filed as a result of investigations from the Philippine end.

"As you know there is also an Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking and … so there will also be a coordinated effort with IACAT at home. And definitely we are also coordinating with Labatt De la Torre who, in turn. coordinates with the Hong Kong side,” said Cacdac.

De la Torre added that POLO is seeking to consolidate the cases for easier monitoring, as they are currently being heard individually by the Small Claims Tribunal.

He also introduced two of around 600 claimants in the case, Ronia Benalio and Elvira Balajadia, who showed up at the press conference to appeal for help from Sec. Bello.

Bello stood and walked over to Benalio and Balajadia, both domestic workers, as they handed a letter signed by several jobseekers who claimed to have paid Ylagan between $10,000 and $15,000 for the fake jobs.

He spoke with them a few minutes about their case and endorsed their letter to his legal staff, Atty Allan Ty. At the same time, Bello assured the two women that Labatt De la Torre would look after their case

Bello and his team were put on the defensive by Filipino journalist Jun Concepcion, who implied that the Philippine government was not doing enough to prevent such scams.

“It is a case of too late the hero. People have already been victimized (and) the government is hard-pressed to help the victims,” said Concepcion, who said that there was no way for workers to verify at the Consulate if the job offers were real.

But De la Torre replied that in the case of Emry’s, his office had verified with POLO London that there were no job orders.

“Particularly with Emry’s, we did our jobs. We checked with POLO London and POLO London certified that there are no existing jobs for nannies, caregivers, whatever. So, we did our jobs as part of the data checking out,” the labor attaché said.

He received support from Consul General Bernie Catalla who said the workers were also to blame.
"The problem really is with our Filipino workers because they believe recruiters who promise them big salaries," said Catalla.

She cited the case of a Filipina who had just sent her an email saying she had been duped by another agency that offered her a job in Russia. The woman, who arrived in Hong Kong in March this year, paid the agency $6,000, before realizing that she had been tricked.

“Again it’s really information dissemination. Some people are really hard-headed. Even if they know it’s really illegal recruitment they still believe all these promises,” Catalla said. “I’m sure there are still lots of them who believe that there are jobs out there in Russia, in Turkey, in Saipan, in Canada and in the UK.”

Bello said that while cracking down on agencies engaging and recruiting OFWs based in Hong Kong is the responsibility of local authorities, “it is also incumbent upon us to educate our overseas workers here, so that they don’t (become) easy prey”.

Apart from Bello, Cacdac and de la Torre, the Philippine delegation included Overseas Workers Welfare Administration head Rebecca Calzado and Vice Consul Fatima Quintin.

The Hong Kong side included Cheung, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo, and Permanent Secretary for Labour Annie Tam.
Don't Miss