Urgent appeal for blood donations

The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) has appealed to the public for immediate blood donations as the inventories of all blood groups are now in shortage and can only sustain four days of normal blood supply.

Public support will ensure the necessary blood supply and clinical transfusion treatment for patients.

“The BTS sincerely urges people from all walks of life to join in. The BTS hopes to have at least 1,100 donors daily in the coming days,” a Red Cross statement said.

“The BTS appeals to eligible citizens to come forward to donate blood in the coming two weeks or as soon as possible to increase the blood inventories in order to satisfy the blood demand from hospitals to treat chronically and critically ill patients in need of transfusion,” the statement said.

To encourage blood donors to respond to this appeal by action, all donors who donate blood at donor centres successfully will receive souvenirs while stock lasts.

Anyone aged between 16 and 60 (donation is possible up to the age of 70 if predetermined conditions are met), weighs over 41 kg and in good health is eligible to give blood. Adult donors aged 18 or above can donate every 75 days and every 105 days respectively.

Agencies eye Cambodia for victims, says HK rights lawyer

By Vir B. Lumicao

Lawyer Patricia Ho

Hong Kong employment agencies’ are claiming a shortage of skilled helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia because they want workers who are easy to manipulate or abuse, a local human rights lawyer says.

Patricia Ho, a pro bono lawyer of church groups and NGOs and an employer herself, expressed outrage at the agencies’ claims that there is a shortage of labor.

“Any shortage of labor is a complete lie,” said Ho at a forum held to introduce the group Students Against Fees and Exploitation at Hong Kong University on May 11.

Ho was reacting to a recent news report that the agencies welcome the opening of Hong Kong’s job market to Cambodian domestic workers to fill the demand for skilled helpers.

“I was so enraged when I read that. Just the fact that Hong Kong employment agencies welcomed the move sounds all the alarm bells…All over Hong Kong there are many domestic helpers looking for jobs,” Ho said.

She said Filipino, Thai and Indonesian helpers are increasingly educated about their labor rights so the agencies look for labor “who are easy to manipulate, cheat, take advantage of, or worse still, abuse.”

The lawyer said agencies in Hong Kong thrive on excessive fees and black market practices and “need victims” – Cambodians who largely do not speak English or Chinese.

She said the Cambodians’ “sometimes low education, being placed in a city where you don’t speak the language (and) where you’re not familiar with the laws, having your passport retained by agents and being usually in debt bondage for agencies…are indicators of forced labour or human trafficking”.

Hongkongers are generally kind employers who are enraged when NGOs accuse them of mistreating their employees, Ho said.

It is only a small minority, especially agents who profit from the trade in helpers, who maltreat the most vulnerable and probably the weakest among them, Ho said. “It is these most vulnerable ones that we have to protect, and it is those agents that we have to bring to justice,” she added.

Ho said “the agencies are experts at skirting existing laws and the authorities are slow in bringing them to justice… The government is actively turning a blind eye to forced labour and human trafficking, and worse still, they continue to create policy and open doors, such as now inviting Cambodian helpers to this slave trade… our government condones the slave trade.”

She urged “fair-minded employers” to back calls for the government to stamp out abuses of the current system and strengthen laws to prevent exploitation of the most vulnerable.

HK Polo helps rescue distressed OFW in Saudi Arabia

Irene L. Martinez

By Vir B. Lumicao

An OFW who was stranded in Saudi Arabia after escaping from her abusive employer more than a year ago is finally in the relative safety of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh with help from labor officials in Hong Kong.

And, having been granted amnesty and an exit visa by the Saudi government, Wilma L. Bartolome, a 37-year-old single mother, may be on a flight home soon to reunite with her five children and other relatives in Cagayan province.

Bartolome was rescued on Apr 25 from her “hideout” for over a year – the home of a Saudi police officer in Afif, a city some 480 kilometers west of Riyadh – thanks to information her niece, a domestic worker in Hong Kong, had provided Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre.

Response was quick. Labatt De la Torre, acting on a request for help by Irene L. Martinez on Apr 17, contacted his counterpart in Riyadh on Facebook and soon the plan for Bartolome’s rescue was set in motion.

“It’s really the power of social media. Labatts have a Facebook messenger chatroom where cases like this are endorsed to the labatt who has jurisdiction. It’s administered by our mother unit, the International Labor Affairs Bureau,” Labatt De la Torre said.

“I have endorsed quite a few already but the Martinez case was the one which had quick results.”  
Private messages to Martinez which the latter showed The SUN said Bartolome had wanted to surrender to Saudi authorities so she could fly home soon to attend to her sick daughter, but the policeman who harbored her refused to let her go.

The niece said Bartolome went to work in Riyadh on March 20, 2016 but things went bad when her employer’s wife allegedly maltreated and physically abused her.

Bartolome said she was accused by the woman of stealing various items from the house.
“Kasi noong nandoon ako sa amo kong una, pinagbibintangan niya akong nagnakaw ng pera, cellphone, alahas, damit, abaya,” and gadgets in the kitchen, Bartolome wrote.

The helper said she endured the long working hours, insults and false accusations, but she decided to leave when the employer’s wife said she would not pay her any cent.

Then on Apr 20, 2016, after her hand was burned by the Saudi woman with a flatiron, she fled.

Fleeing her employer was very risky in Saudi Arabia, as her boss had kept her passport in a safe and she was not allowed to leave the house alone.

But Bartolome was so desperate to escape that with just a copy of her passport and her iqama, a local ID that limited her movement to the province where she worked, she bolted.

She met the policeman, Mahed Naif Al-Atawi, who allegedly took her to his home because his family needed a helper.

The officer promised her a work contract, but a year later, Bartolome remained an illegal worker.

Through friends, she managed to inform the Philippine embassy about her situation, but when embassy staff called up the policeman’s house about Bartolome, his wife allegedly refused to turn her in.

So, she sought help from her niece in Hong Kong.

Martinez approached Labatt De la Torre for help to contact the embassy in Riyadh, and after two days the labor attaché sent a text message to the helper that POLO staff were already contacting the distressed OFW in Afif.

On May 2, in a video call by Martinez to her quarters at Bahay Kalinga, Bartolome said that she was just working on some clearances and waiting for her plane ticket.

She said the police officer and his family had visited her at the POLO shelter in Riyadh imploring her not to go home, but she told him she would return to his household if he got her a work contract and a work visa.

In the meantime, Bartolome is too eager to fly home and be reunited with her children and parents.              

Ayaw na sa among magulang

Kasalukuyang naghahanap ng malilipatan si Charito, isang Manilenya at may tatlong anak. Malapit na kasing matapos ang kontrata niya sa amo niyang Indian na nagpahirap sa kanya nang husto.

Bale tatlong pamilya ang pinagsilbihan niya. Alas kuwatro pa lang ng umaga ay gising na siya para maghanda ng sandwiches para sa almusal ng kapatid at magulang ng amo niya na nasa ibang bahay. Hatid-sundo din niya sa eskwela ang dalawang anak ng isa pang kapatid ng kanyang amo.

Sa bahay ng sariling amo ay siya rin ang gumagawa ng lahat ng trabaho, kaya pagod na pagod siya.

Nagtiis lang daw siya para hindi ma-terminate dahil may tatlo siyang anak na mag-isang itinataguyod. Nakipaghiwalay siya sa kanyang mister 19 taon na ang nakakaraan dahil sa pambabae nito. Halos hindi na sila maabutan ng pera sa dami ng mga anak nito sa labas.

Dahil sa kanyang sariling pagsisikap ay naitaguyod niya ang kanyang mga anak, at sa ngayon ang panganay niya ay third year na sa nursing.

Para mapagkasya ang kanyang kita ay katakot-takot na pagtitipid ang ginagawa nilang mag-iina. Wala silang internet sa bahay kaya wala sila lahat sa Facebook, at nagkakasya sa texting at paminsang tawagan sa telepono para magkamustahan.

Mismong telepono ni Charito ay hindi na halos mabasa ang keypad sa kalumaan. Sa kabila nito ay desidido pa rin si Charito na kumayod ng husto dahil gusto niyang mailagay sa mabuti ang kanyang mga anak. – Merly T. Bunda

Terminate agad dahil hindi marunong mag-Cantonese

Ang pagkakaalam ni Gracia ay tatlong miyembro lamang ng isang pamilya ang kanyang pagsisilbihan dahil iyon ang nakalagay sa kanyang kontratang pinirmahan. Ngunit laking pagkadismaya niya sa kanyang pagdating dahil dalawa pala ang anak ng mag-asawa, at mayroon pang tag-iisang anak ang mga ito.

Bagamat nabigla ay sinubukan pa rin niyang gawin ang lahat ng kanyang makakaya para pagsilbihan ang malaking pamilya.

Sa kasamaang palad ay hindi pa rin ito naging sapat dahil makalipas lang ang limang araw ay tinerminate siya ng kanyang amo dahil daw hindi siya marunong mag Cantonese.

Wala sa loob na pumirma siya ng kasulatan na siya ang nag-terminate sa kontrata, at tinatanggap ang sahod para sa limang araw na trabaho bilang kabuuang bayad.

Nang sabihin niya ang nangyari sa mga kamag-anak ay sinamahan siyang magreklamo sa Konsulado ngunit wala na daw silang magagawa dahil pumirma na siya sa kasunduan. Humingi din sila ng tulong sa kanyang agency ngunit bagkus na tulungan siya ay pinagalitan pa siya dahil pumirma siya sa kasulatan na hindi man lang niya binabasa at inaalam muna ang kanyang karapatan.

Hindi na siya tinulungan ng agency na makahanap ng ibang amo.

Sinubukan din niyang mag-aplay sa ibang ahensya nguni’t walang tumulong sa kanya dahil limang araw lang siya nakapagtrabaho. Naubos ang 14 araw na palugit na hindi siya nakakakita ng ibang amo.

Sabi naman ng mga kamag-anak, “charge to experience” na lang daw ang nangyari. Pinayuhan din siya na laging pag-aaralan ang mga ginagawang hakbang, at basahing mabuti kung ano man ang pinapapirma sa kanya.

Si Gracia ay isang Ilokana, dalaga at tubong Nueva Ecija.- Marites Palma

Nahulog, nawala

Papunta pa lang sa kanilang lugar sa Cagayan Valley ang sinakyang bus ni Ana na kagagaling sa Hong Kong nang mapansin niyang nawala ang kanyang cell phone. Agad niyang ipinaalam sa konduktor at drayber ang pagkawala nito, at agad naman nilang ipinaalam sa mga ibang pasahero na pakibalik ang nawaglit na telepono dahil nakaipit doon ang Hong Kong ID ni Ana.

Nakiusap si Ana na kahit iyong HKID na lang niya ang ibalik dahil napakaimportante nun sa kanyang pagbabalik sa trabaho sa Hong Kong ngunit walang lumapit para magsauli ng telepono niya. Sa awa ay sinabihan siya ng drayber na iwan ang cellphone number ng kanyang mister at baka sakaling makonsiyensa pa rin ang nakapulot at ibalik kahit iyong HKID lang niya.

Bumalot ang malaking takot kay Ana dahil  hindi niya alam kung ano ang isasagot niya pagbalik niya sa Hong Kong at harangin siya sa immigration dahil wala siyang maipakitang HKID. Kumalma lang siya nang kaunti nang sabihan siya ng isang kaibigan na ireport agad sa pulis ang pagkawala ng kanyang HKID, at gumawa ng affidavit of loss sa tulong ng isang notary publiko para iyon ang ipakita sa HK Immigration bilang katibayan ng pagkawala ng kanyang ID.

Mabuti na lamang at may photocopy ang kanyang HKID na naitago niya sa lagayan ng kanyang mga mahahalagang dokumento para gawing patunay sa pagkawala nito.

Paalala ng kanyang kaibigan, sa susunod ay itago na niya ang kanyang HKID sa bag at nang hindi ito madaling mawala, at ingatan ang iba pang mga mahahalagang gamit at dokumento katulad ng telepono, pasaporte at air ticket para hindi magka-aberya ang kanyang pagbabiyahe.

Nangako naman si Ana sa sarili na dodoblehin niya ang pag-iingat sa susunod na pag-uwi niya.

Si Ana ay isang Ilokana, may asawa at mga anak. – Marites Palma

Dugyot ang amo

Si Lea ay isang Ilongga at mahigit 16 taon nang nagsisilbi sa iba-ibang amo sa Hong Kong. Sa kasalukuyan ay nagtatrabaho sa mag-asawang Intsik na matipid dahil hindi masyadong maalwan sa buhay.

Maliit lang ang kanilang bahay kaya maluwag sa trabaho si Lea. Pati ang mga damit ng mag-asawa ay kakaunti dahil walang paglalagyan. Dahil dito ay bilang ni Lea pati ang panty ng kanyang among babae.
Sa inaraw-araw niyang paglilinis ay napapansin ni Lea na hindi nababawasan ang 10 piraso ng amo na nasa lagayan. Nang hindi na siya makatiis ay tinanong niya ang amo kung bakit hindi ito nagpapalit ng underwear.

Nagulat ang kanyang amo at sinabi nitong bakit alam ng katulong na 10 lang ang kanyang panty, at hindi siya nagpapalit.

Ayon kay Lea, kasi lagi niyang binibilang ang mga ito kaya alam niyang hindi nababawasan. Iyon pala ay gumagamit ng panty liner or sanitary pad ang kanyang amo para makatipid sa labahin.

Pero magmula nang masita ay araw-araw na itong nagpapalit. – Merly T. Bunda

Pinay falls to death while cleaning window

Building where the tragedy occurred. (Google Maps photo)

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina fell to her death while cleaning a window on the seventh floor of a building Mong Kok on May 17, but police ruled out foul play. 

Investigators said the victim was not a domestic helper.

Initial police investigation showed the 30-year-old woman was cleaning the window of a flat she shared with her Pakistani partner when the incident happened, the Police Public Relations Bureau told The SUN.

“At 10:27 pm on May 17, (police) found a Filipino female lying unconscious on the podium of a residential building on 179 Tung Choi St in Mong Kok,” the officer said.

Local media reports said the woman was found lying unconscious on the canopy on the second floor of the building.

The spokeswoman said firemen took the victim to Kwong Wah Hospital but the woman was certified dead on arrival.

The officer said the victim was not named in the report received by the PPRB from the Mong Kok Station.

But she said initial investigation showed the victim was cleaning the window of the flat when she lost her balance. 

Police found no suspicious circumstances leading to the death, the officer said.

An officer at the Consulate's assistance to nationals section said the woman’s Pakistani live-in partner had already reported the death and sought assistance.

But the woman's identity could not be immediately ascertained. 

The man was distraught and emotional as he accompanied paramedics to the hospital, local reports said.

Local daily, the South China Morning Post cited records showing that at least 11 people had either died or suffered injury from accidental falls since 2015 while cleaning windows or doing renovation work on Hong Kong’s high-rise buildings.

At least four incidents involved domestic helpers, the latest of which killed 35-year-old Rinalyn Dulluog who fell from a Lohas Park high-rise on Aug 9.

Her death led to the Consulate, through Labor Attache  Jalilo dela Torre, to exclude window cleaning from tasks expected of Filipino overseas workers.

On Jan 13, the Hong Kong Labour Department adopted the move by barring the cleaning of windows not fitted with grilles, and by requiring that no part of the helper’s body except the arms could extend beyond the window ledge.

Togolese jailed 9 years for raping DH

Tuen Mun courthouse.

 A Togolese man accused of indecently assaulting and raping his Filipina domestic helper two years ago in Tuen Mun was sentenced on May 17 by a High Court judge to 4 years in jail for indecent assault and 9 years for rape.

Kokou Apelete, 37, a muscular construction worker, bawled loudly as Judge Esther Toh was summarizing the case at sentencing. Toh ordered the sentences to be served concurrently as the offense of rape immediately followed the indecent assault.

A day earlier, a jury of four women and three men voted 6-1 to convict the defendant at the end of a seven-day trial that began on May 8.

Judge Toh also ordered the convict to pay $48,120 to his victim, only identified as “Madam X”, as compensation for her loss of job after the sexual attack on Aug 25, 2015.

But whether the victim would be paid became doubtful as the defense lawyer, Mr Leung, told Toh after a 15-minute break that his client refused to pay because he had no money.

Prosecutor Michael Arthur told The SUN in reply to a query after the hearing that its may take another litigation for the victim to enforce the compensation order.

He said Apelete had already executed a power of attorney turning over his $50,000 bail money to the law office that defended him.

Judge Toh, at sentencing, said it showed how vulnerable foreign domestic helpers are as they come to work in Hong Kong households. “This is a very frightening experience for someone – in this case the victim – who is working far away from home in Hong Kong and entrusting her safety to her employers,” the judge said.

“In this case there is a breach of trust, as the defendant took full advantage of the vulnerable situation of the victim who is far away from her family,” Toh said.

At one point the convict’s Ghanaian interpreter interrupted the judge and asked for a pack of tissues for Apelete, who was crying uncontrollably.

Even so, the judge said she saw no remorse in Apelete, a Grade 2 educated man from Togo who came to Hong Kong 10 years ago and married a local woman.

“There was no remorse from the defendant because after assaulting and raping the victim, he told her to stop crying because he would send money to her family,” she said.

She said Apelete tried to delay the trial for three days by seeking medical care and keeping the victim waiting after she had flown back from her country to testify in court.

The court heard from Prosecutor Michael Arthur that Madam X came to Hong Kong in 2014 to work as domestic helper employed by the convict’s Hong Kong wife to serve her, her husband and their daughter, now 3 years old.

The maid was told that she would do general household chores while her employers went to work, and their daughter was with her grandmother.

On Aug 25, 2015, while the helper was having lunch in the kitchen, Apelete came home unusually early. He called her to the living room and asked her if she wanted to have a boyfriend in Hong Kong, and she said no.

“I want you to be my girlfriend and I will support your family,” he offered, but Madam X refused him. 

The victim said Apelete had made the same offer several times previously.

But later, while she was cleaning the toilet, the man entered and held her, then sat on the bowl, pulled her on his lap and kissed her in the face and breasts. When Madam X tried to escape, he blocked her and told her she could leave only if she hugged him, which she did.

She went to her bedroom and waited until the man left the toilet, then she took a shower.

When she returned to the bedroom, Apelete, naked from the waist up and wearing only a pair of shorts, followed and held her hands then pushed her onto the lower deck of a bunkbed and forced himself on her.

She remained in the bedroom and when she noticed that the man had left, she contacted a friend on Facebook and told her about the incident. The victim took photos of the bruises on her cheeks and sent them to her friend.  

About an hour and a half later, police knocked on the flat and arrested Apelete.

The victim appeared in court to give evidence on the fourth day of the trial, which had been delayed for three days because the defendant was said to have sought treatment at Adventist Hospital in Tsuen Wan.

The lawyer submitted a doctor’s letter saying he examined the defendant for hypertensive crisis and a suspected heart and kidney problem on day one, and that he underwent MRI scanning for a suspected spinal problem on day two.

On day three, Judge Toh ordered Aplete transferred to Queen Elizabeth for a complete medical examination. A medical report showed his hypertensive crisis and heart condition were under control.

[VIDEO NEWS] Pangulong Duterte, binanggit ang mga plano para sa mga OFW

WATCH NOW:

Kabilang ang kanyang mga plano para sa mga OFW sa mga binanggit ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa kanyang talumpati sa harap ng mahigit 500 Pilipino sa Hong Kong noong Sabado, ika labintatlo ng Mayo sa Regal Airport Hotel. 

Panoorin ang kabuuan ng balita sa video. 

Hindi inaasahang biyaya

Eksaktong dalawang dekada na si Tina dito sa Hong Kong at sa wakas ay matutupad na rin ang isa sa mga pangarap niya nang una siyang mag-abroad, ang magkaroon ng sariling bahay.

Bagong salta pa lang si Tina noon ay nagplano na siyang bumili ng bahay pero naisantabi dahil ginusto niyang unahin ang responsibilidad sa pamilya at mga kapatid. Sa paglipas ng panahon, tumaas na ng husto ang halaga ng bahay kaya tuluyan nang nakalimutan ni Tina ang pangarap.

Ngunit kamakailan ay isang pambihirang biyaya ang natanggap ni Tina. Sa udyok ng amo ay naghanap siya ng condominium unit sa Maynila. Binigyan siya ng amo ng mahigit isang milyong pabuya para sa downpayment na halos 43% sa kabuuang halaga ng bahay.

Ngunit hindi doon natapos ang pagbuhos ng biyaya ni Tina dahil nangako na rin ang amo niya na tutulungan siyang bayaran ng buo ang balanse.

Dahil dito malaki, ang matitipid ni Tina dahil hindi na niya kailangang humiram sa bangko kung saan may nakakabit na interes ang halagang uutangin.

Hindi man matutumbasan ni Tina ang kagandahang-loob ng kanyang amo, magseserbisyo siya ng husto bilang kapalit. Si Tina, dalaga, ay apat na taon pa lang na naninilbihan sa amo na nakatira sa Mid-levels.—-Gina N. Ordona

DH eyes more world runs after London Marathon

Theresa Calo waves the Philippine flag at the finish line of the Lndon Marathon.

By Vir B. Lumicao

Filipina domestic helper Theresa Calo is setting her sights on other major runs overseas after her successful finish in the grueling 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) London Marathon on Apr 23.

That includes running in the Kobe Marathon in Japan this November, and joining the London Marathon again next year.

“I want to run more, both trail running here in Hong Kong and more marathons overseas,” the 37-year-old Calo said in reply to emailed questions from The SUN, shortly after returning from Britain on May 3.

Calo shrugged off a swollen ankle to finish on 25,269th place overall in a record crowd of more than 40,000 runners who took part in the 37th London Marathon to raise funds for charity group Oxfam.

The Baguio native, who has been a helper in Hong Kong for the past 15 years, clocked 4 hours, 48 minutes and 40 seconds as she joined the run from Blackheath to Westminster.

Her record run was sponsored by local gym, Pheform, while she helped raise nearly 1,500 pounds for Oxfam’s poverty alleviation program through the online fundraising platform, JustGiving, by taking part in the marathon.

The tall, trim and charming Calo was full of excitement after finishing her first marathon event.
“I enjoyed my first 26.2-mile run! I managed to finish it and, yeah, 1 down, 5 stars to go!” she told The SUN in a message two days after the event.

She thanked her employer for the past six years, an Irish corporate banker who lives in Central and a marathon buff himself, for being very supportive of her running activity, including her London campaign.

 “My employer runs a lot also and has done several marathons himself, including London Marathon and New York Marathon.  In fact, he was scheduled to run in this year’s London Marathon but had to pull out for work reasons.  Several months ago he asked me to cancel his place in the race and it was then that I got the idea to see if I could take his place instead.  It worked. I eventually found a spot with Oxfam,” Calo said.

Calo has been running seriously for less than two years and trains most of the time in Taipo, where her mother and a sister married to a local man live.

She said her boss’ frequent business trips abroad allowed her to visit her family members in the New Territories regularly and train in country parks and sections of the MacLehose and Wilson Trails.

That training and participation in several trail races had prepared the Baguio Colleges Foundation/University of the Cordilleras BS Information Technology Computer Science graduate for the London marathon.

Calo ran with three London-based and one Italy-based Filipinas in the marathon, and she finished second in the group, just five minutes behind the front-runner.

Aid from friends and Good Samaritans as well as her own savings helped her fulfill her dream of running in London. She stayed with friends who live there. Another friend who she used to work for sponsored her flight and accommodation for a few days.

“Salomon HK heard about my story and contacted me on Facebook and contributed some running equipment like shoes and clothing also,” she said.

Her fundraising for Oxfam is continuing. “I set up a ‘justgiving’ page and lots of people have contributed – friends, family, other Filipinos I run with here in Hong Kong and even my employer!  Even some complete strangers have contributed money,” she said.

Anyone can give to her fundraising for Oxfam at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TheresaCalo2017.

Filipina softbelles dominate locals

Members of the all-Filipina softball team, Fate, celebrate after the game.

By Emz Frial

The all-Filipina softball team, Fate, is celebrating after scoring a decisive win over its local rival Villas, 19-0, on Apr 30 at Shek Kip Mei field.
The game lasted four innings, with Fate starting as the away team.
Fate did not lose time piling up points from the first inning. The team collected six homes straightaway, courtesy of Myra Japitana, Don Gaborno, Liezeal Algonez, Romela Osabel, Emily Mabaquiao and Editha Hidalgo.
When the locals took their turn to bat, the fast balls of Fate pitcher Gaborno resulted in two batters standing out. A third batter from Villas was caught on a flyball by Fate shortstop Rubuieline Ondayang.
The inning ended with a score of 6-0 in Fate’s favor.
In the second inning, the locals took a more aggressive stand.
But the Filipinas were equally aggressive in fending off their rivals’ attempts to score, and in adding to their already sizeable lead. By the end of the second inning, the Filipinas added three more points to their haul, resulting in a total score of 9-0 in their favor. Those who scored were Japitana, Gaborno and Algonez.
Fate did not rest on its laurels, and again started scoring in the third inning, while Villas was again left blank. Four more points were added to Fate’s score, courtesy of Cherry Octaviano, Percy Jayme, Japitana and Gaborno. The inning ended on a score of 13-0 in Fate’s favor.
In the fourth and final inning, Villas again tried their best to stop the Filipinas from scoring but appeared powerless. Fate gained six more points through Katherine Gerpacio, Ma. Luz Mandia, Japitana, Gaborno, Ma. Eva Mendez and Osabel. Villas, which must have been demoralized by this time, again failed to find its mark.
With the result, Fate remains unbeatable in the regular league. After playing six games, the Filipinas have six wins and no loss.
But a tougher time awaits them on their next game on May 14. They will come up against Phoenix Ghost, the team that overwhelmed them in the championship of the annual knock-out game, Festival of Sports.

Ilocos OFWs oppose entry of mining firm

Ilocos Sur and Cordillera OFW groups show their opposition to mining, saying it is the people who will lose out in the future.

By Vir B. Lumicao

People of Cervantes in Ilocos Sur are up in arms against the entry of a mining company in their quiet agricultural highland town to explore and mine for gold and minerals in its mountains bordering the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Hong Kong-based OFWs from Cervantes voiced their opposition to plans by Cordillera Exploration Inc, or CEXCI, to mine the mountains in their town during festivities celebrating Cordillera Day on Chater Road on April 30.

CEXCI, a subsidiary of Nickel Asia, is planning to expand its mining operations to Cervantes and Suyo in Ilocos Sur and parts of Benguet and Mountain Province.

The company said it had applied for a financial and technical assistance agreement over its property in Mankayan, part of which is in the process of conversion to an exploration permit.

“We were surprised when people from the company visited our town starting in 2012 and consulted us residents about its exploration plans in our localities,” Norma Ayala, president of Cervantes Association of Hong Kong, said during the Chater event.

She said the company representatives returned every year until 2016 when the issue blew up because six out of the town’s barangay captains voted in favor of the company’s exploration plan while three others who understood the impact of mining opposed it.

The six village leaders approved the plan because they did not understand the issue as the company did not explain it very clearly, she said. The townspeople were also surprised when they heard that the municipal mayor also approved it, Ayala said.

“We oppose the project because it will destroy our Paradise which is Cervantes,” Ayala said.
She said the company had already carried out explorations in the adjoining town of Mankayan and is planning to extend this to the Ilocos Sur town of Suyo.

Ayala said the river in Cervantes that irrigates its farmlands come from the highlands of Mankayan, Tadian and Bakun, and flows down to Suyo. The mine tailings from the explorations would reportedly drift and poison the water and lands downriver, killing the fish and ruining the farms.
Ayala appealed for support from Hong Kong-based OFWs for the Cervantes people’s signature campaign expressing their opposition to the CEXCI’s exploration plans.  

 Genie Sacla, president of the Suyo, Ilocos Sur Association and Cervantes Group, said people in the adjoining towns of Suyo and Cervantes are divided over the mining issue because of their lack of understanding and explanation of its ill-effects.

She said residents were attracted to the company’s promises of development, such as building roads, a hospital and other projects, because the two towns were so poor and neglected. Now the roads have been built, but the company has gained entry, she said.

“We had a national road, but it was so dilapidated that AFreight didn’t want to deliver to our towns because the road was so bad,” Sacla said.

She urged the people of the affected towns and the Filipino nation to oppose mining and exploration “because there are no winners in mining but the mining companies and their top officials who move to other places after doing damage to a locality,” she said.

She said she was able to go to school because her father was a miner working for mining companies in Benguet and Zambales, but she saw how the industry poisoned waterways and laid waste to farmlands.

“Sa bandang huli, walang panalo, talo tayong lahat sa mining,” she said.

OFW cooperative opens in Ifugao

Managers, staff and suppliers attend the opening ceremonies to launch The House of Ekolife Ifugao.

By Cristina B. Cayat

A cooperative fully owned by overseas Filipino workers officially opened for business on Apr 28 in Banaue.

The House of Ekolife Ifugao, owned by the Overseas Filipinos Worldwide Marketing Cooperative, is the first of five outlets being lined up to open across in the country in the next few months.

The project was initiated by the Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative, Inc., a non government organization based in Laguna, as part of its Coming Home Pinoy WISE project funded by UN Women.

Atikha’s executive director Estrella Dizon-Anonuevo said in her speech at the launch that it was while working closely with local communities that she saw the opportunity to bridge the missing link between overseas Filipino workers and their families.

She said that a research conducted by her institution showed that 80% of businesses put up by OFWs fail due to several issues. In line with the study, they were able to identify potential industries that could supplement or support the OFWs even while they are still working abroad so that by the time they decide to leave their host country they are better prepared to take the journey back home.
OFWs who went through the financial education course provided by Pinoy WISE, Atikha’s overseas group of speakers, are given priority to invest in the cooperative. Providing both the knowledge and the skills needed in running a business through seminars is the best way to equip would-be entrepreneurs among them, Anonuevo said.

Atikha deputy executive director Aileen Penas-Constantino said the project gives work not only to former OFWs but also to local people.

Some of the products on display.

House of Ekolife operates as the buyer and retailer of products produced by families of OFWs.

The social enterprise in Banaue is manned by former HK OFW Grace Ananayo. It  involves managing the coffee shop directly across the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces, a bakery that serves western bread ‘using flour produced by local people, a mini restaurant that serves both local and western delicacies, an arts and crafts shop that sell ornaments made by former OFW in Hong Kong Marilyn Nanglihan, and a “pasalubong corner” where products from a Iloilo, Quezon, Laguna and Baguio City are sold.

During the opening, officials of Ifugao province showed up to show support and give their blessings to the project. Among them were Banaue municipal administrator James N. Damoyan and Hingyon mayor Jerry Luglug who came with his wife Lily.

Also among the guests were engineer Carmel Buyuccan, who worked closely with Atikha in planning the enterprise, as well as Joyce Niwane of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office who is involved in helping OFW families that are in need.

An OFW from Singapore, Joyce Dinulug, and this writer from Hong Kong also attended the ribbon-cutting, which was preceded by a blessing by Pastor Herman Dinumla.

The House of Ekolife is poised to open other outlets in Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Sur and Iloilo.

Singer-comedian Mikey Bustos to perform in Hong Kong

Filipino-Canadian entertainer and YouTube star Mikey Bustos is coming to Hong Kong for an afternoon of music and laughter on May 28 at Duke of Windsor Social Service Building in Wan Chai. The event is presented by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association.

Dubbed as “The PinoyBoy”, Mikey achieved YouTube celebrity status due to his humorous videos about different aspects of Filipino culture. His music video parodies of contemporary pop songs and a capella covers have consistently garnered millions of views in the popular video streaming site.

Prior to his online fame, Mikey started his entertainment career as a contestant on the talent reality show Canadian Idol in 2003. He has toured internationally since 2004 and has performed as front act for major pop stars such as The Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguilera. He now appears in Philippine TV shows and commercials while continuing to produce YouTube videos for his global audience.

For tickets and other details about Mikey Bustos’ performance in Hong Kong, contact 9203 0872.

Students condemn overcharging by job agencies

Filipina SAFE member Kathleen Magramo
says the undercover operation caught most targeted
Hong Kong employment agencies charging excessive
placement fees.

By Vir B. Lumicao

A group of students has called for tighter regulation of Hong Kong’s 1,300 employment agencies and criminalization of their illegal activities, saying it has gathered evidence showing migrant helpers are charged placement fees 25 times above the legal limit.

The call was made by the Students Against Fees and Exploitation (SAFE) during a forum held on May 11 at the University of Hong Kong, where it disclosed findings of undercover investigations it conducted on over 100 agencies since October 2016.

Human rights lawyer Patricia Ho who was a guest speaker at the forum said she would look at the evidence later, which apparently show that many local agencies are engaging in forced labor and human trafficking.

Another guest, ex-legislator Emily Lau, urged the Hong Kong government to criminalize agency malpractices. She also said Filipinos here should lobby President Rodrigo Duterte to crack down on agencies in the Philippines that initiate overcharging, migrant worker exploitation and human trafficking.

Guest speakers Emily Lau and Patricia Ho
at the forum of the Students against Fees and Exploitation.

Tiffany Chan, a member of SAFE, told The SUN most Hong Kong employers are not aware their maids are being treated illegally by agencies, so, there is a need to educate them about this breach of the law.

Ho, a partner at solicitors firm Daly and Associates, said the findings showed agencies are exploiting the domestic workers who are vulnerable, “and it is the minority vulnerable ones that we protect and it’s the agents that we shall bring to justice.”

Citing international definition, she said: “If a party recruits, receives and then, by use of deception or abuse of a traditional vulnerability or gets payment to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation, that’s human trafficking.

“And, if the domestic helpers are held in debt bondage as they often are, and they have their passports retained by their employers or agents, and they are being taken advantage of, for example, they work excessive hours and in poor condition, then that forced labor.”  

Lau, a rights advocate, said it is a disgrace that a wealthy city like Hong Kong cannot criminalize and impose harsher punishment on rogue agencies.

The government is going to make the Code of Practice a law to give it more teeth, and public consultations will begin next month, Lau said. She urged those in the forum to send in their recommendations and comments so these could be considered by LegCo.

SAFE member Kathleen Magramo, who introduced the project dubbed “Exposing Hong Kong’s Employment Agency Black Market” said, “There is one black market that continues to exist in Hong Kong and that is the employment agency black market”.

She said SAFE observed that Hong Kong has 1,300 employment agencies, “exceeding the total number of Starbucks, Macdonald’s and 7-11s combined” and mostly operating in alleyways without signage and old buildings like a black market.

The investigations observed that most of the agencies targeted by members, posing as either employers or workers, “openly expressed charging illegal placement fee”.

“The investigation therefore puts into question the accuracy of government investigations … that consistently passed a low number of prosecutions,” Magramo said.

As of January 2017, only 12 of the 1,300 agencies listed by the Employment Agencies Administration had been prosecuted for charging illegal fees, she said.

Magramo, a Hong Kong-born Filipina and third-year economics student, said many agencies engage in fraudulent activities, like causing a maid’s pay to be delayed, or prodding an employer “to hire a new worker so you could train her better”.

So, if the helper underperforms, the employer fires her and pays the agency again to hire a replacement.

“As a result, employment agencies make overcharged business over and over again,” she said, likening it to a black market that has existed for the past 30 years.

Agencies “continued to charge illegal and excessive fees that on average were up to 25 times more than the legal limit, yet the government continues to gloss over this issue,” she said.

She called government moves like the passing of a Code of Practice for Employment Agencies in January as mere distractions.

Cancer-stricken OFW dies 9 months after being fired

By Vir B. Lumicao and Marites Palma


Former Hong Kong-based domestic worker Lorenza A. Tabucol was laid to rest on May 13 after succumbing to breast cancer, barely nine months after returning home for good, then being fired by her employer.

The late Lorenza Tabucol (right)
at the graduation of her daughter Fritzie.

Tabucol, a 47-year-old mother of two, died without filing any claims against her employer for her termination and a snake bite she reportedly suffered a year before she was sent home by her employer.

Tabucol’s daughter Fritzie T. Fonbuena, told friends in Hong Kong her mother died  penniless because her savings of just under Php100,000  all went to her medication and day-to-day expenses.

Fonbuena, 25, and her younger brother, were helped by an uncle who paid for their mother’s funeral. The children still have to file a claim for death and burial benefits from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Fonbuena said her mother told their family in March 2016 that she had Stage 4 breast cancer. Nine months before that – or about June 28, 2015 — the helper reported being bitten by a snake while walking her employer’s dog in Quarry Bay. She did not file a complaint over this incident.

Her relatives and friends are now wondering whether the snake bite had anything to do with Tabucol contracting cancer, saying no one in their family had the disease.

Tabucol, a widow, reportedly went to a hospital where she was treated for the snake bite. Three months later, Fonbuena said her mother started feeling unwell every so often until a blood test showed she had cancer. Then she became too ill to work.

Tabucol returned home to Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, on Aug 5 last year. Her daughter said Tabucol’s employer, Agnes Ip, had told her mother to go home for medical treatment. “Biglaan po na pinauwi siya…agad-agad po na binilhan siya ng tiket pauwi,” Fonbuena said.

But when the helper got home, Ip allegedly terminated their contract, and did not pay for long service for the 13 years that the Filipina had worked for her.

Had a claim been filed, Tabucol could have claimed roughly $36,000 based on last year’s minimum salary for foreign domestic workers.

Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre said Tabucol’s next of kin could no longer claim for long service pay as the helper was dismissed nine months ago. “Long service pay claim lapses three months after termination of employment,” the labor official said in reply to a query from The SUN.  As for the 2015 snake attack, work-related compensation lapses after one year, he said.

In addition to such payouts, Tabucol could have applied for a maximum of Php50,000 financial aid from OWWA under the Supplemental Medical Assistance Program for OFWs under treatment for cancer, kidney ailments, emerging infections like Zika, Ebola and other illnesses requiring longtime care.

Tabucol arrived in Hong Kong in 1997 to work for her first employer, then moved to Ip around 2004.
Her daughter was 5 years old and her son, 3, when she left them. The daughter managed to finish university, but the son was not able to complete his studies since Tabucol got ill.

NGOs bat for decent accommodations for FDHs

By Daisy CL Mandap

Air-conditioned dog house
on the balcony was upheld as “suitable”
by a magistrate’s court

Foreign domestic workers who are not given suitable living quarters by their employers should at least be allowed to remain in Hong Kong while they process new work contracts.

This was what Eni Lestari, chair of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, told the group that gathered for the launch on May 10 of an in-depth study conducted by the Mission for Migrant Workers on living accommodation of women migrant workers (MDW).

“We should be able to change jobs if we are not given suitable accommodation,” said Lestari. “This is basic respect that must be given to a worker”.

At the launch of the study titled “Pictures from the Inside”, program coordinator Norman Carnay said there was a need to define what constitutes “suitable accommodation” which under the standard employment contract, is supposed to be given a MDW.

But what is considered unsuitable? As it is, Carnay said only two examples are listed in the standard contract: makeshift beds in corridors, and a room shared by the worker with an adult or teenager of the opposite sex.

Given this, almost everything else appears fair play, especially since the policy is premised on what Carnay said was “an excuse” about the small sizes of flats in Hong Kong.

Thus, in the study, a number of the 3,075 MDWs who took part provided extreme examples that could put the “suitable” requirement to the test.

Pictures provided in the study showed the workers sleeping in coffin-like spaces inside kitchen cabinets, in storage rooms, living room sofas with the wet laundry hanging overhead, and in an airconditioned “dog house” in a balcony.

Initially, more than half (57%) of those surveyed said they had their own room, while a smaller number, at 42%, declared outright to not having this privilege.

But on further inquiries, a third of those who said they had their own room admitted that their room was being used for other purposes, mainly for storage.

Thus, it appeared that 61%, or 3 out of 5 of the more than 340,000 FDWs in Hong Kong either do not have a room to sleep in, or are put in a room that is used for purposes.

He cited one case where the worker was made to sleep in the living room which doubled as travel agency, where male workers would work up to late at night sometimes.

More troubling was the finding that 5 of the respondents were made to sleep in toilets. Extrapolating, Carnay said that “around 500 MDWs currently declare they sleep in toilets”.

Lestari also cited cases handled by AMCB where the worker had to sleep on the bare floor for seven months, or one who contracted cancer after sleeping for five years on the living room sofa for only four to five hours each night.

“Maybe if you’re a house guest, sleeping on the sofa for one week is okay, but beyond that, it makes you crazy,” she said.

Asked to provide definite examples of what the Mission would consider “unsuitable accommodation”, Carnay said sleeping in the toilet, kitchen or cupboard or a space where wet laundry is hanging overhead, are definitely no-no. Living room spaces, especially if the flat is small, could be acceptable unless there are male adults who could intrude into the worker’s private space while she is resting.

“But of course, we can discuss this further,” he said.

What is important, Carnay said, is that there are definite figures to back up any petition to press on the government to provide better accommodation for MDWs.

To do this, the Mission hopes the authorities would (1) define categorically what “suitable accommodation” mean; (2) institutionalize effective regulatory and monitoring mechanisms on accommodation provided to MDWs; (3) develop a complaint system for migrant workers that will address accommodation issues; (4) raise awareness among employers about unsuitable accommodation and the rights of helpers regarding living standards; (5) align Hong Kong’s policy with international standards; and (6) make live-out arrangement for helpers optional.

Referring to the proposal to restore live-out arrangement, Carnay said the idea is to make this an optional arrangement.

“We are not advocating for everyone, or a majority of domestic workers, to live out. What we want is to take out the criminalization aspect (of the live-out ban), said Carnay.
He also dismissed what he called as “malicious allegation” that workers will abuse the live-out option by moonlighting.

“These are fulltime workers who work 10-12 hours, they will be too tired to moonlight,” said Carnay.

Duterte treats HK Pinoys to trademark speech

By Vir B. Lumicao

President Rodrigo Duterte, regaling Hong Kong-based Filipinos on May 13 to his brand of public speaking, announced a series of measures meant to provide relief to overseas Filipino workers.
Foremost among these  is the creation of a Department of OFWs and an OFW Bank to serve the needs of the country’s estimated 10 million overseas workers.

Duterte’s announcement confirmed plans disclosed in February by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, and reportedly affirmed earlier in the day to militant OFW leaders. However, the president held back information on new directions for the overseas employment certificates (OEC) which Bello whispered to him in the middle of his speech.

Duterte addressed a select group of about 400 Filipino religious leaders, businessmen, professionals and household workers in Hong Kong in his first meeting with them since he became president in June last year. He stopped over on his way to the two-day “One Belt, One Road” forum in Beijing starting May 14.

Spicing up his lengthy impromptu speech with his trademark humor, expletives, jokes about women and tirades at Catholic bishops and media-owning “oligarchs”, the President reaffirmed his resolve to rid the government of corruption and continue his campaign against drugs.

The former Davao mayor used his usual cusswords to cheers from his supporters as he blasted the bishops for hitting his bloody campaign against drugs and his fondness for women, and those who were giving OFWs a hard time. “Kung sila ang sinasabi na mga bagong bayani natin, bakit pinahihirapan nyo ang mga bagong bayani? Bakit binubuksan mo ang bagahe? ‘Stop it! I don’t like it,’ sabi ko. Kasi kung may magbubukas ng bagahe niyo,  there has to be a compelling reason,” he said. Customs officers at NAIA open baggage only on the back of outside information.

He advised OFWs not to bring home “shabu” when they go on vacation. “Baka mamaya, instead of your relatives going to you para sa pasalubong, pupunta sila may dalang abuloy,” he  added.
Warning those in the drugs trade, he said: “Do not destroy the country, do not destroy the Philippines.”

On his trip to Beijing, Duterte said China would build two bridges across the Pasig River for free to help boost economic activity such as trade and tourism. “At this moment I can only thank China profusely for helping us without conditions,” he said.

Duterte said joining the “One Belt, One Road” economic initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping would allow his government to promote trade in agricultural products with other countries.

Duterte said that as the country’s economy is agriculture-based, it needs to find markets for its farm products. He said China is willing to help the Philippines revive its economy without any conditions because that country is awash with money.

“Mine is really to provide employment, so I invite people to invest in the Philippines,” he added.
“Today, walang akong masabi except my profuse thanks to China for helping us out. Remember that there was a time when lahat ng export natin ay hindi tinatanggap dito,” Duterte said.

About 100 people who wanted to see their president were refused entry to Regal Airport Hotel by the strict security, made up of  Hong Kong Police’s Special Branch and personnel of the Malacanang Presidential Security Group.

Representatives of militant groups who
had invitations were held off two and a half hours
before being allowed in and asked to sit in the last rows.
(Photo by Bing Yungco)

Among those refused entry were Bayan Hong Kong & Macau, and Unifil Hong Kong officers led by Eman Villanueva, who said they had invitations and were invited by Bello to the meeting after a dialogue at the Consulate. “Ayaw silang papasukin ng PSG,” said Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre.
Consul General Bernardita Catalla, in her welcome speech,  apologized to those who were not allowed in.  “Humihingi ako ng paumanhin sa napakaraming gustong makita si Presidente ngunit di namin napagbigyan dahil sa kakulangan ng lugar at oras...”

But she was interrupted noisily by a group of Duterte supporters who shouted, “Dito, maraming bakante!”

Catalla replied, “Nais nating ipaalala na mayroon tayong security arrangements na sinusunod.”
But in a lengthy Facebook post afterwards, Villanueva challenged the decision to ban them from the venue initially, and made to wait for more than two hours being finally allowed in.

“Maraming dapat ipaliwanag mga kinauukulan sa Konsulado.Hindi dapat palampasin  ang nangyaring  pambabastos sa mga progresibo at lehitimong OFW,” said Villanueva .

If the Consulate’s purpose was as they said, they did  not want to embarrass the President, then Villanueva said they did exactly that when they banned the militants  as it led to commotion and undue publicity from the international media.