No EJKs in the Philippines, says trade official

By Daisy CL Mandap

Trade and Industry Secretary
Ramon M. Lopez

There are no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, only deaths that resulted from big drug syndicates fighting each other in the wake of the government’s massive anti-drug campaign.

This was the assurance given to investors by the Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, during the ASEAN-Hong Kong Business Conference held at Cyberport in Pokfulam on June 12.

“What we have been telling business people is, one, our President has been very clear that there will be no abuses. There will be no deaths under investigation. In fact, EJK is a word wrongly used. To us, there is no EJK because all of the police action taken...all are following rules of engagement. It is clear that if they (drug syndicates) fight back, they will be eliminated,” said Secretary Lopez.

He was responding to a question from Prof. Mark Thompson of City University of Hong Kong on how reports of thousands of people being killed as a result of the government’s anti-drug campaign have affected investors’ confidence in the Philippines.

Media reports in the Philippines and overseas have placed the number of EJK deaths to as high as 12,000 but Lopez said the figures are “all wrong”.

“The number is really 2,000 but recognizing again, that these..you are up against big drug syndicates and they are fighting back”, Lopez said.

He conceded that there could have been a higher number of casualties, but reiterated that this was the result of a “cleansing” among big drug syndicates, and did not involve the police.

Those looking at investing in the Philippines  must also look at the 70,000 “peaceful arrests” made by the police, Lopez said, as well as the three million drug dependents who have surrendered since the government’s campaign began.

Another controversial question he deflected came from Prof. Reuben Mondejar, also of City U, who asked about reports about President Rodrigo R. Duterte being in poor health, fueled by his disappearance from public view for as long as five days in a row.

Lopez laughed off the question, saying the President is “as strong as a carabao”.

In his keynote address, Lopez made a strong pitch for investing in the Philippines, calling the country as “one of the fastest growing economies in the world”.

He cited the country’s comparatively high GDP growth, which hovers between 6.4 to 6.8%. He said the high GDP is fueled by the growing confidence not just among consumers, but also investors.

“Make your company grow with us,” he urged investors. “President Duterte is very much into ensuring peace and cracking down on corruption.”

Lopez also thanked the organizers of the networking event, which brought together 10 ASEAN states, including the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Brunei

The event was organized by HK Expat Networking to mark the 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN, and the Philippines’ hosting of the annual gathering of member-states in November this year.

iDOLE, katapusan ng dusa ng OFW

Pagkatapos ilunsad ng Department of Labor and Employment ang iDOLE ID card noong Hulyo 12 ay nakatakda nang simulan ang pamimigay nito sa mga manggagawang Pilipino na papalabas, o naroroon na sa ibang bansa.

Sa kanyang pahayag noong Hulyo 4, sinabi ni Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III na ang pinakahihintay na OFW ID card ay siyang magiging kapalit ng overseas employment certificate ang mga manggagawa.

Dalawang problema kaagad ang malulutas ng pagpapa-tupad sa nasabing ID card.

Una, mawawala na ang mahahabang pila ng mga aplikante para sa OEC exemption sa tanggapan ng Philippine Overseas Labor Office at sa mga kalapit na tulay sa Admiralty  na nagsanhi ng pagdurusa sa mga OFW noong mga nakaraang taon.

Pangalawa, mababawasan nang husto ang gawain ng mga tauhan ng POLO dahil sa paglaya nila mula sa nakauubos-panahong pag-aasikaso sa libu-libong taong dumaragsa sa nasabing tanggapan para sa OEC tuwing malapit na ang bakasyon ng mga OFW.

Para sa kanila na pumapasok kahit araw ng pahinga, ginhawang tunay ang iDOLE. 

Malaking kaluwagan at ginhawa din ang idudulot ng iDOLE sa mga manggagawa, na ang karamihan dito sa Hong Kong ay karaniwan nang nakatali sa mga gawaing-bahay at tuwing araw ng pahinga lamang nakakapunta sa POLO para sa iba’t ibang transaksiyon na nais nilang gawin.

Sa kasagsagan ng pagkuha ng OEC ay nauubos ang day off ng mga OFW, na karamihan ay mga kasambahay, upang pumila sa Admiralty para sa dokumentong nagkakahalaga ng  $20 na nagpapatunay na sila ay mga tunay na mga OFW.

Sa nakaraang tatlong dekada ay madalas na nagiging mitsa ng iringan sa pagitan ng mga manggagawa at mga tauhan ng POLO ang OEC dahil sa di-maiiwasang matagal na pagpila para sa dokumentong iyon.

Ipinangako ni Bello sa mga OFW nang dumalaw siya sa Hong Kong noong nakaraang Setyembre na aalisin ng gobyerno ang OEC dahil ayaw umano ni Pangulong Duterte na makita ang mahabang pila ng mga manggagawang Pinoy para sa kapirasong papel na nagsisilbing pases para makalabas silang muli kapag umuwi sila sa Pilipinas.

Samantala, mabibigyan na ng POLO ng sapat na atensiyon ang iba pang serbisyong ibinibigay nito sa mga manggagawang Pilipino tulad ng pagtulong sa mga may problema sa trabaho, ang mga may nilalakad kaugnay ng mga kontrata, at ang pag-aasikaso sa mga pagsasanay na ibibigay sa mga OFW upang mapabuti ang kanilang trabaho.

Makatitipid din nang malaki ang POLO pagdating sa pag-upa ng bagong opisina dahil hindi na nito kailangan ang malaking bulwagan tulad ng espasyong inilaan para sa mga kumukuha ng OEC sa Admiralty Centre nitong nakaraang dalawang taon.

Ang iDOLE, ayon kay Bello, ay siyang “pinakamagandang regalo” ni Duterte sa mga OFW at magbibigay-daan sa kanila upang mapabilis ang makipag-ugnayan sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno tulad ng Pag-IBIG, SSS, at PhilHealth.

Mapapabilis din ng iDOLE ang paghahanap o pagkuha nila ng kanilang mga record sa gobyerno gamit ang internet, at puwede rin nilang gamitin ito bilang debit card at ATM card para sa mga bangko ng OFW, o bilang “beep card” sa LRT at MRT.

Higit sa lahat, posible diumanong magamit kinalaunan ang nasabing ID bilang electronic passport, dahil nasa smart chip nito ang lahat ng personal na impormasyon tungkol sa nagmamay-ari ng iDOLE. Kailangan na lang ang isang maayos na sistemang mag-uugnay sa mga kaukulang ahensiyang susuri sa mga detalye ng bawat OFW.

Kapag naipatupad ang paggamit sa iDOLE bilang pasaporte, maaaring ito na ang magiging modelo sa pagpapatupad ng isang pambansang ID tulad ng sa Hong Kong na kailangan upang mapadali ang anumang transaksiyon ng madla sa mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan at sa pribadong sektor sa Pilipinas.

Know your rights on rest days

By Cynthia Tellez

The South China Morning Post recently published a very popular article, drawing on the research of the Mission for Migrant Workers , and featuring an experiment in which a reporter spent the night sleeping in a cramped space to simulate the experience of many migrant domestic workers.

Experiments like this are interesting, the point being to make a difficult experience translatable for the journalist, and thus understandable for the reader. While the sleeping experiment seemed to catch the eye of many readers, there are other experiences faced by domestic workers that are not as easy to simulate, or even imagine, by an outside observer. For instance, could most people imagine working every day for weeks or months straight without a full day off, under the careful watch of one’s employer?

Rest days have become a central issue for migrant advocacy in Hong Kong. As anyone who has ever done difficult work knows, rest is crucial for one’s continued well-being, and domestic work is no exception. Every domestic worker is entitled to one rest day every seven days. A rest day, defined by the Labour Department of Hong Kong, is a “continuous period of not less than 24 hours during which an employee is entitled to abstain from working for his employer.” If an employer does not grant a rest day on a Sunday in a week, they should give a substitute rest day within the same month or the next thirty days. These requirements are stipulated in the Employment Ordinance but, in practice, many employers take advantage of their workers. Currently, there are many domestic workers who are not allowed to take regular rest days.

There are several ways employers violate workers’ rights to rest days. The most obvious is of course the simple denial of a rest day to the worker. At the Mission we meet women who have worked for months without a single full rest day.

But there are other, less obvious ways in which rest day laws are not obeyed by employers. One common practice is the creation of a “curfew time” for a domestic worker. Many employers demand that their domestic worker return at a given time on a rest day. Workers in these cases are unable to enjoy the full 24-hour period of rest to which they are entitled. Imposing a “curfew” is illegal yet is usually the norm in Hong Kong.

Another common scheme of some employers is to require their domestic worker to do some housework before going out on a rest day. Curfew is imposed because the worker is required to do more tasks upon her return home.

There is also the issue of irregular rest days. Usually, domestic workers in Hong Kong will take Sundays off, but if this is not possible, at least inform the worker about her day off on the first day of the week, so that she can plan her activities ahead of time.

Many employers make last-minute changes which prevent the domestic worker from having a regular rest day, in-sync with others in their community. As well as being psychologically and physically important, taking a break from work has a social component as well. Making and maintaining friendships, collaborating with other people in creative activities like bands, and organizing with town mates, religious, and cultural groups, are what most domestic workers do on rest days. Most often, these activities occur on Sundays, in commonly used public areas like Chater Road, Central for Filipinas, and Causeway Bay for Indonesians.

Without a shared, regular rest day among domestic workers, individuals cannot meet in person, and social and cultural bonds are weakened, and access to resources hampered considerably. Without a regular rest day, individual workers cannot plan their private lives properly. How can a worker schedule an appointment, for instance, without knowing when they will have time off? How can a mother plan a long Skype call with her family back home without knowing when she’ll be off from work?

The fact that rest days are so commonly overlooked and ignored is indicative of the exploitative practices of those with power over people with certain types of jobs. Many migrant domestic workers are unable to spend their days off in their usual resting place at night in the employer’s home because that is also their workplace. When there is lack of privacy, there is uneasiness when employers do their jobs in their presence; and in some cases, employers also expect them to do the work while they are “around”.  Many employers fail to see the private lives of their workers as valuable, at least in the same way they’d see their own or their friends’ private lives as valuable. The denial of rest days reveals many employers’ belief that migrant domestic workers should have no life in Hong Kong outside of work.

When rest days are not properly granted but you still want to keep your job, find a way to set regular meetings with your friends, keep a diary of what happens daily in your chores, how you are told that you have no day-off for the week, or that when you asked, your employer just ignored you. You can send the Immigration such complaints. Not granting a rest day in a week is a violation of the employment contract and persisting in such violation could be construed as a breach, or a termination of the contract by the employer.

If you feel your rights to a full rest day have been violated, file a complaint at the Labour Relations Division of the HK Labour Department (LD), and furnish the HK Immigration and the Philippine Labor Office proofs of this violation. The LD should be able to review your case and if warranted, file a case against the employer for failure to abide by the law. The maximum penalty for such a violation is $5,000.

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

OFWs in Macau renew campaign against offloading

Emer de Lina 

Migrant workers in Macau have stepped up a campaign against the offloading of their family members leaving the Philippines by launching a petition campaign against the practice on July 2.

Migrante Macau chair and protest organizer Emer de Lina said the practice carried out by Bureau of Immigration officials in Manila is discriminatory and insulting.

“It is discriminatory because this only happens to OFWs’ relatives, as well as other ordinary Filipinos, not bigwig politicians or their…wives.  It is insulting, because the Bureau of Immigration officials in Manila assume that the offloaded migrant Filipinos are illegally leaving the country, when they merely want to visit us.” De Lina said in a press statement.

She complained that those who are prevented from taking their flights to Macau are left with no recourse because there is no complaint mechanism for those offloaded, much less an investigation.

“If the passenger was treated wrongly, what can be done to resolve the problem? How long will it take for it to be resolved? And what can be done so that it will not happen again? Our relatives are guilty until proven innocent,” she said.

The offloading has reportedly led to dire consequences for the migrant workers, as they end up losing not just sleep over the failure of visiting family members to board their flights, but also a substantial sum.

De Lina said the workers usually buy promotional air fares which are non-refundable so if their relatives are turned away at the airports, they end up buying tickets for them again.

Workers also pay for the authenticated affidavit of support from the Consulate at more than MOP200 each, as the document purports to show that they will be taking care of their relatives’ financial needs while in Macau.

“However, this is disregarded by BI officials. In addition, there are allegations that these officials solicit bribes from our held-up relatives so that they will be able to leave,” De Lina said.

The protesters are urging an immediate end to the offloading at all international airports in the Philippines, and for the Bureau of Immigration to duly recognize the affidavits of support issued by the country’s consulates and embassies abroad.

They are also calling for the said affidavit to be issued free of charge as an “added recognition of the invaluable contribution made by migrant Filipinos to our country.”

Further, they asked that the “corrupt officials” involved in the offloading of passengers be investigated and prosecuted.

The protesters revived their longstanding campaign against offloading after Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano promised at a community dialogue in Hong Kong on July 2 that he would raise the issue with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II upon his return to Manila. – www.sunwebhk.com

Family holds mass for suspected suicide victim

By The SUN Staff

Family and friends after the mass at the Consulate.

Family members and friends of a 34-year-old Filipino driver believed to have hung himself gathered for a memorial mass at the Consulate on July 9.

V. Pedroso, 34 years old, was found hanging from the ceiling of his room at his employer’s house on Shouson Hill Road in Deep Water Bay at about 7:42 am on July 3. His brother, who also worked as a driver for the same employer, made the grim discovery.

Pedroso’s body was taken to the Victoria Mortuary in Kennedy Town, where final rites were performed on July 23 just before it is brought back to his hometown of Batad, Iloilo.

He is survived by his wife and two young children.

Police said no suicide note was found. However, Pedroso’s brother reportedly told staff at the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section that the victim had been depressed for some time because of a family problem.

ATN staff said the employer had undertaken to pay for the costs of repatriation, and had also donated money to the victim’s family.

Pedroso had been working for his employer for three years; and his brother, for six. A sister also worked at the same household until she decided to go home the night before the victim was found dead.

Their father had reportedly worked for the same employer for 20 years previously.

The police are still investigating the case.

Bira Burgos volleyball team seeks more players

Burgos Association Volleyball
team during training.

Volleyball, be it on the beach or on hard court, has long been a favorite sport of OFWs here, and one of the new additions is a team formed by the Burgos Association of Hong Kong.

The team is just a few months old, but it has already logged five wins against older, more favorable opponents, according to Burgos Association president Shane Key Gonzales.

And the victories came despite the team “borrowing” players from other friendly squads who want to see their league expand.

Right now Gonzales is inviting interested volleyball players to join her team, officially named Bira Burgos.

Gonzales said putting up the volleyball team was a way for the OFWs group from Burgos, La Union, to help Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong to relieve themselves from the stress of working long hours in the city’s tiny flats for most of the week.

“Being an OFW is not easy. Aside from the demands of daily work and the challenge of living in a foreign land, there is a constant battle that you have to face…homesickness,” Gonzales told The SUN.

 “But OFWs from Burgos, La Union, find ways to keep themselves occupied in an attempt to brush off homesickness by joining sports and community activities,” she said.

Gonzales said Bira Burgos is short on players. “We have no steady players but the team keeps competing with other groups, making do with borrowed players, and winning games in the process,” Gonzales said.

Bira Burgos has joined the St John Liliw long league, where it has so far strung five wins.

Coached by Gonzales, the team comprises captain Lorna Estioco and fellow spikers Millet Gallardo, Girlie Sulit, Virginia Lantano, Shirley Peter, Charmaine Peñaflor and Charo Genil.

Players who are interested in joining Bira Burgos may contact Shane Gonzales at 5449 8080. – Vir B. Lumicao

Top court reserves judgment on family rights of resident minors

By Daisy CL Mandap

The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment in a long-running case involving minor children who are Hong Kong permanent residents seeking to reverse the Director of Immigration’s decision denying their non-resident parents the right to remain here.

Three separate cases were heard in the landmark case from July 10-12 by a full court led by Chief High Court Judge Andrew Cheung and Justices Johnson Lam and Jeremy Poon.

Before them were cases brought by Filipinos Milagros Tecson Comilang on behalf of her minor child Zarah Noor Ahmed; and Desiree Rante Luis for her three minor sons: David John, Carl Benz and Mark Joelry. A third case was filed by Mali national Salifou Dembele and his wife, Huang Luyun, a Hong Kong permanent resident, along with their 5-year old daughter.

A key issue in the case is whether the Basic Law, specifically Art 37 which provides Hong Kong residents the right to enter into marriage and “raise a family freely” could be invoked by the minor children to keep their non-resident parents with them.

Art 39 of the Basic Law was also cited by the appellants through their lawyer, Gladys Li, SC, in challenging the Immigration Director’s decision.

The said article provides that “The rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents shall not be restricted unless as prescribed by law”. Such restrictions, said the article, shall not run counter to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong.

Li said that taken together, these two laws imposed a duty on the Director to protect the appellant’s family rights. He should not, by law, be allowed to use his discretion in deciding whether the parents should be allowed to stay.

“The essential point of the three cases is whether the Director has a legal obligation, when making decisions that will impact family members...that he is legally bound to do something about family rights,” said Li.

She said the issue was not just money, but the parental care that the minor children need while growing up. She cited as an example the case of a daughter going through her first menstrual period with no mother around to ease her concerns.

Also cited was the possibility that the children could lose their right of abode if they were taken out of Hong Kong and are not able to return within the required three years.

Li said granting that the children could be brought to the Philippines or wherever their parents have residency, “would they have the same benefits, like free education and free medical care” as in Hong Kong.

In reply, Benjamin Yu, SC, for the Director, said art 37 of the Basic Law is “not engaged” or does not apply in the case. Neither does art. 39

“If article 39 is not engaged, what is the correct approach?”, said Yu. “A decision maker (like the Director) is only bound by relevant statutes.”

In this case, he said it was right for the Director to rely on the Immigration Ordinance which gave him power to consider applications by non-residents to remain in Hong Kong.

He also said that in the case of Filipino parents, they can easily fly in and out of Hong Kong to visit their children as they don’t need a visa to get into the territory, and are allowed to remain for at least two weeks.

The first case in the appeal dates to as far back as 2007, when Comilang, a former domestic helper, sought court leave to contest the Director’s decision denying her application to remain in Hong Kong and look after her then one-year old daughter, Zahrah Noor Ahmed. Zahrah, now 11, was born to Comilang and Pakistani permanent resident Shaker Ahmed.

In the second case, Desiree Luis gave birth to the three children in Hong Kong while married to a fellow domestic worker. The eldest of the three, now 15, years old, has been granted right of abode. The two younger ones, 13 and 6 years old, do not have the same status. Mrs Luis has been allowed to get in and out of Hong Kong as a visitor since losing her employment in 2006.

In the third case, Dembele first arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor in 2006. He met Huang in 2010 and married the following year. Their daughter was born in 2012. The Immigration Director refused Dembele’s application for a change of status, saying he was not satisfied that Huang, who is receiving comprehensive social security assistance, is able to support him.

UP wins Hong Kong’s mock court battle on human rights

Law students from the University of the Philippines bested rivals from the National University of Singapore in the grand final. Photo from Hong Kong Unison

Law students from the University of the Philippines bested rivals from the National University of Singapore to emerge as champions in the inaugural Pan-Asian Human Rights Moot Competition held at the University of Hong Kong on June 20-30.

The event was the first international mooting competition that focused on the rights of ethnic minorities and served as a platform for law students from Asia-Pacific to debate the region’s emerging human rights norms.

Organizers HKU Centre for Comparative and Public Law and Hong Kong Unison, selected the UP group and six other teams from law schools in Australia, China, Hong

Kong and Singapore for the two-day oral rounds of the competition.

The inaugural competition focused on the education system in the fictitious state of  Serenatia, leaving teams to examine whether it contributes to the marginalization of its ethnic minorities, and in violating its international human rights obligations.

The Moots raised issues of equal access to education and the systemic racial segregation that ethnic minority children face in public schools. This put Hong Kong’s own education system under scrutiny in light of the many parallels between the city’s educational provisions for ethnic minorities and those described as prevalent in fictitious Serenatia.

The teams from UP, NUS, Singapore Management University and Peking University advanced to the semi-finals on June 29. The UP team then faced NUS in the grand final and was declared the champion after an intense competition.

UP also won for Best Memorandum (Applicant) while Peking University was awarded the prize for Best Memorandum (Respondent). Aaron Yoong from the Singapore Management University was chosen as the Best Oralist.

The arguments and questions raised by the judges centered on whether language serves as a proxy for discrimination in the education system on a prohibited ground, such as ethnicity or race.

If so, as some of the teams submitted, the implementation of Serenatia’s parallel track policy to stream students on the basis of linguistic ability into separate schools would

constitute discrimination. Pressed on whether this was direct or indirect discrimination, the teams struggled to grasp the legal complexities of the Serenatian policy.

Teams representing the Applicant argued that the Respondent state’s educational policies amounted to unlawful racial discrimination and violated the Respondent state’s own legislative provisions and international human rights treaty obligations.

These policies include admission-based disparities, segregation under the parallel track policy, and the preference given to the linguistic majorities in sitting for the dominant-language exam, which is a prerequisite to university admission.

Zervos, the chief judge for the grand final, commended the UP team for presenting with confidence and smoothness a challenging and complex case. But he expressed surprise that neither UP nor NUS replied to his question whether the policies violated the law.

Overall, based on the Moot problem, the judges expressed concerns over the potentially detrimental implications of an education system that resulted in racial segregation and effectively denied ethnic minorities the “ticket” to higher education.

Another judge in the grand final, Gladys Li, SC, encouraged the mooters to balance the facts with the law. The crux of the case, she said, is that “we are all born unequal.

We cannot change the circumstances where we are born,” and that “the reality is the education gap for the wealthy and the poor is enlarging.”

Teacher exam to be held again in HK this September

The annual Licensure Examination for Teachers will be administered again in Hong Kong this September for domestic workers who are aspiring to return to the classroom, according to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.

“It’s been approved in principle. We’re just waiting for the approval of the venue and the board resolution of the PRC,” Labor Attaché Jalilo de la Torre told The SUN.

A delegation from the Professional Regulation Commission has been coming to Hong Kong every year to administer the exam to teaching graduates and former teachers who still don’t have professional licenses.

Labatt dela Torre said he had proposed that the teachers’ exam be again held in Delia Memorial School Hip Wo in Kwun Tong, Kowloon, where the PRC administered the Civil Service Exams last Nov 27.

But he said the venue deal could not yet be finalized because the person in charge of approving the venue was on vacation.

Until the previous year, the LET was held at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town, but the venue was not as comfortable as Delia Hip Wo school, which has air-conditioned rooms and a lift.

The deadline for registration of examinees has been extended for two weeks from the initial cut-off of July 14, said Gemma Lauraya, president of the National Organization of Professional Teachers -
Hong Kong.

NOPT has reportedly started holding review classes ahead of the expected test schedule.

Lauraya told The SUN that NOPT submitted to POLO as early as last April a request for the LET to be held in Hong Kong again this year because of a clamor from would-be examinees.

Last year, only 9.77% of the 624 who took the exam in Hong Kong had passed in one f the lowest ever results for the exam in Hong Kong. - VBL

Mass guitar jamming to set record held in Tamar

By William Elvin 

Over 200 Filipinas gathered in Tamar Park, Admiralty on July 1 to publicly perform Freddie Aguilar’s internationally renowned classic “Anak” with their guitars.

The event was the second “Guitar Lesson Jamming” gathering organized by Hong Kong-based Filipino guitarist Frederick Suarez, who serves as the participants’ mentor for their music.

“Mga nasa 210 ang sumali ngayon,” said Suarez, who was able to gather eighty of his students in a similar public performance in April.

The group’s well-attended guitar exhibition coincided with a public celebration of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover from Britain to China at the same outdoor venue.

Competing with the nearby event’s loud music and cheering from the crowd, the large group of Filipina musicians effortlessly strummed and sang through their song to the delight of their friends, guests, and fellow Pinoys who happened to spend the holiday in Tamar.

According to Suarez, the group is planning another gathering in October.

“Sa susunod, susubukan naming 400 na ang sasali,” he said, to possibly set a Guiness World Record.

Guitar lessons are being conducted every weekend in Wan Chai, facilitated by Suarez. Interested parties are urged to join their group by inquiring through a direct message on Facebook. Visit www.facebook.com/pinoyguitarlesson for more details.

Roke disrupts migrant workers' Sunday off

 By Vir B. Lumicao 

Typhoon Roke barely made its presence felt in Hong Kong on Sunday, July 23, despite Signal No. 8 being hoisted in the morning. But it did play havoc on the activities of migrant workers spending their only day off in the week. 

Edinburgh Place and Tamar were wide open spaces as domestic workers gathered under bridges, car parks, covered walks and underneath awnings as a few showers fell. But that was all that came with Roke..

Chater Road was also nearly  empty while Worldwide House was less crowded than usual as workers sought refuge elsewhere while others were reportedly called back by their employers.

The second-highest typhoon alert was raised by the Hong Kong Observatory at 9:20am with the approach of Roke. The alert was downgraded to No 3 at 1:30pm and further to No 1 at 3:10pm as Roke moved away from the territory. By 6pm Sunday, all signals were lowered.

Hit by the typhoon was a scheduled protest march against the new OFW ID and a move by Philippine Customs to impose more stringent requirements for sending home a balikbayan box.

The protest was called off by organizers United Filipinos in Hong Kong-Migrante (Unifil-Migrante) at 10am, according to its secretary general Eman Villanueva.

“We had no choice but to call off the planned march when the police kept asking us whether we would proceed,” Villanueva said during a phone inquiry by The SUN.

He said the group would proceed with the protest action next Sunday, July 30.

OFWs who were queuing up for services at the Consulate in United Centre were let into the tower via a back entrance as security personnel got the building ready for a possible onslaught by the typhoon. 

Those who had lined up to get into the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Admiralty Centre were a bit alarmed when guards battened down the steel shutters of the walkway going into the building. 

But a Polo officer said it was normal procedure when Signal 8 is hoisted, He also said they asked the building management to keep one passageway open so those who had to transact business could go directly to the Polo offices..

Both the Consulate and Polo continued to serve those who were inside their premises during the typhoon.

Anticipating the hoisting of Signal No 8, the Consulate opened its gate at 8am to those with business transactions and the public area was packed with people by the time the alert was raised, said an officer.

“We let in all those with business to transact and by 11:30am all the transactions were done,” the officer said.

At Admiralty Centre, OEC exemption processing continued the whole day, with about 200 exemptions issued and some 50 BMOnline registrants assisted..

The crowd at Polo thinned by about 4pm as a big number of OFWs had turned back when they saw the gates to Admiralty Centre already shuttered at the height of the typhoon.

Bad weather notwithstanding, a batch of 32 participants in an agriculture livelihood training program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration held their graduation in the POLO office on the 11th floor of Admiralty Centre Tower 1.

In Kennedy Town, a group of OFWs braved the stormy weather to attend a new financial literacy training session provided by CARD Hong Kong.

2 Filpinas locked up for hitting young wards

By Vir B. Lumcao

A Filipino maid was sentenced to two-and-a-half months in prison on July 21 for assaulting the “unruly” four-year-old son of jailed business tycoon Carson Yeung a year ago.
Rochelle Lintag Dreck, 32, wiped away tears as she was sentenced by Eastern Court's Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai. exactly a week after she pleaded guilty to five counts of common assault.
Dreck was sentenced to two months and two weeks in jail on each of the five charges, to be served concurrently.
It was far more lenient than the six-month prison term imposed on 41-year-old Carmella Sotto, on July 18 by another Eastern Court magistrate for slapping an 18-month-old baby girl on June 3.
Sotto was caught in the act of hitting the baby twice on a vide camera monitored through remote control by her female employer.  The Filipina claimed she was drowsy from lack of sleep, and did not intend to hurt her ward.
Chainrai imposed the sentence after hearing from the prosecution that there were no medical and psychological reports because the assaults happened more than a year ago.
The prosecution also said the victim had suffered no permanent injuries, and submitted three photographs of the boy to the magistrate.
The magistrate had delayed the sentencing to wait for the psychological and medical reports on the victim, and a psychological report on Dreck.
Dreck’s counsel from the Duty Lawyer Schem begged Chainrai for leniency, saying the boy had been naughty and that the maid herself had three children who had lost financial support since her arrest last year.
The helper admitted to assaulting the boy in the kitchen of Yeung’s house on Baker Road in Mid-Levels, at the Convention Plaza Apartments on Harbour Road in Wan Chai, and at Canossa Hospital on Old Peak Road in 2016.
Dreck was hired by Yeung in 2010, six years before the former chairman of the Birmingham Football Club was returned to jail after losing his appeal against a six-year jail sentence in 2014 for money laundering.
The attacks took place between Mar 9 and Apr 15, 2016, when the boy’s mother was in Shenzhen attending to her business and returning home on weekends, leaving the boy in the care of the two helpers.
In early 2016, Mrs Yeung reportedly noticed wounds on the boy but did not ask what caused them. In May the same year, she again saw injuries on her son’s ears and asked the maids about them.
One of the helpers showed her videos she had taken of Dreck’s attacks on the boy, and the mother immediately called the police. In the videos, Dreck was seen slapping the boy, hitting his hands with a comb, and poking his lip and nose, causing him nosebleed.

New documentary film about domestic helpers produced

A new documentary about Hong Kong domestic helpers entitled “Yaya” has recently finished production.

The movie is partly produced by Justin Cheung Ko-ming, son of famous Chinese director Alfred Cheung Kin-ting, and will follow the story of their family’s Filipino maid Tessie and her personal life and family back in the Philippines.

“I am only more troubled by my family’s role in her lost time with her family, and more troubled by the treatment and racism they experience in Hong Kong,” the young filmmaker posted in the film’s official Facebook page after coming back from the Philippines to finish the film.

He added that domestic helpers are the “secret engine to Hong Kong’s economy”.

The 45-minute movie was produced with help from online crowd-funding sites that  raised a total of $150,000.

A trailer can be seen on YouTube by searching for the “Yaya Documentary” channel.

More details on the film’s distribution and screening dates are expected to be posted on the documentary’s FB page:  www.facebook. com/yayadocumentary.
—William Elvin 

Kin’s grief, doubts linger over DH’s death fall

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Ruby Ann Diola, Jessie and their only son.

Nearly three years after the fatal fall of domestic worker Ruby Ann Diola from a residential tower in Mid-Levels, life has not yet returned to normal for her pained  husband and son as questions surrounding her death linger.

“Mahirap pala ang mag-move on. Kapag naaalala ko si Ruby Ann ay hindi ko mapigilang umiyak,” said Virginio “Jessie” Jose, the 63-year-old common-law husband of the deceased helper.

Jose, or Mang Jessie, as he is called by friends and relatives, met over lunch with this writer three weeks ago in a seafood restaurant in Lingayen City, Pangasinan where he and his son live.

“Maski ang anak namin, sinasabi sa akin na nami-miss daw niya ang nanay niya,” the widower told the SUN.

When we met, Jose said he still operated the mineral water station where Diola, a young Leyteña who strayed into Lingayen to look for a job, worked as a sales staff until they fell for each other and lived together. She bore her a son, Vivejo, now 9 years old and in Grade 5.

The water business had weakened due to competition and Jose’s lack of time to manage it as he drove his son to school and back on his tricycle bought with Diola’s death benefit from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

But in a text message he sent on July 11, Jose said he had finally shut the water business and was now relying on income from driving passengers on his tricycle.

Since Ruby Ann’s death on Oct 23, 2014, questions regarding her untimely demise have been haunting Jose.

“Natanggap ko na ang report ng pulisya pero marami akong tanong na hindi nila nasagot,” Jose said.

His questions include why, despite the numerous CCTV cameras installed inside the house of Ruby Ann’s employer on Robinson Road, police have not mentioned in their report any CCTV footage they might have recovered from the flat.

Another lingering question, Jose said, was why the Tagalog SMS message he received that broke the news about Ruby Ann’s death fall on that fateful morning was sent to him using his wife’s mobile phone.        

Shortly after his wife’s death, Jose submitted a sworn statement to the Hong Kong police recounting his phone conversations with her regarding her employment situation.

The statement detailed how the helper, then 26, was taken to Beijing by her employer, Cheung Yeuk Lee, shortly after her arrival in Hong Kong in July 2014 and made to work in the latter’s house for about a month without a contract.

It also related how she was taken afterwards to Macau by the employer’s grown-up son to stay for two months in the enclave while waiting for her Hong Kong work visa. She finally got it in September 2014.

On Dec 8, the District Court will begin hearing a claim for employee’s compensation and burial benefits filed by the Mission for Migrant Workers on behalf of Jose and his son against Ruby Ann’s employer.

Judge Katina Levy was to have begun hearing the case on June 2, but she adjourned the hearing as Diola’s next of kin and the respondent were absent.

Only Edwina Antonio of the Mission was in court to represent the claimants, but the judge said she did not have the capacity to represent them.

Antonio said the case has dragged on also because the police have yet to issue the results of their investigation into Ruby Ann’s death.

The Mission is now applying for legal aid on behalf of Jose for the Dec 8 hearing in District Court.

During the meeting in Lingayen, Jose handed this writer a set of documents, mostly Diola’s remittance receipts and bank statements that the Mission needs to support the application for legal aid for the claimants.

Jose will, however, also need the help of Good Samaritans to help bring him back to Hong Kong for the hearing.

Cayetano promises ‘faster, cheaper’ 10-year passports for overseas Pinoy workers

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano addresses the Filipino community at the Consulate.

By Vir B. Lumicao

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has promised overseas Filipino workers he would try to get the best deal so the new, 10-year passport could be delivered to them “faster but cheaper”.

He also said the Duterte government is talking to several countries in its bid to find new markets for OFWs so they can have a wider choice of opportunities other than domestic work.

Cayetano spoke before about 250 leaders and members of the Filipino community in Hong Kong on July 2, when he stopped over after a visit to Beijing.

The foreign secretary tried to dispel concerns among workers that the new passport will cost double the current fee of $480.

The new price was quoted in an interview in Manila earlier by a spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs, who justified the higher price by saying the new passport will be of better quality and will have double the number of pages.

During an earlier dialogue with militant leaders in Hong Kong, Cayetano reportedly belied this report, saying the new passport will only cost more if the applicant asks for the one with more pages.

Eman Villanueva of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body said his group asked if the passports issued abroad could be priced the same as those in the Philippines, where each costs only Php980 ($150 at current exchange rate).

Cayetano reportedly promised to look into why the passport costs so much higher abroad, and if there is a way to make it lower. However, he did not make any firm promises on how much the new passport would cost.

At the forum, Cayetano said a smart chip will be embedded in the passport cover containing the details of its holder, so one need not go through the tedious application process again when applying for a renewal. However, this does not apply for those who are below 18 years old, who will still be issued passports valid for five years.

Cayetano delivered to the Consulate two additional data-capture machines that he said would speed up the processing of passport applications. The passport section previously had four data-capture machines that could process only 220 applicants on Sunday, the busiest day of the week. With six, it can now process 330 applicants.

The bill providing for the new 10-year passport has already been passed by both houses of Congress, and is now waiting to be signed into law by the President. But before the new passports could be issued, the implementing rules and regulations for implementing the new law will have to be crafted and published first.

The official also said the Department of Foreign Affairs is going to address the problem  of offloading of relatives of Hong Kong OFWs by holding a dialogue with relevant  government agencies including the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration  and monitoring offloading incidents on a weekly and monthly basis to know how many  were being offloaded and whether the ejections are justified or not.

Cayetano reiterated President Duterte’s goal of securing peace and stability by eliminating drugs, terrorism, conflicts, criminality and corruption, and direct threat in order to speed up economic development, which would generate more jobs quality jobs  in the country so that Filipinos need not leave their families behind to work abroad.        

“The more that we help (Duterte), the more we support him, the more that we have peace, stability and development in our country, the faster that every Filipino will have a quality job in our country,” Cayetano said.

He said he was under instructions from the President to give priority to the welfare, rights, comfort and convenience of OFWs.

In the open forum, community leaders raised other issues including the abolition of the  overseas employment certificate, pressing the Hong Kong government to bring its labor standards for foreign domestic workers up to par with those for local workers, and  opening new labor markets for OFWs.

Cayetano cited Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III’s promise to introduce the iDOLE  multipurpose OFW ID card soon to replace the OEC. As for labor standards, he said OFWs should not expect too much from their host countries, saying each place has its  own set of standards.

He said that by opening new labor markets, the government wants OFWs to move up the  value chain by upgrading their skills and finding suitable markets for them so they do not  get stuck in Hong Kong, where they can only work as domestic helpers.

Consul General Bernardita Catalla said the Consulate was quietly pressing Hong Kong, through the Technical Working Group, on the welfare of workers.

One accomplishment she credits to the Consulate was the introduction into the standard work contract of a ban on the cleaning of window exteriors by helpers. She also cited the HKSAR’s recent move to crack down on rogue job agencies by penalizing them with jail terms and hefty fines.

The workers also aired complaints against the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration  for its alleged selective scholarship, member hospitalization issues, and missing membership certificates, all of which OWWA welfare officer Judith Santos addressed.

One Filcom leader proposed more government-run shelters for terminated OFWs, and  Cayetano said that issue could be addressed when budget allocations were discussed with the Department of Budget Management.

Labour Tribunal rules China work of DH is ‘legal’

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina domestic helper lost a claim for damages against her former employer after the Labour Tribunal rejected her accusation that the female boss breached Hong Kong Immigration rules by making her work illegally on the mainland.

Presiding Officer Jacqueline Lee also dismissed Gladys Chua’s allegation that she was punched, cursed and treated badly by her employer Cheung Lai Ling, saying if this were the case, she should have escaped as she had many opportunities to do so.

Lee said what happened to the maid on the mainland was outside her jurisdiction.

“Item 5 of the General Remarks of the Immigration rules states that conditions for foreign domestic helpers apply only while the FDH is in Hong Kong,” Lee said, reading an excerpt from Item 5 the Immigration’s General Remarks website.

“It’s not illegal for Ms Cheung to bring Ms Chua to the mainland if there was mutual consent between the employer and the maid. There was no evidence that Ms Chua was taken to the mainland without her consent, so no breach of Immigration rules,” Lee said.

Chua ended up paying Cheung $4,644.02 for the Shenzhen company director’s costs in the three-day trial hearing, originally calendared for four days.

Lee ordered the Filipina to pay $6,067.80, or 60% of Cheung’s more than $9,000 in costs.

But the presiding officer told Cheung to pay back $1,797.75 deducted from Chua’s final pay by employment agent Alice Tang for the maid’s plane ticket to Bacolod that Tang had booked, as well as her $100 travel allowance.

Lee rejected Chua’s claim for arrears in wages from Dec 1 to 16 last year based on an agreement she signed with Cheung on Nov 20 moving back her last day of service to Dec 16, after the employer allegedly told her to leave on Nov 30.

The presiding officer dismissed the two parties’ Nov 20 agreement, citing an Immigration rule that supplementary agreements reached by the employer and her employee outside their employment contract are void.

Instead, Lee accepted a one month’s notice of resignation that Chua signed on Nov 16, 2016 and told her to pay Cheung for not finishing the Dec 1-16 part of her notice period.

The Filipina went to the tribunal claiming payment for the remaining 22 months of her two-year contract, insisting that she was unduly terminated by the employer and forced to sign the resignation notice. She was also claiming $900 in costs including MTR fare.

But confusion and inconsistencies in her statement and her mother Donna Mae’s evidence in court led Lee to reject their evidence, calling them “unreliable witnesses”.

In contrast, Lee accepted the evidence given by Cheung and her witnesses – her mainlander friend Mr Tang and driver Mr Lam.

The tribunal heard that Chua was placed with Cheung by Tang, owner of the now defunct Blessings Employment Agency, in July 2016, but she went back to the Philippines to wait for her work visa. She began working for Cheung on Oct 24 and was taken to Shenzhen on a tourist visa by her employer on Oct 29.

During her stay in Shenzhen she said she was made to work in Cheung’s house and then was made to work as cleaner in her office until the evening. Aside from the long work hours, she said she was given food that had been in the refrigerator for two weeks.

On Nov 14, Cheung allegedly punched Chua in the upper arm for a mistake in her work. The next day she was made to work the whole day without rest and food until she fell ill in the evening. The next morning she was told to pack up her things and was driven to the border bus terminal where she took a ride back to Hong Kong.

She stayed with her mother for four days in Tsing Yi and after a Nov 20 meeting with Cheung and Tang, the maid moved back to the employer’s flat in Hong Kong to finish her service until Dec 16.

But at 3am on Nov 30 Chua left Cheung’s house after Tang arrived at midnight to let her sign the agreement saying she was being released that day. Tang also booked her an air ticket to Bacolod.

VP Robredo launches OFW project in HK

VP Robredo with supporters at HK Airport

Vice President Ma. Leonor "Leni" Robredo made a quick weekend trip to Hong Kong to launch a new project that focuses on the positive achievements of ordinary people, including overseas Filipino workers.
VP Robredo said her "Istorya ng Pag-Asa" project promotes the use of social media as a tool to bring hope and inspiration to many.

The VP checked-in herself

"We want to feature inspirational stories of ordinary people who have gone through a lot of struggles and triumphed in the end," she said.
The VP was speaking to a group of supporters at Hong Kong airport, shortly before boarding the Cebu Pacific flight that took her home to Manila yesterday, July 16.
She was accompanied on her visit by middle daughter Tricia and an office staff. 

VP at Victoria Park with OFWs

Unlike other government officials who come to visit, she checked in for the flight herself, and was not accompanied by any protocol officer from the Consulate.
"Private visit naman ito," she said.
Earlier that day, she spent a few hours at Victoria Park with a few OFWs who shared their life stories with her. 
Her short visit merited the usual flak on social media from her detractors, but VP Robredo merely shrugged them off, saying, ""If the other camp hurls invectives and negativity, we must do the opposite,"
She said she was not worried about the upcoming court challenge filed by former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, who lost to her in last year's vice presidential election.
"Bongbong knows he doesn't have anything. Wala siya talagang basis sa kanyang kaso," she said. "Kasi yung mga witnesses niya  e witnesses din namin, at hindi daw nila alam kung bakit inilagay ang mga pangalan nila doon."
Still, she said one cannot be too complacent with everything that's been happening in the country.
"Ipagdasal pa rin natin," she said.

Saulian ng ambag sa mga naipundar

Mahigit limang taon nang magkarelasyon sina Pip at Posy at naging parang tunay silang mag-asawa kaya maging sa usaping pinansiyal at nagtutulungan silang dalawa. Sa gitnang silangan sila nagkakilala at nagkaibigan, ngunit nag-isip na lumipat sa Hong Kong sa pag-asang mas gaganda ang kanilang kinabukasan balang araw.

Pagdating nila sa Hong Kong ay bumili sila agad ng mga ari-arian sa kanilang lugar, at nagkasundo na paghahatian ang pagbabayad dito. Pareho silang mahilig sa sports kaya doon nila ginugugol ang kanilang oras tuwing araw ng pahinga.

Ngunit nangyari ang hindi inaasahan nang magsimulang magselos si Posy kay Pip. Dahil sa madalas nilang pag-aaway dahil dito ay lumamig ang kanilang pagsasama at tuluyan na silang naghiwalay.

Noon naisip ni Posy na singilin ang perang naiambag niya sa pagbili ng kanilang ari-arian, at pati na rin ang naiambag niyang tulong sa pamilya ni Pip.

Ayon naman kay Pip, handa naman siyang ibalik ang perang sinisingil ng dating sinisinta, ngunit hindi biglaan dahil medyo malaki din daw ang kabuuan ng halagang binabawi.

Ang dalawa ay parehong mula sa Mindanao at kasalukuyang naninilbihan bilang kasambahay sa kani- kanilang mga among Intsik  sa New Territories. – Marites Palma

Napaglipasan ng panahon, pero sige pa rin

Noong dumating si Ate Jenny sa Hong Kong ay 28 taong gulang pa lang siya, ngayon ay 63 na siya, at 34 taon nang naninilbihan sa iisang amo. Sa nagdaang mga taon ay ilang mga pamangkin niya ang napag-aral na niya.

Ang una ay isa nang nurse sa Britain, ang pangalawa ay public relations officer sa Canada, ang pangatlo ay computer engineer, ang pang-apat ay nagtapos ng IT at nagtuturo na sa isang computer school, at ang pinakahuli ay isang researcher sa PhilRice, na mas pinili ang ganitong gawain kaysa magpatuloy bilang seaman.

Tuwing nakikita ni Ate Jenny ang mga larawan ng mga pamangkin na matagumpay na ay naiiyak siya sa tuwa, bagamat naaalala din niya ang ginawa niyang pagtalikod sa kanyang lovelife para lang mapag-aral sila.

Pauwi na sana siya sa darating na buwan, ngunit nagdalawang-isip nang himukin ng amo na pumirma ng isa pang kontrata kapalit ng $25k. Marami na kasing na-interview ang kanyang amo bilang kapalit niya sana ngunit wala daw pumasa sa standards nila.

Pumayag na rin si Ate Jenny bagamat naipadala na niya ang kanyang mga gamit at natanggap na rin niya ang malaking bahagi ng kanyang long service. Naisip niya kasi na malaking karagdagan din ang ibinibigay ng amo sa kanyang ipon para sa kanyang pag-uwi. Bagamat marami na siyang pamangkin na napag-aral ay ayaw niyang siya naman ang umasa sa kanila sa kanyang pag-uwi. Si Ate Jenny ay mula sa Ilocos Norte. – Marites Palma

PCG warns anew vs Russian jobs as 20 deported

By Vir B. Lumicao

Filipino workers in Hong Kong are again being warned against grabbing offers by illegal recruiters to place them for jobs in Russia.

The latest warning was issued by the Consulate on July 5, a week after the Philippine embassy in Moscow repatriated 20 OFWs who ended up as illegal migrants after their initial tourist or commercial visa there expired.

“We would like to remind the public … there is no visa category in Russia for (domestic workers); holders of tourist or commercial visa are not allowed to work (there), and improperly documented workers are subject to detention, fines and deportation,” the advisory said.

The Consulate urged the public to report illegal recruiters and illegal recruitment in Hong Kong through its email: hongkong.pcg@dfa.gov.ph or at telephone number 9155 4023.

A similar warning was issued by the Consulate at least twice in recent years, but the illegal recruitment of Filipino workers to Russia appears to have continued.

On June 28, the embassy in Moscow facilitated the repatriation of what it described as “the highest monthly figure so far” of OFWs deported by Russia.

The embassy said in a press release that the OFWs were forced to return home rather than stay in Russia illegally and risk arrest and heavy penalties.

Embassy officials helped the OFWs undergo deportation proceedings to obtain expulsion orders that
served as their exit visas.

Of the 20 repatriates, two had been arrested by police while the rest sought help from the embassy. They were given shelter and food by the embassy’s assistance to nationals section while their papers were being processed.

 “We understand that no OFW wants to go home abruptly, especially through deportation. The fact that our nationals came to the Embassy for assistance in this regard means that they were really left with no choice,” said Ambassador Carlos D. Sorreta.

The embassy estimates that there are between 5,000 and 10,000 Filipinos in Russia, the majority of whom are women who work as nannies and cleaners.

There is currently no work visa category for domestic workers in Russia and Filipinos. Those who go there for work obtain their visas through illegal recruiters who pay large fees to so-called “visa agencies” that misrepresent them as highly qualified professionals in managerial positions. Others go there as students or tourists.

Such arrangements have made the OFWs vulnerable to arrests, detention and fines, the embassy said.

It added that many Russia-based Filipinos are no longer able to obtain such work visas.

“We observed that the recruitment of Filipinos by unauthorized entities – especially from Hong Kong and other third countries – led to a situation where the number of work visas available for Filipinos, even the ones that misrepresent their actual work and employers, is no longer enough,” said Vice Consul Jeffrey A. Valdez.

He said working with visas sourced from the visa agencies is against Russian and Philippine laws.

“What makes things worse is that Filipinos are being recruited using tourist, commercial (business) and even student visas that do not allow a foreign national to work in Russia,” Ambassador Soretta said.

Soretta said while there is a demand for Filipino helpers, “we need to find a long-term solution that clearly defines their legal status for their own protection. The continuous entry of Filipinos in violation of immigration rules makes that task even more challenging.”

On May 28, Sorreta and Valdez met and held a dialogue with around 100 Filipino victims of a Russian visa agent who vanished with their money and passports, to discuss the options available to them under Philippine and Russian laws.

Russian authorities subsequently raided the office of the visa agent and has since detained several Filipinos, the embassy said. The other victims sought refuge in the embassy.

The embassy has recovered some of the passports and formally requested the Russian authorities to turn over any passports they still held.