BSK HK holds livelihood festival to mark 24th year

One of the booths features the handcrafted output of members.

By Daisy CL Mandap

Rare are the Filipino community organizations in Hong Kong which can lay claim to having survived for more than two decades without losing focus on their objectives, and with most key officers remaining on board.

BSK HK leader Chuing Baltazar bades goodbye.

But rarer are those that can lay claim to having helped their fellow Filipinos in a big but quiet way, without asking for anything in return.

To this latter category belongs Balikatan sa Kaunlaran (BSK) Hong Kong Council, which celebrated its 24th year anniversary with a show on Chater Road on Nov. 11, and on the side, held the first ever OFW Livelihood Festival.



Spearheaded by one of its founders, Ching Baltzar, BSK has over the years, resolutely stuck to its goal of providing free livelihood training to overseas Filipino workers, despite not having any budget, nor space for its programs.

With only a narrow pedestrian overpass in Admiralty as its base, BSK has provided crafts training such as ribbon folding, macramé weaving, balloon design and beadwork to hundreds, if not thousands, of Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.



Many of these graduates have moved back to the Philippines to start their own businesses, or formed their own groups in Hong Kong through which they have started their own skills training for fellow migrant workers.

This year, Baltazar decided to celebrate its anniversary in a big way, with Consul General Tony Morales and Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre leading its list of guests. Senator JV Ejercito, whose mother Guia Gomez, founded BSK in Manila, also flew in to join the celebration, as well as Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles.



All the guests extolled Baltazar and BSK for focusing on the mission of getting Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong prepare for their eventual return home by providing them with skills that they could use in starting their own businesses.

ConGen Morales urged migrant workers to spend a few hours of their precious day-off in the week to learn a new skill which could help provide them with a source of livelihood when they return home.



“Hindi naman masamang tumambay dahil isang lingo naman tayong nagtatrabaho, pero kung sa buong araw na iyan, maaari naman nating bigyan ng ilang oras…ang makakuha tayo ng bagong kaalaman sa ikabubuti din ng ating kinabukasan,” he said.

Labatt dela Torre also asked migrants to look after their health, and take advantage of the free medical check-ups that is being offered to them by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office through its HealthWise program.

After a Catholic mass that kicked off the celebration, the event was officially opened with a ribbon cutting by Baltazar and the VIP guests.

In between the speeches, various groups provided dance numbers, before about 100 graduates of BSK’s livelihood programs were called to the stage to accept their certificates of completion from Congen Morales, Labatt dela Torre and Rep. Nograles.

To wrap up the celebration, BSK awarded prizes to the winners in its livelihood contests.

Here is the complete set of winners:
Group Entries:
Ribbon Folding: Kailangan ang Kabuhayan para sa ating Kinabukasan (KKK)
Beads & Accessories: Overseas Kapuso Livelihood Association (Kapuso)
Macrame: United Migrants Entrepreneurship & Livelihood Association (Umela)
Stocking Flower Making: Filipino Workers Livelihood Association (Fiwla)

Individual Entries:
Cross Stitch: Delia A. Palma
Fruit & Vegetable Carving: Elpie Leba
Upcycling: Meriam C. Asiong
Painting: Noemi Manguerra


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Umela holds 6th graduation

United Migrants Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Association (Umela) Hong Kong officers, members and guests celebrate the graduation of the latest batch of trainees.

By Daisy CL Mandap

About 100 Filipino migrant workers in scrub suits and outfits they made themselves proudly marched in front of an assembled crowd at Bayanihan Centre on Nov. 4 to claim their certificates for completing massage therapy or livelihood training courses.

These were the latest graduates of the year-round training offered for free by United Migrants Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Association (Umela) Hong Kong, under the leadership of its founder, Ofelia Baquiran.

Topping the list of graduates was Donabelle D Uanang, who was named “Best Student” of batch 34 of the massage therapy class.



She received her medal from Consul Paul Saret, who lauded Umela for focusing  on helping Filipino migrants learn new skills in preparation for their eventual return home.

Saret also shared how the Consulate has been tackling head-on the debt problem of many overseas Filipino workers, by asking the Hong Kong government if it was possible to lower the legal interest rates for loans, which is 60%.



In turn, Hong Kong, through Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, reportedly asked the Consulate to step up its education drive so Filipinos will avoid signing up for loans they don’t really need, or cannot repay.



Another guest, welfare officer Marivic Clarin, told the graduates that their skills training is one of those that could merit livelihood assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Office in Hong Kong.



She advised them to approach the office if they want to know more about the kind of help they could get should they decide to go home for good.

Aside from massage therapy, Umela also provides training in dressmaking, macramé bag making, ribbon folding, bead works, and other crafts.

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HK govt asked to explain early release of Erwiana’s employer

At the press conference denouncing Law's early release. Tutik is 3rd from left

By Vir B. Lumicao

Indonesian former domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih has called on the Hong Kong government to protect migrant workers from abuse, as she expressed sadness at the early release from jail of her former employer and torturer Law Wan-tung.

Erwiana with her parents at her graduation .

Law was sentenced to six years in jail in February 2015 for the abuse she inflicted on Erwiana and another Indonesian helper, Tutik Lestari, but was reportedly allowed early release a few months ago by the Correctional Services Department.

Erwiana expressed her dismay in a voice message played at a media briefing held by the Justice for Erwiana and All Migrant Domestic Workers Committee at KUC Space at 2 Jordan Road on Nov. 22.

“I feel very sad and disappointed when I learned that my former employer Law Wan-tung was released from jail earlier than the actual imprisonment that she had to serve,” Erwiana said in her message which was beamed live from Indonesia.

“The six-year sentence is not even adequate for the terrible crimes that she committed against me and her other victims,” she said.

Tutik, who was present at the conference, said she is now afraid for her safety because of Law’s previous threats to kill her and her family.

Supporters of the migrant workers’ cause called the early release a great injustice. One, Mission for Migrant Workers general manager Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, said they would take legal advice on what action should be taken in response to Law’s early release.

Tellez expressed anger at the decision to set Law free early, since she has refused to admit her guilt and show remorse.

She also asked how prison authorities could override a sentence imposed by a court.

“How can one say that the decision of a higher body which is the court is undermined by an implementing body like a correctional institution? The people need to know.”

Law’s release just three years into her six-year sentence was revealed in District Court on Nov 21 by Justice Department lawyer Yvonne Cheung, who is chasing Law for $200,000 in court costs for one of her failed legal actions.

Cheung told local media that Law “was released a few months ago,” adding that the department found out only when a call was made to the Lo Wu Correctional Institution, where the convict was serving her sentence.

In December last year, Law was ordered to pay $809,000 in compensation to Erwiana for her suffering.

“It is my hope that Law Wan-tung can admit to her wrongdoing, apologize to her victims, and resolve never do the same thing to anyone ever again,” Erwiana said.

She also urged the Hong Kong government to immediately reform the unfavorable regulations for foreign domestic workers and ensure that there will be no more victims of domestic violence and slavery in the city.

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Bagong dating na Pinay, nakitang may tumor sa utak

Si Barroga bago ang operasyon sa Queen Mary

By The SUN

Tagumpay ang operasyon na isinagawa kay Carent Samson Barroga noong ika-21 ng Nobyembre, 10 araw pagkatapos niyang dumating sa Hong Kong para sana magtrabaho sa kanyang bagong amo na taga South Horizons.

Hindi na nakarating sa bahay ng amo si Carent, 37, at dati nang nagtrabaho sa Hong Kong, nang makaramdam siya ng matinding pananakit ng ulo, pagkahilo at pagsusuka, ilang oras matapos lumapag ang kanyang sinasakyang eroplano mula sa Pilipinas noong ika-11 ng Nobyembre. Itinakbo siya sa Queen Mary Hospital sa Pokfulam kinabukasan, at na-admit agad nang makita ang tumor sa kanyang utak.

Agad na lumipad papuntang Hong Kong ang kanyang kapatid na si Liezl de Guzman nang sabihin ng mga kaibigan ni Carent na kailangan itong operahan agad. Sabi ni Liezl, ayaw ng kanilang pamilya na ipa-opera agad si Carent dahil baka nagkamali lang ng diagnosis. Malakas pa daw si Carent bago lumipad papuntang Hong Kong.

Nakaalis si Liezl sa tulong ni Chenny Princillo at iba pang mga kaibigan ni Carent na nag ambag-ambag para may ipandagdag sa pambili ng kanyang tiket at panggastos sa Hong Kong.  Pagdating niya sa ospital ay nakita daw ni Liezl ang matinding paghihirap ng kapatid, na itinali na sa kama dahil nagwawala sa tindi ng sakit ng ulo, kaya pumayag na siya sa operasyon.

Bagamat natutuwa dahil sa tagumpay ng operasyon, nag-aalala naman ngayon si Liezl at mga kaibigan ni Carent dahil sa babayaran sa ospital na siguradong napakalaki dahil sa isinagawang maselang operasyon.

Ayon daw sa agency ni Carent, hindi obligadong sagutin ng kanyang employer ang pagpapagamot dahil hindi pa nakapag-umpisa ng trabaho ang Pilipina bago nagkasakit. Hindi pa rin daw nakakakuha ng domestic helper insurance ang amo.

Ang isa pang pinag-aalala ni Liezl ay kung saan puwedeng dalhin si Carent habang nagpapalakas dahil sabi ng doktor ay may isang buwan pa bago ito puwedeng makauwi sa Pilipinas.

Kabilang sa mga unang tumulong sa magkapatid ang mga miyembro ng Domestic Workers Corner na agad na nagbigay ng ambag para sa pangkain ni Liezl, na kasalukuyang nakikitira lang sa mga kaibigan habang inaalagaan ang kapatid. Nag-alay din ang grupo ng dasal para makasalba si Carent sa operasyon.

Ang founder ng grupo na si Rodelia Villar ay itinawag na rin kay Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre ang kaso ni Carent para sa kung anumang tulong ang maaari niyang makuha mula sa pamahalaan. Ang unang-una nilang kahilingan ay ang mabigyan si Carent ng pansamantalang tutuluyan kapag nakalabas na siya sa ospital.

Ang mas mabigat na problema ay kung sino ang magbabayad sa ospital. Ayon sa batas ng Hong Kong, ang mga itinuturing na residente, kabilang ang mga foreign domestic helper na may Hong Kong ID card, ang maaari lang makapagpagamot sa mga pampublikong ospital ng walang masyadong binabayaran.

Si Carent ay nakapagtrabaho dati sa iisang amo sa loob ng halos apat na taon pero na-terminate kaya kinailangang umuwi habang naghihintay ng visa para sa bagong amo. Pangwalo siya sa 10 magkakapatid, may asawa’t dalawang anak, at taga Bayambang, Pangasinan.

Balak ngayon ng DWC na magsagawa ng charity hike para may ipandagdag na tulong kay Carent at sa kanyang mga anak. 

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Father, son escape jail term for breaching Immigration rules

By Vir B. Lumicao

A “lazy” son who failed to renew his dependant visa for more than three years and nearly dragged his elderly father to jail as a result, had come out lucky after a magistrate in Shatin Court decided to suspend their sentences.

Jerykson de Leon, 27, pleaded guilty on Nov 21 to a charge of breach of condition of stay and his Taiwanese father, Li Chi-hung, 67, to aiding and abetting the breach.

After convicting the two, magistrate Wong Sze-lai scolded the son for his laziness.

“You overstayed in Hong Kong. You are lazy. You are a young person, you have to work and you must not just lie idle inside the house,” Wong said, noting that De Leon had three previous criminal records.

The magistrate sentenced De Leon to 16 days, suspended for a year, for overstaying in Hong Kong for more than three years.

Li was sentenced to two months in jail, suspended for 18 months, for aiding and abetting his son’s failure to renew his visa.

In mitigation, the defense lawyer said De Leon is Li’s child with a Filipina who decided to bring the boy back to the Philippines at a young age.

In 2010, De Leon came to Hong Kong to join his father. His visa was due for renewal in February 2016 but he lost his passport and Hong Kong ID card and did not bother to get them replaced.

It was Li who went to the Philippine Consulate early this year to apply for a new passport for De Leon.

Li’s counsel said the father, a night-duty security guard, was aware of his son’s visa expiry and reminded him about it when it was time to apply for an extension.

Li reportedly gave his son $1,000 to renew his visa but the latter failed to do so because he had lost his passport and ID.

De Leon’s new passport was granted in late January this year and Li accompanied him to Immigration to surrender for having overstayed.

But Li himself was also arrested on a charge of aiding and abetting his son’s breach of his condition of stay. 

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