PCG warns Filipinas against falling for sweet-talking men

By Vir B. Lumicao

The Consulate has advised Filipinas in Hong Kong to beware of falling for, or giving their addresses to sweet-talking foreigners who could use them for illicit purposes.

Wes
9t Kowloon Court.

The warning came as two Filipina domestic helpers appeared in West Kowloon Court on Dec. 7 to face charges of drug trafficking that resulted from them taking delivery of parcels sent to them by foreign men.

Consul Paulo Saret, head of the assistance to national section, said Filipina workers should never agree to receive packages whose senders they do not know.

“Katulad ng sinasabi namin sa PAOS, or post-arrival orientation seminars, na huwag magtitiwala sa maymagpapadala sa atin na packages kung galling tayo sa Pilipinas o galing man saan na pakibigay kay ganito,” Saret said.

“Pero additionally, nire-remind ko dahil sa nangyari dito sa dalawa, na hindi tayo dapat
magbukas ng parcel na naka-address sa atin pero hindi naman natin alam kung sino ang nagpadala,” Saret said.

He said if a worker finds herself in this situation, she should call the police and open the parcel
in front of them so she would not be put in a difficult situation.



“Beware sa matatamis ang dila na gustong makipagkaibigan…na itinuturing mong boyfriend, iyon pala ang purpose nung guy ay gawin kang unwitting accomplice sa kanyang illegal schemes,” he said.

Michelle Mardo, a 41-year-old mother of three, was arrested on Sept 27 after she received a parcel containing suspected cocaine that arrived from Ecuador on Sept 7. The delivery man, wearing a UPS uniform, turned out to be a Customs officer.



A government press release said 440 grams of the illegal drug was concealed between layers of four wooden boxes that arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport air mail center, and consigned to Mardo in her Yuen Long address.

At the third hearing of the case before Magistrate Ada Yim prosecutor amended the amount of cocaine hidden in the parcel to 296 grams from 440 grams.



Mardo was not asked to enter a plea. At the hearing was her eldest son and some Filipina friends.

The magistrate adjourned the case until Jan 14, and remanded Mardo in custody.



Calin Baybayan, the second Filipina defendant, returned to court for a bail review eight days after she was charged with trafficking in a dangerous drug. She too, received a drug-laden parcel from abroad.

At the request of the prosecution, Magistrate Yim adjourned the case to Jan.24 and remanded Baybayan in custody.

Anti-corruption body ‘finalizing’ report on Bello graft probe

Jimenez (with mic) speaking at the media conference. 

By Vir B. Lumicao

An anti-graft body that reports directly to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says it is finalizing its report on an investigation of graft charges against Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

A member of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission said in a media conference at the Consulate on Dec. 14 that the outcome of the probe will be “a triumph of justice” and “will be fair.”

PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna said the collegial body had done two fact-finding inquiries.

“We have conducted two and we are finalizing our report to the president. Whatever it is, it will be the President who will have the final say. But rest assured that that case will be a triumph of justice and it will be fair because we will accord the subject due process,” Luna said.

But he made it clear that what the PACC is preparing only a preliminary report and that it will be submitted to President Duterte in early 2019.

“If the President orders us to conduct further investigation, then we will do so, unless he issues an order and… you know that in corruption cases, a whiff of corruption is enough to get an official fired or caused to resign,” said Luna.

“We are not saying that he’s guilty or not, because that is confidential. But rest assured that justice will be done not only to the complainant but to the subject and all those implicated.”

Monalie Dizon, secretary-general of Kilusang Pagbabago National Movement for Change, a pro-Duterte group, filed a complaint-affidavit at the PACC on Jul 12 accusing Bello and his undersecretary, Dominador Say, of conspiracy to commit administrative and criminal offenses.

Dizon said the alleged illegal activities began after Bello signed in June 2017 Administrative Order 241 divesting the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration of its power to issue and renew licenses for employment agencies.

The order, signed in June last year, also required that all processed applications be sent to Bello’s office “for approval or denial.”

Luna said the PACC has already endorsed a graft case against Say to the Ombudsman, about an alleged pay-off to Say by a former recruitment agency owner, Azzizzah Salim.

Jimenez himself presented Salim to Duterte so she could reveal the alleged extortion by Say.

“It’s now with the Ombudsman and it will undergo the necessary processing. If it merits criminal investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman will do the same dahil wala kaming criminal jurisdiction. Ang amin pong trabaho ay administrative in nature,” Luna said.

Dizon’s complaint included Bello and Say’s alleged extortion of P6.8 million from Salim, in exchange for the reversal of a DOLE decision revoking her agency’s license.

Bello has denied Dizon’s allegation, and claimed Salim had asked him to clarify to Duterte that she did not include the labor chief in her complaint.

Bello said he told Salim he had no power to do that but accompanied her to see Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea so she could make the clarification.

The PACC team, led by Chairman Dante Jimenez and included executive director Eduardo Bringas and executive assistant Jong Sorro, stopped by Hong Kong after a trip to China to introduce the commission to mainland authorities.

The team brought with them a video presentation about the PACC and the actions it has taken against allegedly corrupt government employees.

Jimenez said the PACC was expressly created by Duterte on Oct 4, 2017 to spearhead the President’s anti-corruption drive in government.

He said that out of about 100 complaints against government officials, 56 cases have already been filed with the Ombudsman, including those against regional officers of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Bicol for allegedly anomalous projects.

Luna said the PACC has no jurisdiction over non-presidential appointees and those who are below salary Grade 26 (or Director II level). But, in certain instances, he said, the commission would refer complaints against these type of government employees to the Ombudsman, he said.

 

Kulay Pasko ang Sweet Gum Woods sa Tai Tong

Ang kakaibang tanawin sa Tai Tong

Ni Marites Palma

Kung inaakala ninyo na ang mga puno na nagpapalit ng dahon mula luntian, dilaw, hanggang pula ay makikita lang sa mga bansa na nakakaranas ng matinding taglamig o snow katulad ng Canada, Japan o Amerika, nagkakamali kayo.

Dito sa Hong Kong ay may isang lugar din na kakikitaan ng ganitong klase ng puno, ang sweet gum, Habang ang mga nakapaligid na punongkahoy ay nanatiling kulay luntian ang mga dahon, kapansin-pansin ang matingkad na kulay  ng mga puno na ito.

Parang “magic”, sabi nga ng mga nakakita na nito.

Sa bansang Japan at Canada, nakagawian na ng mga turista na dayuhin ang mga lugar kung saan makikita ang ganitong kakaibang tanawin kapag papalapit na ang winter, o dili kaya ay patapos na.

Sa Hong Kong, bibihira pa ang nakakaalam na may ganitong mala-engkantong lugar kung saan maaaring magkuhanan ng litrato na siguradong hahangaan ng mga makakakita. Disyembre ang pinakamagandang panahon para bumisita dito.

Disyembre ang pinakamagandang panahon para bumisita sa Sweet Gum Woods

Hindi na kailangang lumayo pa para marating ang lugar na ito na tinaguriang Sweet Gum Woods, na nasa Tai Tong sa distrito ng Yuen Long.

Sumakay lamang ng West Rail Line patungong Long Ping Station, at lumabas sa exit B2. Hanapin ang himpilan ng Bus K66, na siyang dapat mong sakyan para marating ang Tai Tong Shan Road (sabihin sa driver na dito kayo bababa para makasiguro, pero ito ang pangalawa sa panghuling babaan). Pagdating sa Tai Tong Shan Road, maglakad pataas ng mga isa hanggang isa’t kalahating oras, at mararating na ang Sweet Gum Woods.

Dilaw at pula ang mga dahon ng punong sweet gum

Sa kasalukuyang panahon na nagkukulay pula ang mga dahon ng punong ito, ang bus K66 ay may biyaheng diretso mula sa Long Ping MTR hanggang Tai Tong Shan Road tuwing Linggo at araw ng piyesta opisyal. Mas malapit din ng may kalahating kilometro ang lugar na bababaan.

Tumatakbo ang bus na ito tuwing ika-15 minuto mula 10:30 ng umaga hanggang ika-4 ng hapon papuntang  Tai Tong, at ang pabalik naman sa Long Ping station ay mag-uumpisa mula ala una hanggang ika-pito ng hapon.

Kung marami kayong magkakasama, mas maigi na sumakay na lang ng green taxi mula sa Yuen Long MTR diretso sa Tai Lam Country Park kung saan nagkukumpulan ang mga puno ng sweet gum. Aabot ng mga $60 ang biyahe, na tatagal ng ilang minuto lang.

Dahil ang Hong Kong ay kabilang sa mga lugar na sub-tropical ang klima, karamihan ng mga puno dito ay naglalagas lang ang dahon bago mag winter, nguni’t hindi nagpapalit ang kulay. Bukod tanging ang puno ng sweet gum lang na madalas na ihalintulad sa maple tree ng Canada ang nagkukulay ng matingkad na pula bago tuluyang nalalagas ang mga dahon.

Ang mga dahon ng puno ng sweet gum  ay nagsisimulang magbago sa buwan ng Nobyembre at nalalagas sa Enero, pero sa Disyembre, mula sa kalagitnaan hanggang sa katapusan, makikita na mapulang mapula na ang mga dahon nito.

Bakit nagbabago ang mga kulay nito?

Ayon sa paliwanag ng mga siyentipiko, ang mga dahon kasi nito ay naglalaman ng ibat ibang klase ng pigment o kulay: ang chlorophyll na nagbibigay ng kulay na luntian, ang  carotenoids para sa dilaw na kulay, at anthocyanin para sa pulang kulay. Sa pagbabago ng klima ang mga dahon ay natutuyo at nalalamigan kaya namamatay ang chlorophyll at naiiwan ang kulay na dilaw at pula ng mga ito.

Sa mga nagnanais na makakita ng kakaibang tanawin sa Hong Kong sa buwan ng Kapaskuhan, magpunta na sa Sweet Gum Woods, at siguradong kakainggatan ng inyong mga kaibigan at kaanak ang mga litrato ninyo na kuha dito.

HK migrants protest Japan’s plan to deport Filipina

Protesters called on the Japanese govt to stop Quindoy's deportation

Hong Kong migrant groups have protested outside Exchange Square in Central where the Japanese consulate general is located, to call for a stop to the deportation of a Filipina community leader from Japan.

Loida Quindoy’s fate is set to be decided on Friday, Dec 14, by a court in Tokyo.

The picket at the Japanese mission was in response to a request for support from Migrante Japan, which has launched a similar petition asking the Tokyo government to stop its plan to deport Quindoy.

Migrante Japan said Quindoy has contributed so much to society by helping compatriots and migrants of other nationalities through her work with KMC and the KAFIN Half-way House in Japan.

She has lived in Japan for over 22 years with her only son and his two daughters. She went there in 1996 by marrying a Japanese national, Serikawa Eichii. But she filed for divorce in 2000 allegedly due to verbal and emotional abuse from Serikawa.

Quindoy became a permanent resident in 2009. But on Oct. 11 her status was revoked and she was detained at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau allegedly because of violations committed by her former Filipino husband.

The demonstrators handed a petition letter to a Japanese consulate representative before dispersing.