The SUN HK

More than 100 gather for DWC's anniversary party amid gloom

Posted on 07 October 2019 No comments

By Daisy CL Mandap

Image may contain: 6 people, people smiling, people standing

DWC members dance the blues away

If they were nervous or worried about the violence that has rocked Hong Kong for the past 18 weekends they didn’t show it. Or, they were just determined to have fun to mark the second year of their online group, Domestic Workers Corner.

More than 100 DWC members led by their founder Rodelia Villar, gathered at Pier 9 in Central earlier today, Oct 7, for their anniversary get-together.

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Although the celebration was more subdued than the one they had last year, everyone who came was eager to join in the fun and share stories, including how they managed to still take their days off despite the unrest that has spread across Hong Kong.

Not a few spoke of having to walk across several districts because of the MTR shutdown, or because the bus queue was too long it would take them hours to get back to their employer’s house.

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Co-admins Villar (also founder) and Tuando with the certificates they handed to members

But Rain Tuando, one of the group’s “admins” (administrators) was lucky enough to have been picked up by her employers in Lai Chi Kok yesterday, after she got stranded when the entire Tsuen Wan line on the MTR was suddenly closed because of an accident. She would have been unable to walk home because her employers live all the way in Tai Wai.

According to Villar, the event could no longer be cancelled because the food had already been ordered and paid for from members’ contribution. She also had certificates made for the occasion, ready to be distributed to those who came.

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“Kung sino lang po ang makakarating kasi bayad na lahat,” Villar said. “Kung may matira i- take home na lang.”

But the turnout proved to be a pleasant surprise to her and most people in the group. It seemed everybody was as anxious to dispel the gloom from the long-running protests, as they were in enjoying each other’s company.

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But members’ safety was still the group’s priority, so they scheduled the gathering early in the morning so they could all start heading home after lunch. This was uppermost in everyone’s mind even as they played games, danced and did as much merrymaking as they could muster.

Having fun before they start heading back home

Shortly after 2pm, with stomachs full and hearts even fuller, they began to pack away their stuff. Not a few live as far away as Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan in the New Territories, and Discovery Bay in Lantau, and they were all anxious to be home in case trouble broke out anew, and prevented them from reaching the safety of their employers’ homes.

But at the back of everyone’s mind was the wish that Hong Kong would be peaceful again. The long-running political stalemate has gone on too long, and all they want now is to feel safe again in this, their second home.

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Tear-gassed OFW already out of hospital

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By The SUN

Paramedics were already at the scene when Palmera lost consciousness

An overseas Filipino worker who was rushed to hospital yesterday, Oct 6, when she lost consciousness after inhaling tear gas thrown by police at protesters in Wanchai, is already back at her employer’s home in Mid-Levels.

This was disclosed by welfare officer Marivic Clarin, who sought out OFW Joy Palmera, 30, following reports about the incident.

Clarin said Palmera was discharged this morning, Oct. 7, from Ruttonjee Hospital. Tests conducted earlier showed the OFW was recovering from the effects of the fumes, but had been coughing.

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Palmera reportedly regained consciousness when she arrived in hospital but for unknown reasons fainted again last night.

Her employers were immediately told about the incident and are reportedly supportive.

The OFW who hails from Davao, had just finished playing basketball in Southorn Playground at around 5:20pm on Sunday when protesters clashed with police nearby.

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Officers fired teargas at the protesters who retreated to the playground where Palmera was hanging out with friends. The OFW who was resting on one side of the playground, suddenly choked after inhaling the fumes.

Videos taken from the scene showed emergency workers rushing to help Palmera even before she fell unconscious to the ground. They were apparently called when it became obvious the OFW had difficulty breathing.

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Unlike her friends, Palmera failed to cover her face to protect herself from the harmful fumes.

One of her friends could be seen in one video trying to stop her being taken away by an ambulance, thinking perhaps that she would be arrested.

Police arrived and fired tear gas after protesters beat up a man in Wan Chai. Photo: RTHK

Tear gas is hurled at protesters during an earlier protest in Wanchai

Sunday was the second straight day of chaos across Hong Kong, which erupted after Chief Executive Carrie Lam invoked her emergency powers and banned the use of masks in public gatherings.

Shortly after the draconian measure was announced, protesters went on a rampage in several hotspots, trashing commercial establishments identified as pro-China, axing ATMs of China-owned banks and setting fire inside MTR stations.

The mayhem resulted in the unprecedented shutdown of the entire railway network the next day. Up until now, stations near trouble hotspots, including Admiralty all the way to Fortress Hill on the blue line, remain closed.

The entire Tsuen Wan line was also closed from last night after a train crashed against a barrier in Lai King station, injuring eight people. According to Clarin, it appeared no Filipino was among those injured.

Long before the violence escalated between protesters and the police, the Consulate has been issuing regular advisories telling Filipinos to avoid getting close to the demonstration, and even gives a list of places where protests are expected on certain days.

In addition, OFWs are told to refrain from wearing black tops as these are associated with protesters, or white as this is the color often worn by pro-government supporters.

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Eight riders hurt as MTR train to Central crashes in Lai King

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Eight passengers were slightly injured Sunday evening, Oct 6, when a Central-bound MTR train crashed into a concrete buffer off Lai King station while on its way to Mei Foo.

Police said they have no information if any of the casualties was Filipino.

It was the second accident on the MTR network since the derailment of another train while approaching the Hung Hom station from Lo Wu on the morning of Sept 17. Eight people were also injured.

A spokeswoman of the Hong Kong Police Public Relations Branch said in reply to an enquiry from The SUN that one of the injured was a male and the rest female. They were aged 24 to 64.

The officer said the injured passengers, except for the woman, were taken to nearby Princess Margaret Hospital in Lai King,

The female passenger refused to go to the hospital because her injury was superficial, the PPRB officer said.

She said the police received information about the crash at 5:53pm. At the time, intermittent rain was pelting Hong Kong while protests against a ban on the use of masks during public assemblies were under way Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

The accident, which had forced train service to halt on the Lai King to Tuen Wan section of the Red Line, was still under investigation.

All train services were finally shut down by the MTR at 9pm, the officer said.

Mario is free!

Posted on 06 October 2019 No comments

By Daisy Catherine L. Mandap

This spark of good news came, or rather, was confirmed to us, just a few days before we were to put the paper to bed.

Mario delos Reyes, our faithful correspondent who has spent the past 26 years in the maximum-security Stanley Prison, will be released on Oct. 5. He said so himself, in a letter he sent to us in his distinct handwriting.

Before this we learned from some Consulate officials that Mario had finally got what he had long wished for, which was to be given a fixed sentence so he could be released. But getting the news from Mario himself made it more real, and special.

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He would be getting out shortly after being given a fixed term because of his exemplary record as a prisoner. Not a single infraction of the rules, or of getting into fights, or misbehaving. On top of this, he completed many of the courses offered to inmates that he has jokingly said at one point that if law was offered he would be a lawyer by now.

Lately, he has also been spending much of his time corresponding with and consoling Filipinas who got imprisoned for acting as drug couriers for syndicates.

Maybe it was his training as a soldier, or his natural inclination to be studious, or his steely determination to remain unbowed, that allowed Mario to withstand the rigors of prison, but survived he did, and most admiringly.

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His case easily comes to mind whenever the controversy over the good conduct time allowance given to prisoners in the Philippines is raised. If anyone is in doubt as to how this could apply to prisoners, those in maximum security especially, we need only to look at Mario.

He is the best argument for allowing prisoners a chance to reform and settle back in society.

How did he do it? Mostly by reading, writing, and generally keeping his mind busy. If he couldn’t physically leave his cell, well, his mind could certainly wander.

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For maybe half the period that he was within the impenetrable walls of Stanley Prison, Mario kept us informed about his condition and views of the outside world through his letters.

Of late, he would even enclose articles he solicited from one of the Filipina inmates he has taken under his wings and encouraged to write, to ward off pangs of despair and loneliness. These letters we consider priceless for they bring us right within the cold prison walls to feel the anguish of those paying the price of falling foul with the law.

With Mario himself it was different. Except for a few recent letters in which he allowed himself to wallow in self-pity after being denied his request for a fixed term, his commentaries were always upbeat and thought-provoking.

I remember his incisive pieces on the treaty on the transfer of sentenced prisoner (a topic close to his heart), why the ongoing campaign against drugs in the Philippines is getting ex-prisoners like him wary of returning to the Philippines, and even his excitement at being visited by the country’s top diplomat in Hong Kong.

His long piece on Christmas celebrations back home was both festive and poignant, it made you realize the things you have taken for granted because they were always within reach.

But during one of our rare visits to Stanley, Mario spoke of a surreal moment when the loneliness and anger got the better of him, and he wanted to hit someone he thought was responsible for his failure to get a sentence hearing.

That would have gone to his record, and could have affected his chance of getting an early release.

But having toed the line for a quarter of a century, Mario needed only to shore up his self-control until the moment passed. He was adamant he would not “lose it”, as did many people in the detention facility, including a friend.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity or letting the loneliness suck the hope out of him, Mario allowed his mind to grow, and go to places far beyond his tiny prison cell.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. This Mario took to heart, and freed his mind even before the doors of Stanley could be opened to him.

But he has done his time, and should now be allowed to free his body as well, even if only to feel the warmth of his family’s embrace again.

So, welcome back to our topsy-turvy world, Mario.

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Maruming laro

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Ilang buwan pa lang ang nakalilipas nang pinauwi si Labatt Jolly dela Torre ay parang nakalimutan na nating ipinaglaban siya noong nakaraang taon. Hindi ba nag-protesta pa tayo nong biglang i-recall si Labatt Jolly? Tinutulan natin ito dahil ang dahilan ay hindi niya pinapayagan ang legal na pagpasok ng mga Pinay para magtrabaho sa Wanchai. At hindi ba nakuha natin ang gusto natin dahil naibalik siya?

Dahil dito, may nagtanim ng galit laban kay Sir Jolly— Hindi lang mga negosyanteng nawalan ng kita ang galit sa kanya dahil hinadlangan niya ang negosyong matatawag na human trafficking, kundi mga sarili rin niyang kasamahan na nawalan din ng komisyon mula sa raket na ito.

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Nang maalis siya sa Hong Kong, binalikan agad siya. Naghanap sila ng butas, at nakita ang bagong kontrata para sa pagbibigay ng serbisyong computerized na pang-ayuda sa pag-process ng mga kontrata.

Ayon kay Labatt Jolly, naubos ang pasensiya ng mga taga POLO dahil hindi tinutugunan ng dating supplier ang mga kailangan nila. Dagdag dito ay may negosyo pa ito na puwedeng gumamit ng data na nakolekta sa dati nitong serbisyo.

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Dahil sa isang liham ng isang grupo ng employment agencies na hindi nagpakilala, pinaimbestigahan ni Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III ang akusasyon na may katiwaliwan sa tinawag niyang “midnight deal”.

Ang kaso, natapos na ang imbestigasyon na hindi man lang tinanong si Labatt Jolly at, ayon sa press release ng DOLE, idedemanda pa siya base dito.

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Pero ang butas na nakita nila laban kay Labatt Jolly ay butas-butas.

Halimbawa, wala raw bidding. Pero ayon sa batas ng Pilipinas, hindi kailangan ang bidding kung wala namang babayaran ang gobyerno. Ang serbosyonf ito ay babayaran ng mga agency na gagamit nito. Gayun pa man, tumawag si Labatt Jolly ng apat na supplier, at isang panel na kasama ang mga taga-POLO at isang representative ng mga ahensiya ang pumili ng nanalo.

At bakit tinawag itong midnight deal kung apat na buwan na itong napirmahan nang pinauwi si Labatt Jolly, at ilan ding buwan ang preparasyon para sa biddding?

Maliwanag na iniipit siya ulit. Bakit hindi ka umaalma?

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