1k stranded passengers flock to Mla airport, hoping for flights home

By Daisy CL Mandap

More than 100 slept outside terminal 2 after failing to board a flight back to Mindanao (ABS-CBN photo)

About a thousand Filipinos who have been stranded in Metro Manila since the lockdown was imposed in mid-March have flocked to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, hoping to catch flights back to their provinces. This was after government officials announced domestic flights would resume with the easing of restrictions on Jun 1.

About 150 of them had to sleep overnight outside terminal 2 of the airport, when the free flight to Mindanao that they had hoped to catch yesterday, Jun 4, did not materialize.

All of those without confirmed tickets no earlier than three hours before their scheduled flights were not also not allowed in, and were thus forced to stay outside amid the searing heat.

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Those who camped out overnight said they went to Manila to apply for overseas jobs but were abandoned by their recruitment agency when the lockdown was imposed.

They said they went to the airport after being told by someone in their group that there would be free flights to Visayas and Mindanao.

But Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said the sweeper flights are only being offered free to overseas Filipino workers.

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“We are coordinating their sweeper flights pauwi, pero hindi po necessarily OWWA ang gagastos kasi hindi sila OFW,” said Cacdac in a TV interview.

He said the recruitment agency should have arranged for the flights home by the job applicants. The case will be reported to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for proper action against the recruiter.

 

Many had gone to the airport, only to be told at the last minute that their flights were cancelled (GMA News photo)

But not all who were at the airport were there for free flights.

Myra Demesa said in her post on the Facebook page of NAIA that her group had gone to the airport with confirmed tickets via AirAsia for Jun 1. But when they got to the airport, they were told that their flight had been canceled.

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“On the day of our supposed flight, di na kami umalis ng airport. Kasi nga sabi Jun 3, Jun 1 po dapat ticket naming. So imbis suungin na naman namin yung pabalik sa boarding house – mind you, two hours kaming naglakad kasi walang masakyan – nag stay kami, hoping na matutuloy yung Jun 3.”

But there was no flight again on Jun 3, so they went to terminal 3 to try to talk to an airline representative, but they were barred from entering.

They managed to speak with the airline supervisor when the airport authority heard of their plight, and they have been rebooked for tomorrow, Jun 6. But even that came with a warning that it could be cancelled again.

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In a separate post, she said: “Kami na bumili ng sarili naming ticket para makauwi lang. Kahit gaano ka mahal, sige binayaran namin. Pero parang wala kang maaasahang tulong sa government. Guards nga lang ng NAIA, kung tingnan kami parang basura... tsk.”

Other people who commented on the same thread said their relatives also had confirmed tickets but arrived at the airport way ahead of time to make sure they wouldn’t miss their flights, and were not allowed inside.

Someone named Jessa said she was hurt on hearing that her parents were barred entry just because they decided to leave their house in the province early for their midnight flight, worried about the curfew.

They arrived at the airport at around 2pm but were told that they could not enter yet. Her father is a senor citizen and her mother has hypertension.

“Okay may protocol, pero ang init init sa labas. Wala pang mabilhan ng makakain. Safety purposes gets ko, pero yung comfort ng passengers isipin din sana. Nakakalungkot at masakit sa dibdib na ganun aabutin nila. Gutom at init,” she said.

Maribel Dayag Luyun chimed in: “Same with my husband. Hatinggabi nakarating sa NAIA terminal 1. Hindi pinapasok kasi kailangan daw 3 hours before departure puwedeng pumasok. Para na siyang pulubi at sobrang pawis na siya na sa labas lang ng NAIA nakaupo. Wala man lang kunsiderasyon.”

 

Some had confirmed flights but could not get in until 3 hours before their departure time

Another commented that the mess was the result of the lack of planning and coordination within the government on how to properly respond to the easing of the lockdown.

Brenda Escalante said, “Why blame the people who go to the airport with confirmed tickets not knowing their flights are to be cancelled. It is not easy just to say leave the terminal when the people do not have the funds to sustain their needs in the city po. Sana maisip din ang kalagayan ng mga tao.”

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade earlier announced domestic flights would resume starting today in areas under general community quarantine.

But he was not able to foresee that the airlines would be forced to cancel flights because some local government units would not allow them to land.

As of tonight, at least four scheduled flights going to Cebu from NAIA were canceled throughout the day for this reason. At Clark International Airport, flights to Cebu and Davao were also canceled at the last minute.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, managed to go ahead with their special flights to  General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Naga to bring home stranded passengers from Metro Manila.

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More than 7 million Filipinos now without jobs, Dole says

By The SUN

The lockdown of Luzon, including Metro Manila, accounted for much of the record drop in unemployment

The coronavirus pandemic and the community lockdown to keep the contagion in check have left 7.3 million Filipinos jobless, resulting in the country’s highest unemployment rate ever of 17.7%, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said today, Jun 5.

The lockdown during the community quarantine from March to May also caused a huge 55.6% drop in the labor force participation rate, the biggest fall in the history of the Philippine labor market, Bello said.

Commenting on the Department of Labor and Employment’s April Labor Force Survey, Bello said that the unemployment rate this time surpassed the 10.3% rate during the 1998 recession in the Philippines.

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It also surpassed the previously highest unemployment record of 14.4%, posted in the second quarter of 1991.

“The lockdown during the community quarantine from March to May, which is supposed to be the period for job hunting of our fresh graduates, has put the labor force at a standstill as two-thirds of the economy is shut down,” Bello said.

According to National Statistician Dennis Mapa, unemployment was only at 5.3% in January 2020, or 2.4 million people, and 5.1% in April 2019, or 2.3 million

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After January 2020, an additional 4.9 million people became jobless. This was in line with Dole's estimate that 5 million more jobs would be lost due to the pandemic.

The community quarantine forced hundreds of thousands of establishments to resort to temporary closures or flexible work arrangements, while the global economic decline left hundreds of thousands of Filipino overseas without jobs.

As a result, millions of workers were affected in the formal, informal and overseas sectors, Bello said.

 

OFWs who lost their jobs because of the pandemic also contributed to the steep rise in the jobless rate

The Philippine Statistics Authority placed the figure of employed workers who had to stop working due to the lockdown at 38.4%.

Metro Manila, where more than 65% of the nation’s economy is concentrated, ground to a halt as the public transport system shut down. 

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The country’s employment rate fell to 82.3%, from 94.7% in January 2020 and 94.9% in April 2019.

Underemployment, or people who have jobs but are looking for more to meet their needs, rose to 18.9% in April from the 13.4% in the same month last year. This represents 6.4 million workers or an additional 781,000 people looking for more jobs.

The labor force participation rate among Filipinos 15 years and older is estimated at 55.6%, the lowest since 1987, when data was first available.

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All regions reported double-digit unemployment rates in April 2020, with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao suffering the worst at 29.8%.

The arts, entertainment, and recreation sector was hit the most, where 54% of workers lost their jobs. From 436,000 in April 2019, the number of workers in the industry fell to only 200,000 workers in April 2020.

The second highest decline was in the electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply sector, which recorded a 43.1% drop. From 108,000 workers, only 61,000 were employed in April 2020.

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Employers of OFW in Shenzhen death fall still no-show in court

By Vir B. Lumicao

Nearly 3 years since Lorain fell to her death in Shenzhen, her employers have avoided any responsibility for her death

A Chinese mainland couple who employed Lorain Asuncion, a Filipina domestic helper who plunged to her death nearly three years ago from a residential tower in Shenzhen, has disappeared.

This became apparent when a compensation claim brought by Asuncion’s family against Gu Huaiyu and his wife, Ms Liu, resumed in District Court today, Jun 5.

Solicitor Patricia Ho, who represented the Asuncion family, said that for the past several months, her office had been trying to find Gu, 49, and Liu, 34, but to no avail.

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“We’ve been trying to contact them, but we have not found them. They simply disappeared,” Ho said at the hearing of the employee compensation claim filed by Asuncion’s elder sister, Jenevieve A. Javier.

Gu and Liu have not been heard from since Asuncion fell to her death a day after she was told by her employers to follow them to Shenzhen in July 2017.

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“As it is, we can’t move forward with the case because the employers are not around,” Ho said.

However, a representative from Blue Cross Insurance Co, with whom Asuncion was apparently insured by her employer, was in court.

The District Court in Wanchai will hear the case again on Jul 24

Judge Katina Levy adjourned the hearing until Jul 24 to give Ho and the insurance company time to prepare documents relating to the compensation claim.

The case has been stuck in District Court for the past several months because the employers have not surfaced. The couple was also not in court in the previous hearing in January.

Gu and Liu had lived in Hong Kong where they signed the employment contract with Asuncion, but crossed the border on long weekends to spend time with Liu’s father in Longgang, a district of Shenzhen.

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It was from the 22^nd floor flat of Liu Heping that Asuncion fell to her death on Jul 23 or 24, according to Shenzhen police.

Gu and Liu were arrested on Aug 17, 2017 and held on a charge of conspiring to defraud Hong Kong Immigration by claiming Asuncion would work only in the territory.

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But nearly a year later, on May 7, 2018, they were released after investigators said there was not enough evidence against them.

This was even after the police discovered that the couple had taken Asuncion across the border four times in the nine months that she had served them.

The Hong Kong Labour Department has not conducted its own investigation, citing lack of jurisdiction, as the maid died outside Hong Kong.

The authorities’ inaction prompted militant OFWs and local labor unions to stage a rally at the Labour Department last year to urge the government to stop employers from taking their helpers to work in China.

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PCG says all Filipino Covid-19 patients have recovered

By Daisy CL Mandap

The Consulate announced today, Jun 4, that all Filipinos in Hong Kong who tested positive for coronavirus have recovered.

“Lahat ng mga Pilipino ng mga maysakit na Pilipino ay gumaling na at nakalabas na ng ospital,” said the advisory posted on the Consulate’s Facebook page.

No figures were mentioned, but various reports suggest that about 50 Filipinos, both residents and migrant workers, have been infected with Covid-19.

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A majority of these are musicians who fell ill when the virus raged across four bars they played at: Insomnia in Central, Dusk Till Dawn and Centre Stage in Wanchai, and All Night Long in Tsim Sha Tsui.

But around 20 are Filipino domestic workers, who were mostly infected at home by their employers.

They include two who were employed by a socialite member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club who appears to have also passed on the virus to her pet dog, and one whose elderly employer was infected at a hotpot dinner with family members.

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A few were found infected when they flew into Hong Kong after accompanying their employers to such places as Britain, France, Canada and the United States.

 

Insomnia was shut after its Filipino band soloist tested positive for Covid-19 in late March

According to Manuela Lo, chairperson of the Hong Kong Musicians Union, there were 24 infected musicians who were on temporary work permit, and were thus able to get financial aid from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

HKMU helped them secure the relief aid from OWWA, as well as from Department of Labor and Employment’s Akap program, which extended US$200 for every sickened and displaced overseas Filipino worker.

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A further 49 musicians who did not get sick but were put under quarantine and subsequently lost their jobs when the bars were shut, also reportedly received the Akap cash assistance.

Lo said it was unfortunate no similar help was extended to affected musicians who were already permanent residents in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong health records show that also among those who caught the virus are Filipinos who worked in the bars as food servers. At least two of them passed on the virus to family members: one to her teenage son, and another to her husband.

While bars have been allowed to reopen, live entertainment is still not allowed, so the affected Filipino musicians are now left having to grapple with loss of income.

Filipinos are advised to avoid crowds and observe social distancing

In its advisory, the Consulate reminded Filipinos to remain vigilant, especially in the wake of a new cluster of local transmissions in the city.

They are told to maintain hygiene by washing hands frequently, wearing masks, avoiding crowded places, and by following the rule that no more than eight persons should gather in public places.

The advisory also had a message to employers, telling them to “respect” the day-off of their employees who choose to stay at home.

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Some flats in housing estate evacuated amid Covid-19 spread

By The SUN

Those evacuated and put under quarantine are residents of flats 12 and 10 in Luk Shuen House, Lek Yuen estate

Health officials have ordered the evacuation of some residents in Luk Chuen House at Lek Yuen estate in Shatin, after another person living in the building tested preliminary positive today, Jun 4.

Six people living in the building have tested positive for Covid-19, and one of them appears to have infected three other people.

The move came as five additional cases were confirmed today, all involving residents who flew into Hong Kong from Bangladesh yesterday. They brought Hong Kong’s tally to 1,098, with four deaths.

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According to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan at today’s press briefing, all those who live in flats numbered 10 and 12 in Luk Chuen House were evacuated and sent to a quarantine center for observation.

People living in three flats numbered 12, as well as a resident of one numbered 10, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Checks conducted in the building earlier ruled out a problem with the sewage pipes, but the officials today said this angle is being looked into again, after a 72-year-old man living in a flat numbered 12 showed initial signs of infection.

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“We will inspect in detail whether there are other problems, such as sewage pipes, with those flats,” said Chuang.

Undersecretary for the environment Tse Chin-wan said architectural drawings showed the affected flats numbered 12 and 10 were connected to the same vent pipe and faced the same direction.

“We cannot rule out that the pipe was another route of transmission,” Tse said. He added it could be the virus spread from flats numbered 12 to those numbered 10.

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According to Chuang, the elderly man who tested preliminary positive, lives with his wife and a daughter in a flat numbered 12 on the 11th floor.

His initial test result tested negative on Monday, but he developed a mild fever on Wednesday afternoon and was sent to hospital on Thursday morning, where he was tested again, and was found infected.

 

The index patient in the cluster remains in critical condition in Prince of Wales Hospital

The first case in the cluster is a 34-year-old woman who works at a Kerry Logistics warehouse in Kwai Chung and lives in a flat three floors below the man. She was sent to Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin on Saturday, where she remains in critical condition.

Also found infected were her husband, four of her neighbors, two of her colleagues, and the medical worker who attended to her before she was sent to hospital.

Health officials left about 1,900 sample bottles for residents in her building, and about 1,200 have been sent back for testing. All, except the cases reported earlier, tested negative for the virus.

Chuang said residents in six flats have not been located, although there is a possibility that they had left Hong Kong before the infection broke out. But she said they had sought police help to locate the missing residents so they can be tested.

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Protesters gather for Jun 4 vigil in Victoria Park, defying police ban

By The SUN

Thousands defied the police ban to join this year's commemoration of the June 4th event (photos from RTHK)

Thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park tonight to hold the annual candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who died in the June 4 crackdown on dissent in Beijing’s Tienanmen Square in 1989.

The yearly event pushed through even after the police rejected an application for the mass gathering, citing social distancing regulations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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It’s the biggest show of force by pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong since China’s National People’s Congress passed a controversial security bill for the Special Administrative Region last week.

Local media reports say members of the traditional organizer, the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, lit the first candles by 6:30pm by a water fountain in the park.

 

Protesters, both young and old, observed social distancing during the vigil

By 8pm, the small crowd of about a hundred people grew into the thousands, with more people streaming in from everywhere to fill the two football pitches in the park.

Shortly afterwards, a minute of silence was called to remember those who died in the Tienanmen crackdown.

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Police stayed in the perimeters of the park, and continuously broadcast messages warning of arrest for those who violate the prohibition against the gathering of more than eight people, but made no moves to stop the crowd from streaming in.

Alliance chair Lee Cheuk-yan defiantly led chants for the vindication of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, and oppose the security law that Beijing had crafted for Hong Kong.

 

Lee (with microphone) urged people to chant slogans to call for democracy in HK and China

“Vindicate June 4^th! End to one party rule! Democracy in China now!” were among their chants.

Inside the park, protesters are seen to make an effort to keep distance between them, so as to comply with the anti-Covid regulation.

But many of those who took part said they had to make their voices heard, despite the looming crackdown from Beijing.

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Among them was Han Dongfang, a labour leader who landed in China’s most wanted list after taking part in the Tienanmen protests, and is now a Hong Kong resident.

A report in the South China Morning Post quoted Han as saying, “Victoria Park is an important place. When there is a public gathering, I have to come.”

  

Lee vowed to continue organizing the commemoration even after the security law is passed, and called on Hong Kong people not to give up their fight for democracy.

“We will fight on, and we will let the world know we Hong Kong people will not give up our freedom,” he said.

By 8:45pm, he and the other organizers announced the end of the vigil, and most people started leaving in an orderly manner.

Less than two hours later, however, there were reports of another violent clash in Mong Kok between protesters and the police.

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