2 Filipina DHs in Sogo stealing spree jailed for 3 months

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The theft happened inside this busy shopping mall in Causeway Bay

Two Filipina domestic workers were each locked up for three months today, Dec 8, by an Eastern Court magistrate for taking a number of goods from Sogo department store in Causeway Bay a month ago, and then leaving without paying for anything.

K.C. Cagaanan, 31, and J. Cacacho, 39, pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and were sentenced by Magistrate Bina Chainrai to four concurrent jail terms of three months for each of the charges.

“The two of you were convicted of theft carried out in a joint enterprise,” Chainrai told the two, after reading a background report on the two helpers.

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After sentencing, Cagaanan and Cacacho were immediately led back into the holding room from where they would be sent to jail.

The couple from Metro City 2, Tseung Kwan O, who employed Cacacho attended the sentencing, as the female employer did during the Nov 24 hearing, when she gave the court a letter of support for her helper.

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But the support did not appear to carry any weight as their helper was meted the same sentence as her co-accused.  

The defendants were arrested by police on the evening of Nov 7 after they took away branded merchandise from four exclusive shops in the department store.

The two first targeted this shop on the 3rd floor of Sogo

A police report said the pair took six pieces of garments worth a total of $5,830 from four shops: a Fila sportswear shop,  two Calvin Klein Jeans stores and a Tommy Jeans shop, between 5:40pm and 6:18pm earlier that day.

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The prosecution said a male plainclothes guard of Sogo saw Cagaanan enter the first three shops one after another to take a black backpack, two blue and one long-sleeved T-shirts, and a grey sweater without paying for them.

She allegedly handed the stolen items outside the shops to Cacacho, who put these in a pink bag, a white bag and a paper bag.

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For the last act, it was Cacacho who entered the second Calvin Klein store and stole a black T-shirt. As the pair was leaving the mall, the guard stopped them and called police after finding the unpaid goods in their bags.

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No dine-in after 6pm, gyms & massage to close under new gathering rules

By The SUN 

CE Lam announcing the stricter rules before the Exco meeting today (RTHK photo)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced new anti-gathering restrictions today, Dec 8, saying the measures introduced last week have failed to show results as coronavirus outbreaks continue in many districts across Hong Kong. 

The new restrictions include allowing restaurants to offer dine-in services only until 6pm, for gyms, massage parlors and sports venues to close down, and for more civil servants to work from home. Private companies are being urged to follow suit.

For new arrivals from overseas, those who test negative for Covid-19 at the airport will be taken to their quarantine hotels by designated vehicles, unlike in the past when they could take public or private transport. They will also have to undergo a second test on the 19^th day after their arrival.

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Details of the new restrictions will be announced later this afternoon by the Food and Health Department.

Speaking before the start of the Executive Council meeting this morning, Mrs Lam noted that there were a total of 661 cases last week, and there were three days in which more than 100 cases were recorded.

She also warned that more patients are getting seriously ill, and many are younger than in the previous outbreak. Of the more than 1,000 confirmed patients in hospitals now, 36 are in critical condition, and 40 are in serious condition.

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Of those who are critical, six are below the age of 60, and five are below 50.

Mrs Lam noted that the severity of the fourth outbreak is similar to the peak of the previous wave at the end of July, as the number of cases which are untraceable are now a third of the total tally.

Despite this, many people continue to gather in restaurants and shopping malls, disregarding the tighter anti-epidemic measures, which allow only two people to gather or eat together in public.

Cluster of infections from dance venues now has around 500 cases

To ease the effects on businesses that have been ordered to shut down for the time being, the government is considering giving out subsidies again to prevent large-scale unemployment and bankruptcies.

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However, Mrs Lam noted that the government had already allocated $310 billion to fight the epidemic earlier.

Referring to the recent outbreak at the Kwai Shing public housing estate, the city’s leader said the government may not have acted quickly enough to compel residents to undergo testing and prevent them from leaving their houses.

She said the Executive Council will pass a new law to require those who need to undergo mandatory virus testing to remain at their designated premises before the results are obtained. 

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"If we could speed up the making of a particular piece of legislation, which we will do today in the Executive Council, my colleagues in the public health authorities will have a better legal basis to tackle that situation. So that is the thing that we could have done better," she said.

Mandatory testing was implemented recently after a massive outbreak in dance venues across the city. It has since been used to compel those who had visited high-risk venues such as designated restaurants, construction sites and care homes, to go for tests.

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Covid-19 cases ease to 78, but experts say 4th wave hasn’t peaked yet

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Even the CHP was not spared, as 3 of its staff tested positive today

Seventy-eight fresh coronavirus cases were reported today as health experts said Hong Kong has yet to see the fourth wave of the epidemic peaking.

The Centre for Health Protection said the new cases were made up of 71 local, and seven imported infections. The patients were 44 males and 34 females, with ages ranging from 14 to 88.

Ironically, the CHP itself was unspared by the virus, with three of its office staff among the confirmed cases.

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Dr Chuang Shek-kwan, head of the CHP’s communicable disease branch, said she could not say if the fourth wave has peaked, as she noted that the 29 patients with untraceable sources still represented a high proportion of today’s number of cases.

Earlier today, Ho Pak-leung, head of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Infection, expressed concern in a radio interview over the increasing number of untraceable cases, numerous local infections and various clusters involving different venues.

“The worst situation for sure hasn’t arrived yet” and could turn for the worse as the weather gets colder. He said problems would mount if people hold Christmas parties in disregard of social-distancing rules.

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“It’s basically impossible to put the fourth wave under control by the end of year,” he said.

Also speaking about the fourth wave was Dr Kenny Chan, member of the HA’s Coordinating Committee in Intensive Care, who disclosed that 90% or 33 of the cases admitted after Dec 1 deteriorated sharply and were sent to ICU.

He said six of the critical cases were aged below 60. For the serious cases, 38, or 40% were over 60, nine were under 60, and two under 50. “I want to remind the public to be careful. Please don’t think that this disease only affects the elderly,” he said.

Chuang says it's too soon to say the 4th wave has peaked

Chuang said 42 cases today are related to previous infections, including 5 in the dancing and singing group and one from the Ho Yuk Ching Willow Lodge. The construction site at Lohas Park and Kai Tak construction site also accounted for one case each.

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A part-time employee who was in charge of crowd control at the Hong Kong Coliseum gate for five days during Hins Cheung’s 8-day concert in late November was infected, said Chuang. She advised close to 50,000 people who attended the concerts to get tested.

At the Shatin Yata department store, five staff in the meat and vegetable section tested preliminary positive, forcing the shop to close for cleansing and the remaining staff to undergo testing.

Today’s cases also included a male student of Ma On Shan Tsung Tsin Middle School. Chuang said she recommended the school for cleansing and its students to go for a test.

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A teacher at Kwang Ming School also tested positive but the risk of infecting others was limited by the suspension of face-to-face classes.

Chuang said a male student at Prince of Wales Hospital midwifery school also tested positive. His family members tested preliminary positive on Dec 5, as did three classmates. No patient was exposed, but his classmates will undergo testing. Classes were suspended for a week.

The CHP had sent specimen bottles to residents of Block 8 at Kwai Shing West estate, where there was a new case on another floor. A cluster outbreak on the fifth floor began with one case on Nov 28, but by Dec 6, 12 more people living on the same floor had tested positive.

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Chuang said the units were close together and environmental contamination was likely. During a follow-up investigation, over 20 samples were taken from lift buttons to the door handle of the rubbish room.

Another infectious disease expert, Leung Chi-chiu, said the government should complete testing on residents in the block within 24 hours, so that they can find out who should be quarantined and who should be put under medical surveillance.

His warning came amid reports some residents in block 8 had fled their homes scared, as  the authorities did not announce the flat numbers of those infected.

The seven imported cases included several travelers who arrived on Dec 5: a Turkish seaman, and a returning resident each from Morocco, Pakistan, Russia and Britain. An air crew from Ukraine also tested positive on arrival on Dec 6.

A British woman who arrived on Nov 28 was in quarantine when she was found infected.

Dr Sara Ho, a general manager at HA,  said that as of 9 am today, 59 confirmed Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 5,626.

A total of 1,122 confirmed patients are in 22 public hospitals and the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo. Of these, 36 are in critical condition, 40 in serious condition and the remaining 1,046 patients in stable condition.

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Polo to again start handing out Akap cash relief from tomorrow

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Displaced or stranded OFWs lining up for cash aid from Polo/OWWA earlier this year

Qualified Filipino domestic workers with pending applications for the Department of Labor and Employment’s Abot-Kaya ang Pagtulong (Akap) assistance fund will start receiving their USD200 cash aid from tomorrow.

This was announced by Labor Attache Mel Dizon during a talk with a group of Filipino community leaders at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office yesterday, Dec 6.

As Dec 8 has been declared as a non-working holiday by the Philippine Consulate, no public transactions will be entertained at Polo tomorrow. But Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga said they will open “exclusively for the release of funds.”

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Labatt Dizon said Hong Kong’s Akap fund was replenished recently after Philippine lawmakers passed the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which released additional funds to the government for pandemic relief.

But he said that the additional fund only covers 1,000 qualified overseas Filipino workers, so the cash distribution will again stop once the money has been used up.

“Kapag naubos yun, tigil na naman tayo ulit,” he said. (Once that’s been used up, we will have to stop distributing the cash aid again).

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But if he sees that there are still many qualified applicants who didn’t make the cut, Dizon said he will again request the Dole head office for additional funds.

This is the third cash replenishment from the Dole-Akap program for OFWs who either lost their jobs or were adversely affected by the pandemic, including those who were stricken with Covid-19 or were stranded by lack of flights or travel restrictions.

Labatt Dizon during the meeting with Filcom support groups

Dizon again reminded OFWs that only those whose job loss or displacement was directly caused by Covid could qualify for Akap.

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Asked by Dolores Balladares-Pelaez how many new applicants could be covered, given that there were already hundreds of pending applications, the labor chief said about 500 more could be accommodated.

ALA Angel, who was also in the meeting, said the number could still increase because some of those who filed applications before had already gone home, and should therefore pursue their claims in the Philippines.

Their slots could then be given to new applicants who meet the requirements.

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Dizon also again reiterated that the cash assistance from Dole and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration are one-off benefits, meaning those who had been granted relief by either agency could no longer qualify for Akap.

Asked by Pelaez if it was possible for stranded OFWs whose job loss was not due to Covid to get financial help from the government, Dizon said OWWA has been giving out small sums as emergency assistance in such cases.

Welfare officer Virsie Tamayao confirmed this, but said the cash aid was need-based, unlike Akap which is available to anyone who meets the prescribed requirements.

Tamayao said applicants to the OWWA fund are interviewed, and an assessment is made to determine if they really need help.

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But she said the fund is limited so that in the past, she would even refer cases to the Department of Social Welfare attaché or the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, which each has a cash allotment for OFWs in desperate need for help.

The requirements and qualifications of Akap applicants are specified in two forms that they must fill up, and are downloadable from the Polo website (www.polo-hongkong.com).

In the first form, the applicant is asked to fill up certain personal and work details. The  second  is an “attestation form” in which the OFW declares that the loss of job is Covid-related, and is confirmed by the employer or agent signing at the end.

To protests by the leaders that this was an unrealistic requirement, given that in many cases of termination, the employer or agent is hostile, Dizon said this last portion could be ignored. The worker could just make her own “salaysay” or statement detailing how the pandemic had led to her job loss or displacement.

A volunteer unpacks the food delivery for quarantined OFWs in a hotel

Also discussed during the meeting was the "ayuda"or cash/food donations requested by newly arrived OFWs who are under quarantine, and are not provided with enough provisions by their employers.

Dizon said it is the primary responsibility of the employer or the agency to ensure the well-being of the quarantined OFW. The Polo or the Consulate steps in only in cases of emergency, if neither of the two parties can be held to account.

Groups or individuals who are asked for help by any quarantined OFWs should forward the information through a chat group between the PCG/Polo and some Filcom leaders so the concerned agency can be alerted.

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Women amid pandemic is theme of Gabriela-HK’s poster making contest

By The SUN 

The contestants display their works while Bonifacio (right most) thanks them

Women are loving, but also resourceful, unflappable and brave. This was the message of the entries to the on-the-spot poster making contest held on Chater Road last Nov 29 by Gabriela Hong Kong.

Taking the top prize was Global Alliance, represented by Marilou Gavina and Mylene Ambatan, who garnered a total score of 94.3%. A female octopus dominates their work, an apparent nod to how women are able to do multi-tasking even amid a disaster – or a pandemic.

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A close second is the art work from Margie Belardo of Social Justice for Migrant Workers, who got a score of 94% from the judges. Her work shows a woman wielding a shield to ward off viruses while surrounded with hearts to signify love.

In third place was another entry from Social Justice, a collaborative work between Divina Molina and Marites Palma, who got a score of 89.3% for their effort. Their poster shows a woman in all her glory, with her body shaped like a globe. Palma said it meant to show how women are able to go through any crises with beauty and grace.

The octopus entry on foreground was 1st; top right, 2nd; and second from left, 3rd.

The winners each received a certificate and a cash prize. The first prize winner received  $500; the second prize, $400; and third place, $300.

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The other participants were from United Philippine Taekwondo Organization represented by Jocelyn Austria, and Horizon, with Maureen Villanueva and Charry Rose Poseo.

Gabriela chair Shiela Tebia-Bonifacio said the contest was part of her group’s anniversary celebration. In the Philippines, the even is being marked with 10 days of action and card-writing for women political prisoners in the country.

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Bonifacio says the anniversary theme is "Labanan ang Abuso! Kababaihan, Ipagtanggol ang Karapatang Pantao!” (Fight Abuse! Women, Protect Human Rights!)

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Agencies should not force OFWs to undergo training, Labatt says anew

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Dizon (in pink shirt) with his key officers and the Filcom leaders

Labor Attache Melchor Dizon has reiterated that recruitment agencies cannot compel overseas Filipino workers to undergo training as this violates the  Philippine Overseas Employment Administration 2016 Rules. 

Labatt Dizon made the clarification during a meeting requested by Filipino community  leaders mostly coming from the group, Rage, or Rise Against Government Exactions, to get answers related to the training fee issue.

Rage leader Dolores Balladares-Pelaez said OFWs welcomed the reopening of the training fee issue as it has long been a sticking point with many newcomers, who mostly complain of being charged excessively for something that hardly benefits them.

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Asked for an update on the claims filed by about 170 OFWs to recover the training fees charged them, Labatt Dizon said his office had already begun scheduling conciliating meetings between the workers and their agencies.

But he warned that Polo could only mediate and not adjudicate or render judgment on the complaints. “Bawal magbigay ng opinyon sa conciliation, dapat nasa middle ka lang,” he said.( We're forbidden from giving an opinion, we should just stay in the middle).

If conciliation fails, he said the case will be endorsed to POEA for further action.

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He also reminded the leaders that complaints should be filed within three years under Philippine labor laws.

“Kapag hindi mo na i-file sa loob ng 3 years, hindi na pwedeng mahabol,” said Dizon.

The latest that a complainant could file a case is no later than one month before the end of the prescription period, he said. That will give his office enough time to forward the original complaint to the POEA for docketing.

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He said it is the docketing in POEA that will stop the three-year time bar from running.

Thus, he was surprised to learn on assuming the post of labor attaché that an amount had been pre-set for the training fee that agencies in the Philippines could collect from the OFWs they deploy to Hong Kong.

Dizon gave a background of the 2016 Rules, which he said was an offshoot of an agreement between the POEA and the recruiters to define what constituted overcharging. He said he was a director at POEA at the time so he was part of the talks.

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It was in this context that he expressed an opinion during a zoom meeting with the agencies earlier this year that domestic workers must not be required to undergo training, and if they are required as such, it is the employer who must bear the cost.

Dizon did a power point presentation of relevant POEA Rules 

That prompted Alfredo Palmiery, head of the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines (Sharp), to write to POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia to seek his opinion on the issue.

Dizon distributed copies of Olalia’s letter-response to Palmiery dated Jun 19 this year, in which the prohibition against compelling OFWs to undergo and pay for training, is explained succinctly.

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In the letter, Olalia cited Sec 76 of the 2016 POEA Rules which explicitly states that a recruitment agency commits an act constituting illegal recruitment if it requires an OFW to undergo training in a specified center or institution.

The same section provides that the cost of “recommendatory trainings mandated by principals (employers) should be shouldered by said employers.

Another section of the law cited by Olalia provides that administrative sanctions should be imposed on a licensed recruitment agency that commits such a violation.

OFWs undergoing training they paid for at an elderly home 

Dizon pointed to parts of Olalia’s letter enumerating costs chargeable to OFWs, including the Tesda certificate of competency (NCII).

However, the leaders said the POEA Rules do not specifically say the items listed, including for passport, birth certificate, and others, should be paid to the agency, because in reality, such costs are paid directly to the government agencies concerned.

Janette Carnay of Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge said no OFW would agree to undergo training if there was no law that compels them to do so. Thus, the question of whether the worker had volunteered to undergo training or not should not even be an issue.

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The leaders also said the failure to stop agencies from collecting illegal fees had spawned a lot of malpractices, including forcing an OFW who still has a valid NCII to undergo training again, to submit themselves to repeated medical examinations, or take out a loan to pay for their placement.

Marites Palma of Social Justice for Migrant Workers, said she was even told to undergo pre-departure orientation seminar again even if she had already worked for years in Hong Kong and was just moving to a new employer. 

In the end, she said she just agreed to pay a small amount so she could skip the redundant seminar.

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