By Daisy CL Mandap
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| The Consulate is appealing to Philippine authorities to ensure credible and accurate Covid-tests |
The Consulate has urged the Department of Foreign Affairs in
Manila to look into the faulty Covid-19 tests
done on departing overseas Filipino workers, seen as the main reason why Hong Kong recently imposed a two-week ban on all flights from the Philippines.
Consul Paul Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to
nationals section disclosed this, along with the announcement that another
planeload of stranded OFWs in Hong Kong is set to fly to Manila early tomorrow.
Speaking on The SUN Interviews aired live on Wednesday
night, Consul Saret said the Consulate has already made two requests to DFA to coordinate
with concerned government agencies to look into the false negative test results
given to infected OFWs bound for Hong Kong.
Saret said the first request was made soon after Cathay
Pacific’s flight from Manila was suspended on
Mar 15 after five of its passengers, all Filipino domestic workers, tested
positive on arrival at Hong Kong airport.
“Ngayon, dahil sa
(total) ban, nag request na naman kami sa DFA na we better coordinate closely
with those in charge of monitoring, especially yung mga papunta ng Hong Kong, kasi tayo rin ang naaapektuhan. Yung record
natin, nakakapagpaalis tayo ng mga positive sa Covid."
(Now, because of
the total flight ban, we again requested DFA to coordinate closely with those
in charge of monitoring, particularly those bound for Hong Kong, because we
have acquired a reputation for allowing those infected with Covid to leave the
country).
He said what the Consulate wants is for the DFA to
coordinate with the Department of Health and the government’s Inter-Agency Task
Force on Covid control on how the testing done in the Philippines could be accurate or
fool-proof.
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| Saret says the appeal for more accurate testing was first made after Cathay's Manila flight was banned |
Edwina Antonio, case officer of the Mission for Migrant Workers and executive
director of Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, said that the inaccurate test
results impact OFWs the most because many lose their jobs as a result.
“Ang epekto nito sa
kanila ay perhuwisyo at sama ng loob,” Antonio said. (They go through so much difficulty and suffering because of
this).
While workers who test positive on arrival in Hong Kong cannot be terminated while they’re sick, there would
be no stopping employers from giving them a month’s notice after being treated
and discharged from hospitals, she added.
On a more positive note, Saret said the Consulate has
succeeded in getting an approval from the DFA for an additional 150 seats on a
Philippine Airlines flight tomorrow to be cleared for landing at Ninoy Aquino
International Airport.
Under the Philippines’
recently imposed flight restrictions due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in
the country, no more than 1,500 travelers from abroad are allowed to enter the
country each day.
Saret said PAL is limited to flying in only 100 people from Hong Kong each day, but the Consulate had asked that its
quota be extended to 250 for tomorrow’s flight, to allow about 150 OFWs who
need to go home to be accommodated on board.
According to an update he sent at about 9pm today, only 131
OFWs had taken up the offer to join the flight, which means 19 slots were left
open after the 3pm cut-off.
A few had reportedly gone to the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration to get themselves booked for the flight after hearing his
announcement during the show, but some had backed out.
Combined with the 100 booked by PAL directly, there should
be 231 Filipinos on the flight that is scheduled to leave at 11:25am tomorrow.
This is the second group departure arranged by the Consulate for OFWs since the flight ban took effect on Tuesday. The first batch of about 100 left Hong Kong on board PAL on the same day, while coming in, the plane only had cargo on board.
Saret stressed that the ban only applies to passengers
coming from the Philippines,
but not those flying there from Hong Kong.
Cargoes are also exempted. Thus, all airlines
that come in with cargo from Manila
are allowed to fly back there with passengers.
He said the Consulate clarified this with the Hong Kong government directly upon learning about the
flight suspension.
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| Antonio says Mission & Bethune need PCG's help in extending assistance to needy OFWs |
Antonio appealed to Saret to help the Mission and Bethune
respond to the needs of about 50 OFWs who are either waiting for their new
employment visas to be released, or have been denied by Immigration of the
chance to remain in Hong Kong.
“Siguradong marami na
naman ang hihingi ng tulong sa amin dahil dito sa flight ban, kaya
kakailanganin namin na lumapit sa Konsulado dahil hindi naming kakayanin
mag-isa bilang isang maliit na organisasyon lang kami sa Hong
Kong,” she said.
(We are pretty sure that a lot of people would come to us
for help again because of the flight ban, so we would need the assistance of
the Consulate since we won’t be able to respond to all of them since we are
just a small Hong Kong organization).
Saret assured her that all their referrals would be attended
do, including those who want the Consulate to give them an endorsement letter
to Immigration so they could be allowed to process a new work contract here
despite being terminated.
He also said that he has since added to the referral letter
the uncertainty of being able to fly to Hong Kong from the Philippines
because of the flight ban, in hopes that Immigration would give more
consideration to each new employment visa application.
When it was the Philippines
that imposed a flight ban on Hong Kong, Saret
said the Consulate was immediately asked for help by the SAR government, saying
employers needed their helpers to be able to return or take up their jobs here.
This time around, he said Hong Kong
might be convinced to return the favor.
But in the meantime, he appealed to all Filipinos to refrain
from traveling at this time, unless absolutely necessary.
“Kung hindi essential
ang travel, hassle ang pauwi, hassle din ang pabalik,” he said. “Pero yung
kailangang makauwi pero nahihirapan po, inaanyayahan naming kayo na pumunta sa
akin para mabigyan namin kayo ng advice.”
(If travel is not essential, both going home and coming back
would be hassle. But for those who need to go home and are having difficulties,
I would like to invite you to come to us so we could give you proper advice).
