Bethune House clients get gift packs from church leader

 By The SUN

 

Bishop Gerry (in white) with Antonio beside him pose with thankful Bethune clients

Christmas came early for about 25 distressed migrant women being looked after at Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, which runs two shelters in Jordan and Sheung Wan.

On Dec 17, Bishop Gerry Vallo of Jesus the Living God church played Santa to the women at the shelter when he dropped off large care packs for each of them, which he hauled all by himself from his church in Sheung Wan.

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Bishop Gerry also turned over $2,500 which was given to his church as a donation for Bethune House, which is struggling to raise money for the $700,000 deficit it incurred this year.

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On hand to receive the donations was Bethune’s executive director Edwina Antonio who recently sent out an emergency appeal for help to donors, saying the big number of migrant women who sought their help amid the pandemic had left them in the red.

Bishop Gerry prays over the distressed women, one of whom gave birth recently

Those currently at the two shelters which Bethune House runs solely on private donations are either seriously ill, abused or maltreated, or pursuing a labor claim against their employers. One gave birth recently but had to stay on to serve as a witness in a criminal case.

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After giving out the care packs, Bishop Vallo prayed for those running Bethune House, saying, “God, give them more energy to serve more…”

For the women at the shelter, he prayed that they be given comfort and blessing so they could overcome their struggles.

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He also hailed Bethune House as a blessing, not only for Filipinos but to all women in need, whatever their “race, color or nationalities.”

Antonio thanked Bishop Gerry for his gifts, and hoped that with help from his prayers Bethune could overcome its financial difficulties so it could continue serving distressed migrants.

A quarantined Filipina shows off the contents of the gift pack she received from Bishop Gerry

Bishop Gerry has been crowdfunding among people of faith to help migrant workers in distress and newly arrived Filipino workers who are currently serving their mandatory their 21-day quarantine at Penny’s Bay, Rambler Garden Hotel and Courtyard by Marriott in Shatin.

Also among the beneficiaries of his charity were the wards at the Filipino Workers Resource Center run by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office. Eight Filipinas in distress gave him wide smiles as they accepted his care packs, followed by a pray-over.

Eight wards at the FWRC were happy to see Bishop Gerry who came with gifts

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After The SUN helped publicize his offer of giving out care packs to those at the designated quarantine facilities, more than 100 Filipina workers sent him messages, asking to be included in his gift-giving.

The bishop's response was quick. One grateful Filipina sent a photo of the contents of the care pack she received on Saturday, and said the unexpected gift was a big help to her. 

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"Sobrang thank you po at more blessings po. God bless you," said Ann Zamora. (I really thank you, and I hope you receive more blessings in turn).

To date, Bishop Gerry has committed to handing out care packs to some 80 Filipinas in quarantine, but says he continues to pray for more donors so he can provide for all those who had reached out to him.

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Filipina ex-DH charged with trafficking 1.9kg of drugs

By Vir B. Lumicao

 

Ecstacy weighing about 1.9 kilos was seized at HK Airport on May 8 last year

A Filipina former domestic helper who is charged with trafficking about 1.9 kilograms of suspected dangerous drugs will be tried in the High Court next year, prosecutors told the Kowloon City Court today, Dec 17.

The defendant, Maricris Q. Quejada, appeared before Magistrate Peony Wong in Kowloon City Court, where she was read an amended charge.

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The prosecution said Quejada was arrested in a flat in Tsim Sha Tsui on May 13 this year for allegedly trafficking 1,852 grams of ketamine and 3.4 grams of another dangerous drug.

No other details of the case were mentioned and no plea was taken.

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The prosecutor said the case will be tried in the Court of First Instance on an unspecified date next year.

Magistrate Wong remanded Quejada in custody and ordered her to appear in Eastern Court on Jan 24.

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The Customs & Excise Department said in a government press release on May 14 that it seized about 1.9 kilos of suspected ecstacy tablets with an estimated market value of about $310,000 at Hong Kong International Airport on May 8.

Customs offices reportedly examined an air postal packet that arrived from Germany and found the suspected ecstacy concealed between layers of a carton box.

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In a follow-up investigation in Tsim Sha Tsui on May 13, officers arrested a 37-year-old woman in connection with the case.

The woman was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and appeared in West Kowloon Court on May 15.

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Customs reminded the public not take part in drug trafficking activities in exchange for money, or agree to carry prohibited items into and out of Hong Kong.

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Drug trafficking is a serious offence in Hong Kong, for which the maximum penalty is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

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3 more Omicron cases reported, including quarantine-exempt air crew

 By The SUN

 

One of the 3 new Omicron cases is a Cathay cargo crew who was quarantine exempt 

Health authorities reported finding three more newly arrived passengers carrying the Omicron variant today, Dec 18, including a cargo air crew member who tested positive for Covid-19 two days after arriving in Hong Kong and being allowed to undergo medical surveillance at home.

The 27-year-old Cathay Pacific cargo crew was confirmed as a Covid-19 case yesterday, and tested positive for the N501Y mutant strain.

An overnight lockdown of his residential building in Yau Ma Tei on Thursday did not yield any new infection, but the Centre for Health Protection ordered six more rounds of tests for residents as a precaution.

Two other male patients who were also confirmed to have the coronavirus yesterday were also found to carry the Omicron variant. One is 30 years old and flew in from Ghana via Qatar, while the other is 27 years old who came from the Bahamas via the United States.

The three took the total number of Omicron cases in Hong Kong to 14. Of the 11 earlier cases, two were linked to South Africa, two to the United States, two to the United Kingdom, two to Nigeria, two from Uganda and Kenya, and one from Tanzania.

More Omicron cases are likely to be found, as many new arrivals
carry the mutant strain linked to the new variant 

Meanwhile five new imported cases of Covid-19 were reported today, including three who carry the N501Y mutant strain, which now appears to be linked more to Omicron than to the earlier Alpha variant.

These include a 35-year-old woman who arrived from Nigeria on board QR818 on Dec 14, and had to spend her first seven days of quarantine at Penny’s Bay. The two others are both women who came from the United Kingdom aboard CX252 on Dec. 15. One is 77 years old and the other is 56.

The two other confirmed cases are both males who tested positive for the L452R mutant strain commonly linked to the Delta variant. One is 83 years old and tested positive on arrival from Canada while the other is 24 years old, and took the Nepal Air flight from Kathmandu that was suspended for two weeks after three of its passengers tested positive on their arrival test on Dec 14.

The new cases took Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 12,519 which includes one probable case.

2 more Omicron cases found

by The SUN

 

The 2 Omicron carriers flew in on the same cargo plane from Kenya, UAE, India and Uganda

Two more Omicron cases were reported in by health authorities, bringing to 11 the total number patients found with the new, highly contagious variant.

The two patients are both male air cargo crew who flew in together on Dec 15 aboard flight ACP502 which came from Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, India and Uganda. Both tested positive on their arrival at Hong Kong Airport.

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However, one, who is 27 years old, was confirmed to have Covid-19 yesterday, while the second, who is 41, was in today’s list of confirmed cases.

The whole genomic sequencing of the virus each carried showed the presence of the Omicron variant with the N501Y mutant strain.

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The older man was asymptomatic and had received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Kenya in April and July. The Centre for Health Protection said the patient had reported contracting Covid-19 in Kenya in July 2020. After investigation, the CHP concluded that the case was a new infection.

The younger man developed symptoms on his arrival on Dec 15. The Ct value for the test after his admission to hospital is over 30, indicating a low viral load, and he tested positive for antibodies. He had been fully jabbed with the Moderna vaccine in Kenya.

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Meanwhile, an investigation into the case of another cargo air crew who tested preliminary positive last night and was confirmed to have Covid-19 today, is still ongoing.

CHP has said the 36-year-old Cathay crew who was exempted from quarantine, had both the N501Y and T478K mutations, indicating that he might be an Omicron carrier as well.

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Today the CHP ordered six more compulsory tests for residents of Cheung Hing Building in Yau Ma Tei where the patient lives. An overnight lockdown of the building last night yielded no new Covid-19 infection.

More tests have been ordered for residents of the building where the CX cargo crew lives

The nine previous Omicron cases involved two travelers linked to South Africa, two who arrived from Nigeria, two from the United Kingdom and one from Tanzania.

Today’s five other new cases included another male air crew who flew in from Portugal, Canada and the United States and carried no mutant strain. The 30-year-old was asymptomatic but tested positive on his arrival at Hong Kong Airport.

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Another confirmed case is a two-year-old girl who was moved to Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre after being identified as a close contact of a previously infected patient. The girl came from Argentina and Germany on Dec 15 and was found to carry the L452R mutant strain.

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The three others include a 30-year-old man who came from Ghana via Qatar and a 27-year-old man who flew in the Bahamas via the United States who both arrived on Dec 15 and tested positive at the airport; and a 24-year-old woman who came from the United Kingdom on Dec 13 and was found infected on her third day of hotel quarantine.

They took Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 infections to 12,514, which include one probable case.

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Police say prosecution still possible in PEYA mess probe

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Police descend on Peya's office in 2017 as hundreds of irate customers besieged the place

Four years after the PEYA Travel ticketing fiasco that led to hundreds of Filipino workers who were going home for Christmas family reunions being stranded at the airport, the case is still alive, according to the Consulate.

No less than the Office of the Commissioner of Police has sent a letter to the Consulate recently asking for assistance just in case the investigators get the green light to prosecute those behind the mess, a PCG officer said Thursday, Dec. 16.

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“We received a letter from the police advising us to be prepared to help if they receive the signal to prosecute the case,” said Consul Paulo Saret, head of the assistance to nationals section.

Saret said he called the police unit handling the case upon receipt of the letter, and gave assurance that the ATN can contact the complainants anytime they’re needed as it has them in its database.

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Police investigated the case after hundreds of ticket-buyers who were expecting to fly home for Christmas were bumped off their flights starting Dec 18, 2017, as PEYA had not paid the carriers for their tickets.

When irate passengers descended en masse on PEYA’s office in World-Wide House starting Dec 18 to demand a refund, PEYA staff quit altogether on the same day, while managing director Rhea Donna “Yanyan” Boyce did not show up.

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Marketing manager Arnold Grospe faced the angry customers alone on Dec 19, signing a sort of promissory note to return their money. In the evening, he was invited by officers to the Central Police Station for questioning but released him in the wee hours.

 

Boyce was later arrested for suspected fraud in her Wanchai flat on Christmas Day while her Australian husband, Peter, was nabbed and investigated. He was later freed.

 

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In July this year, a police spokesperson said both Boyce and Grospe had been freed without charges being filed against either.

“They have not been rearrested and, as such, have no police bail and are not required to report to the police every month,” the spokeswoman said. 

But at the same time, she said the case was still open and police were still seeking legal opinion and gathering evidence.

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Consul Saret said as far as he could recall, about 250 of the estimated 1,200 passengers, mostly domestic workers, whose travel plans were fouled up by the PEYA mess had given their statements to the police.

Police trying to peep into Ylagan's shuttered offices in World-Wide House 

He said that number of complainants would be enough to represent all those affected if a class suit would be filed against the company

Meanwhile, the police say they are also continuing their investigation into allegations of fraud against Ester Ylagan owner of two collapsed employment agencies, Emry’s and Mike’s Secretarial Services.

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Ylagan remains under police bail after being arrested in 2016 on suspicion of offering non-existent jobs in Canada and Britain to at least 200 Filipino workers in Hong Kong and Macau, who were each charged between $10,000 and $15,000.

 Police said Ylagan is due to report back to them in mid-January next year.

 

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116 Filipina migrants graduate from Umela’s training courses

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

All smiles as the graduates join their mentors and special guests

There were big smiles all around as more than 50 Filipina domestic workers joined the graduation ceremony organized by the United Migrant Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Association (Umela) and held at Bayanihan Centre on Dec 12.

For good reason: these women were among 116 workers who braved the year-long challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic to finish various livelihood training courses offered by Umela.

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For their feat, they received profuse praises and well-meaning advice from guests at the event, led by Consul Bob Quintin, head of the Consulate’s cultural section.

The graduates were encouraged to use their newly acquired skills to start their own businesses when they go back home, or use them to help family and friends who need massage therapy to get over some ailment or as a form of relaxation.

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According to Umela founder Ofelia Baquirin, many of the graduates who failed to join the celebration had already gone back to the Philippines for good, armed with the skills they acquired from the intensive training that took months to complete.

Baquirin said the graduates completed courses in massage therapy, cupping and ventosa, and macramé bag making. The bulk of the group, or 82, made up seven batches who completed massage therapy, 15 cupping/ventosa, and 19 macrame bag making.

Finding a place big enough for their hands-on training is a challenge amid the pandemic

Unlike in the past when each batch would finish the training sessions in a few months, including lectures and on-hand practice, the new graduates took as long as the entire year to complete the course.

“Mahigpit kasi ngayon, minsan pinapaalis kami ng mga pulis mula sa puwesto namin sa High Court dahil bawal ang magtipon-tipon,” said Baquirin. (It’s more difficult nowadays, sometimes the police would ask us to leave our hangout at the High Court because of the gathering restrictions).

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Getting a big enough space for their training sessions was always a challenge as practice massage and cupping/ventosa requires students to work on people lying flat-out on the floor. Bag-making also requires a space big enough for students to work on their craft together.

In the past, they made do with the hidden nooks just opposite the High Court building in Admiralty to learn the rudiments of pressure points and kneading tight joints, but pandemic restrictions prevented them from gathering there and in other public places.

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That halted their training most days, and forced them to look for more private places to continue their hands-on training, if they could find them.

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But the challenges only strengthened their resolve, as shown by the big number of graduates who completed the course.

Outstanding Student awardees join Umela founder Baquirin (middle) and guests

Given special mention during the end-of-year awards were those who rose above their peers, to achieve the Outstanding Student award. For batch 42 of massage therapy, the awardee was Merly Lagalagot. For batch 42, Amelia Mostoles; batch 44, Generose Dela Cruz; batch 45, Nimfa Balignasay; batch 46, Maria Estrella Javier; batch 47, Mary Joy Villalobos and batch 51, Norma Menodiado.

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Umela will start accepting new applicants for their training courses this Sunday, Dec 19. 

They will also hold an outreach to give free body check and massage on the same day at Edinburgh Place in Central from 10am to 3:30 pm. For more information, send a WhatsApp message to 69790766.

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