Day 4 of OV: tally nearly 2,000

 By The SUN

 

The scene at Bayanihan on Wednesday, when nearly 2,000 turned out to vote

Things continued to go smoothly in the ongoing overseas voting for Filipinos in Hong Kong, with the turnout on Wednesday reaching 1930, a new record for the weekday tally.

Consul General Raly Tejada gave the daily figure less than an hour after voting ended at 5pm at the Bayanihan Centre,  another sign of how much quicker the voting and the tallying have become since five additional vote counting machines were installed at the polling place.

One of the day’s voters, Maria Andes Caspe, said there were two lines of people waiting to be shown to their precincts when she arrived, but they all managed to complete the process within an hour.

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“Mabilis naman, very busy lang ang in-charge doon sa voting room (precinct) dahil nag-iisa lang siya.” (It was quick, but the one in charge of the voting room was busy because she was all alone.”), Caspe said.

She also reported of being accosted by someone as she was walking to the bus stop, “pretending to survey.” Caspe said she told the girl who she voted for as president and vice president before moving on.

With the additional VCRs that Commission on Elections finally approved, the Hong Kong post has regained the five precincts it was forced to do without on the first two days of voting, resulting in a long back-up when polls opened on Sunday.

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The long Easter holiday which starts tomorrow and ends Monday is likely to boost the voter turnout in the coming days, and the Consulate says it feels more confident now about facing the overflow.

Meanwhile, Unifil-Migrante Hong Kong has welcomed Comelec’s decision to double the number of VCMs assigned to Hong Kong, and said this was the result of an intense campaign by members of the Filipino community.

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“The prompt outcry of the vigilant members of the Filipino migrant community drew attention to the serious setbacks on the first day of voting which resulted to this positive development in OV in HK,” said Unifil-Migrante .

Voters wait outside their assigned precincts- 10 was definitely better than 5

It was unfortunate that many overseas Filipino workers had to be turned away early on Sunday because of inadequate precincts and voting machines, said the group.

But this scenario was what prompted Comelec to realize that not having enough VCMs at the polling centre could result to disenfranchisement and distress to voters, said Unifil.

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The migrants group said if only five VCMs were allotted to Hong Kong, only about 40,000 of the more than 93,000 total registered voters in Hong Kong would have been able to cast their ballots.

It added Bayan Muna Representative Ferdinand Gaite has urged an immediate investigation into what he called the 'chaotic and disorganized' voting in Hong Kong on the first day and the “potential disenfranchisement of thousands of voters.”

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‘Totally disgusting,’ says CG of TVB drama using brownface to depict Filipina DH

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Wong (r) and a promotional poster for the TV series slammed by many as racist 

Philippine Consul General Raly Tejada has slammed a TVB drama series where a Hong Kong-Canadian actress put on a brownface to play the role of a Filipina domestic helper with witch-like ways, shifty eyes and erratic mood swings.

“The show is downright ignorant, insensitive and totally disgusting,” said Congen Tejada. “It cannot be denied that the portrayal of the Filipino helper and use of brownface reinforces negative stereotypes that characterize the “Ban Mui” - an offensive Cantonese slang.”

“Recent world events should have taught TVB that it is unacceptable to assign a corresponding social value to a particular race. No one has the right to mock and ridicule anyone based on their race and ethnicity.”

'Ignorant, insensitive and disgusting,' says Congen Teada of the TV series

Filipina domestic helper Shiela Bonifacio, who heads Gabriela Hong Kong, a group formed to protect women's rights, said the TV series smacked of discrimination.

"Pinatitingkad nila ang kulay ng isang tao para ipakita kung anong klaseng trabaho mayroon siya at kung saang bansa siya galing," Bonifacio said. (They highlight the skin color of a person to draw attention to her job and the country she comes from.)

"They should focus more on the problems confronting migrant domestic workers and their contribution and role in Hong Kong society."

Brownface is a social phenomenon largely criticized in which a white or light-skinned person attempts to portray a "brown" person of color, but less overtly than the traditional blackface.

Despite the howl raised by many people including local celebrities over the seemingly racist show titled “Barrack O’Karma 1968,” Hong Kong media outlets have been all praises for actress Franchesca Wong who played the role of the Filipina helper.

News outlet HK01 gushed in one article that Wong “put on brownface to play a foreign domestic worker, but in reality she is actually a beautiful woman.”

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In another it praised “Wong’s ‘impeccable’ Filipino accent, adding that in spite of her brownface, the actress “is actually a beautiful woman, with very western makeup, and looks exactly like a Caucasian girl.”

In the drama series Wong plays the role of Louisa, a Filipina helper who’s just been hired by a local couple. After she is hired, strange things start to happen in the household.

The employers soon find out that Louisa is eccentric, with a perpetually sad expression on her face, big mood swings and often plays with a rag doll on which she had drawn a mouth with her own blood.

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According to an article written by a local journalist, the show was shot like a horror movie with dim lighting, discordant sounds, and spooky special effects, all done deliberately to portray the maid in an unflattering manner.

Wong had her whole body darkened and changed her accent to play the role. But what earned the ire of many on social media was a video shared on social media that showed her darkening her legs, and saying in a fake Filipino accent that she was transforming into another person.

Local media say Wong is 'actually beautiful' despite her brownface in the move

Many people called out TVB on Twitter, saying the show smacked of racism and stereotyping.

Journalist Katherine Magramo, said: “The underlying racist stereotypes are brutally clear for all to see. The show depicts Louisa, the Filipino domestic worker, as an alien “other.”  Her identity is distorted and flattened into a handful of essentialist qualities: dark skin, a comically fake accent, submissiveness, and “strange” behaviour.

“This is all wrong - brown face, the horrible fake accent, the "witch" character. You can't hire FDW to play the role because domestic workers are legally not allowed to engage in other work but there's A LOT of Filipinos in performing arts in HK you could have casted,” she said.

Another journalist, Vivienne Chow, set off a long Twitter thread when she posted: “The Hong Kong media is raving the performance of a local actress painting her face dark to play the role of a Filipina in a TVB series. I didn’t watch the show (not planning to) but this just feels so wrong. Why does this still exist in this day and age?

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One of those who replied, journalist Mary Hui, said, “Racism, both overt and covert, runs deep in the city.”

Hui also asked Hong Kong-based Filipina actress Miles Sible for a comment, and her reply was: “What’s really watched is people who watched the (TV) series don’t understand that it’s wrong and should not be celebrated.”

Sible, who starred in a recently released short film titled “Ate” added, “There are a lot of talented Filipinos in Hong Kong. We can do so much more than these stereotyped roles.”

In a separate interview local actress and model Sabrina Man said, “I don't think it's appropriate that she had to darken her skin for the role,"

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"Domestic workers have done so much for Hong Kong, and I think it's disrespectful to them and to Filipinos in general to do this," she added. 

However, there were others who replied to Chow’s tweet saying things like that nothing was wrong with the drama series and that actors should be able to play any role offered them.

TVB got flak also for its 80s variety show where blackface was used to depict a Filipina DH

This is not the first time TVB has been embroiled in allegations of racism in its shows. In the ‘80s the popular variety show “Enjoy Yourself Tonight” had a Chinese actress in blackface and tight curls playing a Filipina domestic worker. 

More recently, another TVB drama series Come Home Love: Lo and Behold featured a Hong Kong actor playing a Filipino domestic worker. Fans praised the actor’s “maid accent.” (with reports from various media outlets)

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Pilipinang hindi sumipot sa paglilitis, ipinaaaresto

 

Ang pinangyarihan ng sinasabing pagnanakaw sa Wanchai

Hindi sumipot ang isang Pilipina sa Eastern Court kanina para sa pagdinig ng kanyang kasong pagnanakaw, kaya iniutos ng hukom na arestuhin siya nang walang piyansa. Mahaharap din siya sa mas mabigat na kaso.

Si E. Lo, 52 taong gulang na taga North Point at isang residente na nagtatrabaho bilang hair stylist, ay inakusahang nagnakaw ng anim na lata ng luncheon meat noong Dec. 12, 2021 sa isang sangay ng 759 Store sa Henessy Road, Wanchai.

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Nakatakda sana siyang humarap kay Principal Magistrate Ada Yim nang ika 9:30 ng umaga kanina upang sagutin ang paratang.

Nang tawagin ang kanyang kaso at pangalan, walang tumugon sa mga taong nasa korte. Lumabas ang interpreter upang tawagin siya, sakaling nasa labas lang, pero wala ring tumugon.

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Sa isa pang pagdinig sa sala ni Magistrate Yim, umamin si R.D. Lai, isang Pilipinong construction worker, sa paratang na gumamit siya ng shabu noong July 24, 2020 sa kanyang bahay sa Sai Wan.

Naging mabigat ang kaso dahil kasama niya ang dalawang niyang anak – isang dalawang taong gulang at isang anim na buwan – na posibleng naapektuhan din ng droga.

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Matapos ang pag-amin ni Lai, hiningi ng kanyang abugado na bigyan siya ng mas magaan na parusa. Nagawa lang daw niya ito dahil sa depresyon, matapos mawalan siya ng trabaho dahil sa Covid-19 pandemic.

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Ngayon ay may matatag na siyang trabaho, at siya ang tanging bumubuhay sa kanyang asawa, dalawang anak at ina. Nakakatulong din siya sa kanyang mga kamag-anak sa Pilipinas.

Sa pinakahuli niyang drug test ay negatibo siya sa ipinagbabawal na gamot, dagdag ng abugado.

Itinakda ng hukom sa June 22 ang pagbibigay ng parusa. Nakapiyansa siya sa halagang $1,000.

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Elderly to be given free rapid test kits as Covid-19 cases drop to 1,272

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Tsui says the elderly are being encouraged to self-test regularly

Health authorities say free rapid antigen test (RAT) kits will be distributed free to people aged 60 and above starting next Tuesday, to encourage them to self-test regularly. The service will run until May 31.

Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Tsui Tak-yi said during the daily briefing on Covid-19 that 680 designated service points at district health centres, elderly social centres and elderly day care centres will distribute the free kits.

Each recipient who is a member at the centre or service recipients will get five sets of test kits each time, but staff can exercise discretion in giving them to non-members as well.

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Tsui said this would give better protection to the elderly, who make up more than 90% of all death cases in the fifth wave of the pandemic.

"Elderly people belongs to high-risk groups... Currently we have effective antiviral medications, when given in the early stage of the illness, on symptoms onset, it will reduce the risk of [the illness] getting more severe, or even death," he said.

"With this effective treatment measure, early diagnosis is important for the elderly. So I think it's important to provide more accessibility to this age group."

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Tsui also said elderly residents aged 70 and above can also undergo PCR tests at community testing centers for free without making a reservation.

CE Lam says free rapid test kits will only be given to needy students

Earlier Chief Executive Carrie Lam also said free rapid test kits will be given to students in need when face-to-face classes resume after the Easter holidays. Pupils and teachers will be required to self-test everyday to ensure safety within schools.

CE Lam said 10 million RAT kids have been reserved for students, but only those from households receiving government subsidies.

She said public resources should “be used on those who need it most,” adding that public resources will be hugely affected if the government has to supply everything.

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Meanwhile, other health officials reported 1,272 new Covid-19 cases and 62 related deaths Wednesday. 

The new cases included 734 confirmed through PCR tests and 538 from self-tests.

Twelve cases were detected from travelers who flew in on eight flights from Germany, Nepal, the US, Singapore, France, Shanghai, and India.

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Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the overall tally in the fifth wave has now surpassed 1.18 million.

She also said that the death toll from the Omicron outbreak has risen to 8,735, and the death rate to 0.739%

Another 62 patients with Covid had died, including 54 who passed away yesterday, and 8 whose deaths were not reported on time.

There are about 9,000 patients still undergoing treatment at public hospitals and treatment facilities. Among them, six are in critical condition, seven are in serious condition, and 54 are admitted to hospitals' intensive care units. 

A total of 1,544 recovered patients have been discharged in the past 24 hours. 

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Online appointment for contract verification to start Sunday

By The SUN 

From Sunday, only those who made an online booking appointment to get their new employment contracts verified will be admitted to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office on the 29^th floor of United Centre building in Admiralty.

This was announced through a notice in the Philippine Consulate’s Facebook page yesterday.

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The only exception to the rule are senior citizens and those with emergency cases, such as overseas Filipino workers with air tickets who are about to fly home to the Philippines, said Assistant Labor Attache Tony Villafuerte.

He also said that after verification, the worker will proceed as before to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration for payment of their membership.

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Welfare Officer Virsie Tamayao said the online appointment system for contract verification will “automatically include OWWA membership, verification and payment.”

The membership fee remains at $196 per two-year contract.

For instructions on how to make an online booking for verification, please click the link below: https://www.facebook.com/POLOHONGKONGSAR/posts/4959463627504282

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1,762 voters cast their ballots on 3rd day of overseas voting

By Daisy CL Mandap

Far shorter queue inside Bayanihan on Tuesday (photo from CG's FB page) 

Five additional precincts with a corresponding number of vote counting machines made all the difference on the third day of overseas voting for the Philippines’ next president, vice-president, 12 new senators and partylist representatives.

According to Consul General Raly Tejada, a total of 1,762 votes were cast for the day, and the counting was made a lot easier by the additional VCMs that were put in place only starting Tuesday.

"Magaang na di hamak” (It was far easier), said Congen when asked how the additional machines had helped make administering the vote easier.

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Until he got permission from the Commission on Elections late on Monday to restore the ten precincts that had been assigned to Hong Kong in all previous overseas voting exercises, the Consulate had to make do with just five VCMs in five precincts.

This led to a potentially explosive situation Sunday, the first day of overseas voting, when thousands of Filipinos descended on Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town where the month-long vote is being held.

Because voters could not be processed quickly, a huge queue formed outside the polling centre, prompting police who were enforcing strict gathering rules outside to ask the Consulate to stop people from lining up less than four hours since voting began at 8am.

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Despite this, voters still had to wait for up to six hours from the time they queued up to get to their designated precincts.

Things improved on Monday as a comparatively smaller number showed up to vote, but some also faced delay as the VCM in their precinct had to be recalibrated and the ballot box changed after reaching the threshold of 1,000 voters per cycle.

Tejada said that on Tuesday, no significant event happened “except the blistering pace of voting.”

 

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Some of those who chose to cast their ballots on this day testified to how quickly and smoothly the voting went.

A steady stream of voters led to the high weekday turnout 

 

Lizzie Cuyugan, a permanent resident said, “Very good experience today! Our family of four entered Bayanihan at 1:45pm, and we were out before 2.”

 

Cuyugan extended thanks to a volunteer from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in Hong Kong who assisted her family in finding their assigned precincts.

The volunteer said among the day's voters were some of the foreign domestic workers who failed to make it to the cut-off on Sunday. They managed to get permission from their employers to return Tuesday, and were happy to vote with less queuing.

 

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Also a happy voter was journalist Philip C. Tubeza who said in a Facebook post that he didn’t have to queue up, and managed to finish voting in just 20 minutes.

 

But the real test for the machines will come this Sunday, when the thousands who were turned away on the first day will likely show up again, and mix with a fresh batch of voters.

 

In anticipation of yet another deluge, Congen Tejada said he would talk with the police and inform them of the additional machines that have been installed, and which should make the voting process twice as quick.

 

Hopefully, this would be enough to convince them not to halt queuing early so no voters will have to be turned away before the 5pm cut-off time.

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