Pag-IBIG contribution not yet mandatory in HK: Congen

 By Leo A. Deocadiz

Members qualify for a Pag-IBIG housing loan after 24 monthly contributions

The Consulate today allayed concern OFWs will be required to pay Pag-IBIG Fund contributions to be able to get their Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) , a document needed for travel to the Philippines so they can be allowed to return to their place of work with airport fee and travel tax exemptions.

Consul General Raly Tejada told a chat group of Filipino community leaders that the present procedures at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) do not require the Pag-IBIG membership when OFWs apply for the OEC.

“Just had a meeting with our POLO and PAG-IBIG heads,” he told the group. “Currently, hindi naman hinahanap ng POLO ang Pag-Ibig Membership ID sa mga aplikante para makapag issue ng OEC.” (Currently, POLO does not ask for the Pag-Ibig Membership ID from applicants of OEC)

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His statement was confirmed by Pag-IBIG Fund representative Raymond Francis L. Ramos, who told The SUN that they are still waiting for instructions from Manila.

The online OEC system, which is controlled in Manila, still does not require OFWs to enter their Pag-IBIG ID number when they apply for an OEC, he said.

How long this situation will last, nobody can tell.

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The community leaders had raised concern that OFWs will not be issued OECs starting April 26 if they did not pay their Pag-IBIG contributions.

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, urged Congen Tejada to call a community meeting so that this new requirement could be explained.

The controversy began after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) posted on its Facebook page on April 20 photos of a two-page joint advisory signed by POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia and Pag-IBIG Fund President Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti.

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The post said that effective April 26, the POEA will require all OFWs and applicants for overseas jobs to encode their Pag-IBIG membership ID numbers in their e-Registration System accounts. POEA will then collect their Pag-IBIG contributions before issuing their OECs.

The advisory raised a howl of protest.

Bayan Muna-Hong Kong described the fee as "another form of state exaction."

For its part, Migrante International said: "OFWs have always been the piggy bank of various government agencies through mandatory collections through POEA and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) membership, travel insurance, SSS (Social Security System), and PhilHealth, not to mention, medical, training and other processing requirements during the COVID pandemic."

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Controversy about the mandatory collection of Pag-IBIG contributions from OFWs dates back to 2009 when Republic Act 9679 became law to further strengthen the Pag-IBIG Fund.

The Pag-IBIG Fund is a savings system that provides financing to Filipino workers who want to buy a house. Monthly contributions to the Fund earn annual dividends which are tax-free and government guaranteed. Members can qualify for a Pag-IBIG housing loan after making 24 monthly contributions.

The first step to make collection of the contributions mandatory was taken on Oct. 20, 2020 when POEA and Pag-IBIG Fund signed a memorandum of agreement to collect them through POEA’s Electronic Payment and Collection System.

The arrangement has remained unimplemented until this new push last week. 

If the new scheme pushes through, OFWs would be made to pay their P100 monthly contribution as a lump sum of P2,400 for every two-year contract, by making it a requirement for the issuance of the OEC.

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Keep an eye on your children, new social welfare attaché tells OFWs

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Marcelino is most concerned about the children OFW mums left behind

If there is one thing that the newly posted social welfare attaché from the Philippines would like to tell overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong, it is this: “Please always look after your children.”

Remilene Marcelino, who has worked at the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Philippines since 2014, has just been posted in Hong Kong to replace Lucita Villanueva, who was reposted to Antique province in August last year.

Marcelino went straight to work after finishing her mandatory seven-day hotel quarantine in Hong Kong and has already been busy familiarizing herself with the concerns of OFWs here.

Though she is single herself, Marcelino has taken a keen interest in children’s welfare, especially since her work has exposed her to a lot of problems affecting them.

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One thing that has struck her in particular was the realization that 40% of all the teenage mothers she had come into contact with during her previous work with the Bantay Bata program of the ABS-CBN Foundation were children of OFWs.

These young mothers were mostly raped or abused by people their OFW mothers had entrusted them with, including their own fathers.

“Siguro na experience nila yung rape dahil ang parents nila nasa abroad,” she said (Most likely they were raped because their parents were abroad).

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What she found even more disconcerting was that at least one of the young mothers in that group had developed an “accommodation syndrome,” or that which forced her to accept her situation, thinking there was no way out.

Given this, Marcelino advises OFW mothers to always keep an open line with their children.

“Dapat laging may communication. Kapag hindi na nagse share sa nanay o hindi na masaya, malamang may problema na hindi masabi.” (There should be constant communication. If the child stops sharing with the mother or no longer sounds happy, most likely there is already a problem that the child does not want the mother to know).

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Mothers should also listen more to the child than to the spouse in cases like this, she said, because there have been cases where the OFW mother had taken her husband’s word more than that of her abused child.

She hopes the constant communication between mother and child would lead to abuse cases being detected at the earliest stage so intervention could be made and the victim saved from further harm. 

Marcelino, who graduated with a degree in social work from St Louis University in Baguio City where she hails from, also worked briefly as a hospital social worker before joining the DSWD as an executive assistant of Assistant Secretary Glenda dela Rama Relova.

Though this is her first posting abroad, Marcelino hopes her experience of working indirectly with OFW mothers through their children will serve her in good stead when she starts dealing directly with the mostly women migrants in Hong Kong.

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She says the extensive briefing she got from previous social welfare attaches plus the pre-departure training she got from the department will also be a big help.

The new attache pays a courtesy visit to Consul General Raly Tejada after leaving quarantine

As for now, she aims to get to know more members of the Filipino community with help from the various government departments under the Consulate, and learn how to work with them in helping protect fellow OFWs who are distressed.

Apart from providing counseling, she says the DSWD is also able to provide a “small financial assistance” to distressed workers. If necessary, she can refer them to the DWSD office nearest their place in the Philippines so they can be helped.

Told about how some OFWs hesitate to go home after working for a long time abroad, she says she will try to tap relevant government departments to make them part of the senior citizens’ program so they will be more encouraged to go home for good.

But for now, those who need immediate help may call or send a message to the DSWD’s newly installed hotline, 52956952.

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Veteran local actor dies in quarantine, cause of death still being probed

By The SUN 

The lifeless body of the actor was found in a room at Kowloon Hotel where he is spending his quarantine

Veteran local actor Kenneth Tsang was found dead at around noon today in his hotel room where he was spending his quarantine, various media reports say.

The 87-year-old actor reportedly arrived from Singapore on Monday and tested negative on his arrival test at Hong Kong airport and also on a rapid test yesterday.

But he didn’t answer the door at his room at The Kowloon Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui when health officials tried to check on him at about 12:15pm. Hotel staff were called and they found him unconscious on the floor.

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Paramedics who responded to a call for help declared the actor dead at the scene. The exact cause of his death is still being investigated.

Tsang was a popular actor in the 50s and 60s and won an award for best supporting actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015.

Meanwhile, health officials reported 430 new coronavirus cases today, 83 more than yesterday.

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Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said a rebound in cases was within expectations, especially since many people had gathered over the Easter holiday.

“Even if there’s a rebound in cases, it’s expected. We will monitor whether the rebound will be big,” she said.

Among the new cases, 222 were confirmed by PCR tests and the rest through rapid self-tests that were reported to the government platform.

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Chuang also said a total of 15 imported cases were recorded, including four passengers who tested positive on arrival – three aboard JL029 from Japan and one on AI316 from India. One of the passengers from Japan was suspected to be a re-positive case.

The eleven other patients were found infected on their third and fifth day in hotel quarantine, and they flew in from places such as the United States, Singapore, United Kingdom and Taiwan.

Chuang and Lau at the daily Covid press briefing

Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority said eight deaths were recorded yesterday, involving five males and three females aged between 49 and 95 years old.

Among these, seven did not complete their vaccination while one had three jabs.

Only one among the patients was not over 65 years old, and it involved a 49-year-old female cancer patient who fainted at home on Apr 21.

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She tested positive for Covid-19 on admission to hospital where a scan also showed her cancer had spread to other parts of her body. She passed away yesterday.

Lau also said 1,716 patients are still receiving treatment at public hospitals and various infection control facilities. Among them, 16 are in intensive care with their condition classified as critical, while one is seriously ill.

The recoveries over the past 24 hours totaled 256 but only 175 have been discharged from hospitals so far.

More than 1.19million are officially listed as having contracted the coronavirus in the fifth wave of infection, although some experts say up to four million may have already been infected.

The related death toll now stands at 9,069.

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Pinay na nagnakaw ng $433k halaga ng alahas sa amo, kulong ng halos 1 taon

 By The SUN

Sinentensiyahan ang Pilipina sa Eastern Magistracy

Isang Pilipinang domestic helper ang sinentensyahan kanina ng siyam na buwan at 11 linggong pagkabilanggo (o dagdag na dalawang buwan at tatlong linggo) matapos umamin sa pitong kaso ng pagnanakaw ng alahas at relo ng among nakatira sa Conduit Road, Mid-Levels.

Binigyang diin ni Magistrate Leung Ka Kie na maliban sa $433,000 na halaga ng ninakaw, ang krimen ay isang paglabag sa tiwalang ibinibigay sa helper ng isang amo.

Nang iharap siya sa Eastern Magistracy noong April 12, isa-isang namin ni Emalyn Florentino ang pitong paratang na inihain ng pulis laban sa kanya. 

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Kanina, luhaang tinanggap ni Florentino ang hatol matapos hilingin ng kanyang abugado ang mas magaan na parusa para sa kanya. 

Sinabi ng abugado na malinis ang record ni Florentino sa buong pamamalagi niya sa Hong Kong.

Sinabi rin niya na ang mismong amo ni Florentno ay nagpadala ng sulat na humihingi ng pang-unawa sa kanyang katulong na napilitan lang daw magnakaw dahil nagipit.

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Ang lahat ng ninakaw ni Florentino ay natunton sa mga sanglaan, at $24,500 lang ang nakuha niya mula sa pagprenda sa mga ito. Nakikipag-usap diumano ngayon ang amo sa mga sanglaan kung magkano ang dapat niyang bayaran para mabawi ang kanyang mga alahas. 

Ang bawa’t kaso ng pagnanakaw ay binigyan ni Magistrate Leung ng kaukulang parusa, na may diskwentong 1/3.

1. Sa pagnanakaw ng isang pares ng kwintas na gawa sa ginto at perlas noong Aug. 15, 2021 -- tatlong linggo, na ginawang dalawang linggo. 

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2. Sa pagnanakaw ng isang relong Franck Muller noong Sept. 5, 2021 – tatlong buwan, na ginawang dalawang buwan. 

3. Sa pagnanakaw ng dalawang palawit sa kwintas o pendant na kulay ginto noong Oct. 14, 2021 -- tatlong linggo, na ginawang dalawang linggo.

4. Sa pagnanakaw ng isang ½ ounce na gold coin noong Oct. 14, 2021 – anim na linggo, na ginawang apat na linggo.

5. Sa pagnanakaw ng dalawang ½ ounce na gold coin noong Oct. 15, 2021 – anim na linggo, na ginawang apat na linggo.

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6. Sa pagnanakaw ng kwintas na silver noong Nov. 21, 2021 – anim na linggo, na ginawang apat na linggo.

7. Sa pagnanakaw ng isang relong Rolex noong Dec. 5, 2021 – 12 buwan, na ginawang walong buwan.

Ipinag-utos din ni Magistrate Leung na ang parusa sa ika-7 kaso ay kasabay na tatakbo ng isang buwan sa kasong ika 2, at isang linggo sa limang natirang kaso.

Kaya ang suma, 11 buwan at isang linggo ang ilalagi ni Florentino sa kulungan.

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CE says no further easing of anti-pandemic rules until May

By The SUN 

CE Lam says phase 2 of rules relaxation will go ahead in late May

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has ruled out a further relaxation of social distancing rules before mid-May, as Covid-19 cases fell to their lowest level since early February.

Speaking before her weekly meeting with the Executive Council, Mrs Lam said she was keeping to the original schedule for relaxing the restrictions, even as she acknowledged that Hong Kong is on the path to recovery.

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“We will continue to press ahead with the three-stage relaxation that I have announced on Mar 21, unless there is a sudden surge in Covid-19 infection cases, but that looks quite unlikely based on our observations and the experts’ advice,” she said.

A number of her health advisers have called on the CE to relax the measures now, saying about four million of the city’s population have contracted Covid-19 in the Omicron outbreak so they have already acquired natural immunity.

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Others say there is no more point in mandating hotel quarantine for residents returning  from abroad because the number of local cases have far exceeded imported ones.

Mrs Lam said that ahead of reopening the borders to non-residents on May 1, nine more hotels with around 3,000 rooms in total will be opened. But she said the government does not plan to further ease travel restrictions.

Chuang reports that the daily Covid tally has dropped to 347 

Meanwhile, health officials reported that the newly confirmed Covid-19 cases fell to 347 Tuesday, the lowest level since Feb 2, when the Omicron surge was just beginning to take off.

Among the new cases, 205 were confirmed through PCR while the rest were reported from self-administered rapid antigen tests.

The daily tally is 84 less than on Monday, but altogether, they took the city’s total infection figure from the fifth wave of the pandemic to 1.19 million with 9,274 related deaths.

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Seven more patients with Covid-19 were reported to have passed away, the lowest recorded since cases began to surge in mid-February.

Included in today’s tally were 12 imported infections, 10 of which were detected through PCR tests. They include three individuals who tested positive 12 days after arriving from Indonesia, South Africa and Singapore.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the three are suspected re-positive cases as they were all infected with Covid-19 towards the end of March.

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The seven others who took the PCR test would have been new arrivals who tested positive at the airport.

The remaining imported cases involved two returning residents who took rapid tests and were detected during the 7-day hotel quarantine.

Chuang also said 13 positive cases were reported from schools today, involving 11 students and three teachers.

Nine of the students tested positive this morning, and the two others last night.

All students and staff at schools are required to undergo rapid tests and submit the negative results just before showing up for class each day.

So far, 47 positive cases have been reported since a total of 617 schools started reopening in phases after Easter.

Meanwhile, Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said six of today’s fatalities passed away yesterday while the seventh, a 91-year-old man, died on Apr 24.

All seven were aged 65 and above.

Lau said 1,868 patients are receiving treatment at public hospitals and treatment facilities, including 16 who are in intensive care and whose condition is listed as critical. Three others are in serious condition.

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Dating DH ipinaaresto dahil hindi sinipot ang hearing

 

Hindi sumipot sa Eastern Magistracy sa pagdinig ng kanyang kaso

Inutos ang pag-arresto sa isang Pilipinang dating domestic helper kanina dahil hindi dumating sa Eastern Magistracy sa pagdinig ng magta-tatlong taon na niyang kaso.

Nakalista para dinggin sa korte ang kaso ni Kris Hope Vargas, 31, na “breach of condition of stay – overstay”.

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Pero ayon sa mga dokumento sa korte, may isa pa siyang hinaharap mas mabigat na paratang, ang “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence”. (Tunghayan ang aming balita tungkol dito noong Pebrero 2021: http://www.sunwebhk.com/2021/02/overstaying-filipina-charged-with.html)

Maliban sa pag-utos na arestuhin si Vargas, sinabi rin ni  Magistrate Leung Ka-kie na huwag siyang payagan muling mag-piyansa.

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Ang kaso niyang overstaying ay nagsimula noong March 10, 2020 matapos ang 14 araw na palugit para siya umuwi matapos siyang materminate ng kanyang amo dahil hindi na siya pinayagan ng Immigration Department na palawigin ang kanyang pagtira sa Hong Kong,

Inakusahan naman siyang nagpagamit ng kanyang ATM card sa money laundering matapos makantanggap ang kanyang account sa Hang Seng Bank ng $691,059.07, na agad namang na-withdraw,  sa pagitan ng May 3, 2019 at Aug. 11, 2020.

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Ang ganitong kasalanan ay nakalista sa ilalim ng Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, na nagtatakda ng parusang pagkakakulong ng hanggang 14 taong pagkabilanggo kung dumaan ang kaso sa paglilitis o 3 taon kung hindi, at multang hanggang $5 million kung dumaan sa paglilitis at $500,000 kung hindi.

Samantala, sa isang hiwalay na kaso ay inutos ni Magistrate Leung ang pagsampa sa District Court ng asunto laban sa family driver na si Roland Ducusin, 39.

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Nakabanga si Ducusin noong July 28, 2021 ng isang matandang Intsik sa Wan Chai habang pauwi sila ng ina niya galing sa palengke, lulan ang sasakyan ng kanilang amo.

Namatay ang biktima noong araw ding iyon. 

Para sa karagdagang detalye, matutunghayan ang nauna naming report dito: https://www.sunwebhk.com/2021/10/court-adjourns-case-vs-filipino-driver.html.

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