Nanumpa bilang Chief Executive si John Lee sa ika-25 taong anibersaryo ng HKSAR

Ng The SUN

 Talumpati ni CE John Lee matapos niyang manumpa sa harap ni President Xi Jinping ng China (RTHK) 

Nanumpa bilang bagong Chief Executive ng Hong Kong si John Lee, sa isang pasinaya kaninang umaga sa Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre na pinangunahan ng pangulo ng China na si Xi Jinping.

Pinalitan ni Lee si Carrie Lam, na nagsilbi sa nakaraang limang taon at dumaan sa ilang mga krisis, katulad ng malawakang protesta noong 2019 at ang pagsisimula ng pandemyang dala ng coronavirus noong sumunod na taon.

Sinabi ni Lee na isang napakalaking karangalan na balikatin ang makasaysayang misyon na iniatang sa kanya ng mga lider ng China at mga mamamayan ng Hong Kong.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Sisikapin daw niyang gampanan ng buo at tapat ang mga prinsipyong nakapaloob sa “One Country, Two Systems” kung saan ang mga mamamayan ng Hong Kong ay binibigyan ng karapatan na mamuno at pangalagaan ang sariling mga batas para masiguro ang patuloy na pag-unlad at seguridad ng siyudad.

Binanggit din niya na sa nakaraang 25 taon ay marami nang napagdaanan ang Hong Kong kabilang ang global financial crisis noong 1998, and Occupy Movement noong 2014 at ang mga kaguluhan dala ng mga protesta noong 2019, at ang kasalukuyang pandemya.

"Thanks to the full support of the central authorities, the vitality and strength of the One Country, Two Systems principle, as well as Hong Kong citizens' diligence and determination to seek improvements, Hong Kong succeeded in overcoming each and every challenge and moving forward to scale new heights," sabi ni Lee.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Nangako siya na sa loob ng limang taon niyang pagsisilbi ay magkakaroon ng mas ganap na pagbabago ang Hong Kong tungo sa mas ligtas at maalwan na kinabukasan.

Kasabay niyang nanumpa ang mga bagong miyembro ng Executive Council, ang lupon ng tagapayo ng Chief Executive.

Ayon kay Pangulong Xi, dapat na pagtibayin ang kasaganaan at pagkakaisa ng mga tao sa HK

Sa kanya namang talumpati ay inatasan ni Pangulong Xi ang bagong pamahalaan ng Hong Kong na pagtibayin ang kanilang pamumuno at pagyamanin ang mga natatanging katangian ng Hong Kong para mas umasenso ang kabuhayan ng mga tao dito, mas maging ligtas sila at may pagkakaisa.

“Hong Kong faces both opportunities and challenges,” he said, “but there are more opportunities than challenges,” sabi ni Xi.

Ayon pa sa kanya, ang pinapangarap ng mga nakatira sa Hong Kong ay magkaroon ng mas malaking tirahan, mas maraming oportunidad para magtayo ng negosyo, mas magandang edukasyon sa kanilang mga anak, at mas mahusay na pangangalaga sa mga may edad.

Dapat daw na pagsikapan ng bagong administrasyon na tugunan ang mga pangangailangang ito at  magpakita ng mga konkretong solusyon sa mga problemang kinakaharap ng mga sakop nila.

HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE

Hindi daw kakayanin ng Hong Kong na dumaan muli sa kaguluhan.

Partikular niyang binanggit na ang mga kabataan ay kailangang tulungan na maisaayos ang kanilang kinabukasan.

“When young people thrive, Hong Kong thrives. When young people grow, Hong Kong grows. When there is a future for young people, there is a future for Hong Kong,” sabi niya.

Press for details

Bago ang panunumpa ng mga bagong opisyal ng Hong Kong ay itinaas muli ang bandila ng Hong Kong at China sa Golden Bauhinia Square sa Wanchai kaninang umaga.

Ito ang unang pagkakataon sa loob ng tatlong taon ng pandemya na naisagawa ng buo ang seremonya.

Huling pulong ni Presidente Xi kasama ang dating CE na si Carrie Lam

Kabilang sa mga dumalo si Lee, asawa niya at mga bagong opisyal; at pati si Lam kabilang ang mga opisyal niya na nagsilbi sa nagdaang limang taon. Nandoon din ang mga dating chief executive na sina CY Leung at Donald Tsang.

Hindi na nakasama si Xi sa selebrasyon, pero kahapon ay nauna na siyang dumalaw sa Hong Kong sakay ng tren mula sa Shenzhen, kasama ang kanyang kabiyak na si Peng Liyuan.

Nakipulong siya sa huling pagkakataon kay Lam at gabinete nito, at dumalaw sa Science Park sa Tai Po. Si Peng naman ay nagpunta sa West Kowloon Cultural District

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

Isang buwan bago ang takdang pagdalo ni Xi sa anibersaryo ng HKSAR at inumpisahan na ang mahigpit na pagbabantay sa kanyang seguridad.

Ang lahat ng mga bisita sa mga pagtitipong dinaluhan niya ay kinailangang mag rapid test araw-araw sa loob ng isang buwan, at ilang araw bago ang July 1 ay pinalipat sila sa isang hotel para mag quarantine.

 

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Pag-IBIG membership to be linked to OEC from August

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Pag-Ibig (love) cannot be forced, says this poster held by an OFW-leader

From August, all overseas Filipino workers who need to secure an overseas employment certificate (OEC) before leaving the Philippines for their workplace abroad will be made to pay for membership to the government’s housing arm, Pag-IBIG Fund.

This was confirmed to The SUN by Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga, who said the information was disclosed by ICT Director Ken Sarmiento of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (now subsumed under the Department of Migrant Workers) during an online forum on the EOC last Sunday, Jun 26.

Sarmiento reportedly said that “effective Aug 1, Pag-IBIG will be linked to the OEC system wherein the OFWs will be required to encode their respective Pag-IBIG numbers and the system will be able to identify if the entry is correct.”

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

This effectively means that all OFWs will eventually have to pay for membership in Pag-IBIG Fund, something that was not required of them in the past.

Sunga said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office has already requested for an official communication and guidelines regarding the linking of the Pag-IBIG payment to the OEC so they can already issue an advisory to all OFWs in Hong Kong.

According to Marites Nuval, president of Global Alliance Hong Kong who took part in the forum, OFWs were told that those who already secured their OECs before Aug 1 will still be exempt from the mandatory payment for Pag-IBIG.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Since the OEC is valid for 60 days, this means that those who are planning to go home in the Philippines in August can secure it within this month to avoid getting caught in the mandatory payment scheme.

Eventually, though, if the linking is continued under the term of first DMW Secretary Susan Ople, all OFWs will be forced to pay for Pag-IBIG membership which amounts to a minimum of Php100 per month, or a total of Php2,400 per two-year contract.

Screen grab from the online forum during which the mandatory Pag-IBIG collection was revealed

Another OFW who listened to the discussion said they were told that payment to Pag-IBIG will be beneficial to migrant workers because their membership will entitle them to housing loans and save and earn money through the mp2 investment program.

Indeed, the Pag-IBIG Fund was set up as a savings system that provides financing to Filipino workers who want to buy a house. Members’ monthly contributions earn annual dividends which are tax-free and government guaranteed.

HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE

Members who have paid 24 monthly contributions will be entitled to apply for a housing loan, but the amount will depend on how much money they have put in.

Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chair of United Filipinos-Migrante Hong Kong said it does not matter when the government plans to start linking Pag-IBIG to the OEC, but membership in the program should be voluntary.

Unifil-Migrante and most other OFW groups in Hong Kong are wary of recent moves to compel them to pay various government fees, from contribution to the national health insurer, PhilHealth to the Social Security Sytem and mandatory insurance.

Press for details

An allied group, Bayan Muna Hong Kong, has described the fee as "another form of state exaction” while Migrante International has decried what it called as attempts by various government agencies to turn OFWs into their “piggy banks.”

If all the fees were made mandatory, an OFW earning the minimum salary in Hong Kong will end up paying about Php47,000 a year to the  government, money that could already cover a year’s tuition fee for their children.

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.

But it took 11 more years before another attempt was made to carry out this plan. This happened 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.

PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS

The plan again stalled until the POEA posted on its Facebook page on Apr 20 photos of a two-page joint advisory signed by POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia and Pag-IBIG Fund President Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti

The post said that effective April 26, the POEA would 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 but both the Consulate and Pag-IBIG Fund’s office in Hong Kong were quick to give assurance that no definite date had yet been set for executing the plan - until now. 

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Observatory, nagbabala sa hangin at ulan ng bagyong Chaba

 

Ang takbo ng bagyong Chaba

Nagtaas ng Strong Wind Signal No. 3 ang Hong Kong Observatory ngayong 10:40 ng gabi upang paalalahanan ang lahat laban sa banta ng ulan na inihahampas ng hanging may lakas na 41-62 KPH, na dala ng bagyong Chaba.

Hindi direktang tatama sa Hong Kong ang Chaba, na itinatayang nasa 570 kilometro sa timog ngayong ika-11 ng gabi, at inaasahang umusad palayo habang paakyat papuntang Guangdong, China.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Pero dahil papalakas pa ang Chaba, maaaring itaas pa ang signal sa 8 sa Hong Kong bukas kung kinakailangan, ayon sa Observatory.

Pinaalalahanan ang lahat na mag-ingat sa malakas na ulan at hangin, lalo na sa matataas na lugar.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Nauna rito, apat na oras na nasa ilalim ng Signal No 1 ang Hong Kong.

Nabuo ang bagyong Chaba (na tinguriang Caloy noong nasa area of responsibility ng Pilipinas) mula sa isang tropical depression nitong linggo sa gitna ng South China Sea, mga 1,000 kilometro sa kanluran ng Luzon.

HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE

Simula noon, umuusad ito paakyat papuntang China, habang kumukuha ng lakas sa mainit ng hangin na dumadaloy mula sa silangan.

Ilan sa mga paalala ng Observatory:

Press for details

• Linisin ang mga daluyan ng tubig palabas ng bahay.
• Siguruhing sarado ang mga bintana at pintuan.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

• Maging alerto sa pagbabaha kung nasa mababang lugar.
• Makinig sa radio at manood ng TV o buksan ang website ng Observatory upang masagap ang pinakabaging balita.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Expert questions strict border control as 2,358 Covid cases reported

By The SUN

 

Cowling says Omicron sub-variants are already spreading locally 

A top epidemiologist has asked why Hong Kong is still maintaining strict border control when the Omicron sub-variants it is supposedly guarding against have already entered the community and appear to be spreading.

Speaking on a radio show this morning, Benjamin Cowling of the University of Hong Kong said sub-variants BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 are already seen among local cases, so there is no longer a need to maintain tight controls over arriving travelers.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

He said border controls are needed only when a certain place has recorded zero local cases.

“With Hong Kong now recording over 100 imported cases daily, and that the sub-variants of Omicron already spreading in our society, is it really necessary for the border control measures to remain in place?” he asked. 

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Cowling’s remarks came a day after the Centre for Health Protection said cases with the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 are now mostly untraceable, indicating they have taken root in the community.

The most common sub-variant, BA.2.12.1 has been seen in more than 500 cases since a couple from the United States inadvertently passed it on to locals, mainly while dining at a McDonald’s outlet in CityPlaza.

HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE

A statement from the government said that as of yesterday, Jun 29, Hong Kong had recorded a total of 588 cases of BA.2.12.1 sub-variant, 19 of BA.2.12, 34 of BA.4 and 69 of BA.5.

At today’s press briefing, CHP’s Dr Albert Au reported a total of 2,358 infections, of which 162 were imported. They took the city’s coronavirus tally in the fifth wave to 1,233,166.

Press for details

Two Covid-related deaths were reported, involving two women, aged 85 and 98, taking the total tally to 9,188.

There are now a total of 692 patients receiving treatment in various public hospitals, of whom 90 were newly admitted. They include 12 patients in critical condition and 13 who are seriously ill.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Of the imported cases, 74 were detected at the airport, 70 in quarantine hotels and 18 post-quarantine.

As the number of passengers who tested positive on arrival aboard Lufthansa German Airlines flight LH796 from Frankfurt on Jun 28 reached the specified limit, the flight will be suspended for five days, or from Jul 1 to 5.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Marcos Jr. takes oath as 17th president of the Philippines

 

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took his oath of office as 17th president.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took his oath of office at noon Thursday to become the 17th President of the Philippines, 36 years after the People Power Revolution ousted his late father and sent their entire family to exile in Hawaii.

BBM, as his supporters call him, took his oath before Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, witnessed by members of the Marcos family including First Lady Liza Araneta, their children, and the President’s sisters Senator Imee and Aimee Marcos, as well as mother Imelda. Vice President Sara Duterte also attended the event.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

In his speech, Marcos recounted that his campaign call for unity "started to resonate with you, it did so because it echoed your yearnings, mirrored your sentiments, and expressed your hopes for your family, for the country, and for a better future.”

He added: “By your vote, you rejected the politics of division.”

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

He claimed that “I offended none of my rivals in this campaign. I listened instead to what they were saying and I saw little incompatibility with my own ideas about jobs, fair wages, personal safety, and national strength and unending want in a land of plenty.”

For OFWs, Marcos said he will give them “all the advantages” to survive, but did not discuss concrete plans.

HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE

He vowed, though, to unveil a comprehensive plan for the nation when he delivers his State of the Nation address when Congress reopens next month.

After the ceremonies, Marcos proceeded to Malacanang  and swore in his cabinet, one of his first official acts  as president.

Press for details

This was followed by the first dinner in the palace for the new first family.

In the morning, before the swearing-in ceremonies,  Marcos met with his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, at Malacanang.  After the departure honors, Duterte went to a mall in Makati, before taking his flight back home to Davao City.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

On another side of town, inside the Bantayog ng mga Bayani near the corner of EDSA and Quezon Ave in Quezon City, martial law survivors and relatives of those who died during martial law, took their oath to continue fighting historical revisionism.

Police who were sent to watch a possible protest at the museum were instead limited to watch passing pedestrians and give away loot bags containing face masks, candies and jellies.

Bayan HK leaders called for a rejection of the Marcos-Duterte leadership

A day earlier in Hong Kong, leaders of groups under the umbrella of Bayan Hong Kong and Macau  staged a token protest outside the Philippine Consulate in Admiralty to denounce what they called as the electronic cheating that led to Marcos, Jr. becoming president.

The protesters led by Unifil-Migrante chair Dolores Balladares-Pelaez questioned why the results of the election were declared way too fast. After two hours, she said the result from more than 50% of the votes were already known.

"Aba, dinaig pa ang Amerika sa bilis ng pagbibilang," she said. (Wow, they even beat America with the speed of the vote-count.

The group called for a rejection of the Marcos-Duterte leadership.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Connecting flight delay leaves 3 HK-bound Filipina DHs stranded in Manila

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

The 3 got to NAIA about an hour before their scheduled departure for HK

Three Filipina domestic helpers who were supposed to fly to Hong Kong yesterday, Jun 29, were left behind by their Cebu Pacific flight after their connecting flights from their respective provinces were delayed.

One of them, Jonalyn B. Patete, said they managed to get through Immigration but failed to make it to the boarding gates before they were closed.

Dispirited, they had to make their way out again after the departure stamp on their passports were voided.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Patete said two of them had flown in from Tuguegarao, Cagayan; while the third had come from Iligan City in Lanao del Norte.

She recalled with some regret that they got to NAIA at 4:16pm and could have still made it to their 5:25pm flight to Hong Kong had they not been too shy to ask to jump the queue at the immigration counters.

“Ang pagkakamali namin nakipila kami ng pagkahaba-haba sa immigration without asking someone’s help, na ganun daw dapat ang ginawa namin,” she said. (Our mistake was that we joined the long queue at immigration and did not ask for help – we were told that was what we should have done).

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

If it is any consolation, however, they probably would not have been allowed to check in for their flight, anyway, given the lengthy process involved in checking pre-boarding documents of Hong Kong-bound travelers.

Airlines are duty bound to ensure their passengers have all the required papers on hand prior to checking them in, or they run the risk of having their flight suspended for five days by the Hong Kong government, which is notoriously strict in implementing this rule.

The repercussions from their missed flight were thus stressful, costly and inconvenient. Their employers had to scramble to rebook their flight and look for another government-designated hotel for their mandatory seven-day quarantine.

HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE

The latter is particularly hard to do as most designated hotels are fully booked for this month and next, as many people in Hong Kong have left for the summer holidays, and are now just starting to come back.

The Filipinas, in turn, had to look for a testing laboratory for the required negative PCR test result prior to getting on their flight to Hong Kong; apart from a place to stay, which should be as close to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila as possible, to prevent another mishap.

Press for details

Luckily, says Patete, her employer managed to book a hotel room for Jul 5, which she will now have to share with her fellow worker from Cagayan.

It’s not clear if the third domestic worker from Iligan has managed to secure a new hotel booking  as well.

A Facebook post by Patete’s employer earlier indicated Cebu Pacific had rebooked the helper’s flight for today, but this was hardly of any use without a confirmed booking at a quarantine hotel.

To be able to board a flight to Hong Kong, all travelers must have a negative result for a PCR test taken within 48 hours of boarding, a recognized vaccination record showing the passenger to have received at least two jabs, plus a confirmed booking for at least seven days in a DQH.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Nearly 24 hours after their ordeal began at Manila’s airport, the two Filipinas from Cagayan learned they already had the all-important booking at a quarantine hotel.

For the six days that they will have to fend for themselves in Manila, Patete says they will have to stay with an acquaintance and dig deep into their pockets for the costly PCR test. However, they are grateful enough that they are now assured of being able to return to their jobs in Hong Kong.

PADALA NA!

Call us!