Filipina torture claimant found guilty of drug possession

 

The Eastern Court magistrate asked how the defendant could pay for two flats 

A 39-year-old mother of six was found guilty Monday in Eastern Court, of a charge of possession of less than a gram of a dangerous drug after failing to convince the magistrate during trial that a packet of cannabis resin found in her rented room in Causeway Bay was not hers.

The defendant, M. Manrique, who arrived in court more than half an hour late for the verdict, was calm after Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai-man pronounced her ruling.

But Manrique broke into tears after the magistrate ordered her detained before her sentencing on May 22 pending a report from the Drug Addiction Testing Centre.

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The defendant, a non-refoulement applicant, cried uncontrollably saying no one would look after her two young daughters, before she was led away by the court police staff.

Manrique, who had two previous cases involving drugs, was arrested on Jan 21, 2022 by police who searched her rented rooms in a flat at 10 Yiu Wa Street  in Causeway Bay and found a small plastic bag containing 0.6 gram of cannabis resin.

Two police officers also found instruments used for smoking the illegal drug and resealable plastic packets for packing them.

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During her trial last month, the two officers gave evidence in court about their visit to the subdivided flat as part of an ati-illegal drugs operation. They found out that Manrique was renting two rooms, identified as Rooms A and C, for $5,500. 

While the first officer, Prosecution Witness 1 (PW1), was interviewing the defendant outside the rooms, PW2 searched the two rooms and found the packet containing the prohibited drug in Room C.

The defendant said she was staying in Room A and used the other room for her belongings. She denied that the drug found in Room C belonged to her and said someone else could have placed the stuff in the room.

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Magistrate Wat, however, said no one else could have hidden the illegal drug in Room C as it was locked.

Besides, it took the two officers 10 minutes to wait outside the flat for Manrique to open the door and did not know what happened inside during that period, Wat said. 

The magistrate also said she had doubts about how Manrique was able to pay for the $5,500 rent when she was receiving just $1,800 monthly rental allowance from Social Welfare and yet was also able to remit money to her four other children in the Philippines.

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Wat said the evidence given by the police officers, in particular PWC 2 who conducted the room search, was straightforward and credible. As such, the prosecution had proved their case against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.

In mitigation, the defense lawyer said Manrique was divorced from her husband and has six children, aged between 13 and 18 years old.

Four of them live in the Philippines, while the two younger ones were born in Hong Kong and are staying with her here. The lawyer said one of the children had passed away.

The lawyer pleaded for a lenient sentence, citing that the amount of cannabis resin was 0.69 gram only and that his client’s case was possession of illegal drugs, not drug trafficking.

Wat deferred the sentencing to May 22 pending the DATC report.

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Naki-zumba at nakipagsaya ang OWWA admin sa HK

Si Admin Arnell habang humahataw kasama ang mga OFW sa HK (OWWA photo)

Humataw nang todo si Administrator Arnell Ignacio ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration nang dumalo sa “Balik Saya sa Hong Kong” na ginanap sa Chater Road noong Linggo, Mayo 7.

Ginulat niya ang isang grupo ng mga nag su zumba nang bigla na lang siyang pumagitna at sumabay sa kanilang maindayog  na pagsasayaw.

Ang “Balik Saya” na palabas

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 sa iba-ibang lugar na maraming mga overseas Filipino workers ay ibinalik ng OWWA pagkatapos ng tatlong taong pagtigil dahil sa pandemya.

Ayon kay Ignacio, gusto nyang ibalik ang saya ng mga OFW na nalulungkot, lalo na iyong mga bagong labas pa lang ng bansa.

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Ang pasinaya sa Hong Kong na idinaos sa pakikipagtulungan ng Konsulado at iba-ibang sponsor na kumpanya ay inumpisahan sa isang parada at Flores de Mayo, at sayaw ng iba-ibang grupo sa umaga.

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Pagka tanghali ay bumuhos ang malakas na ulan, pero hindi naman natinag ang mga bisitang galing ng Maynila sa pagbibigay-aliw sa mga manonood.  Naging tampok na panauhin sina Cesar Montano, Rita Daniela, Boobay at Boobsie.

Binisita ng mga taga OWWA ang mga OFW na nakatira sa Bethune House

Bago ang kasiyahan ay dinalaw ni Ignacio ang mga OFW na nakatira sa shelter ng Migrant Workers Office at ang Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge upang pakinggan ang kanilang mga hinaing at magbigay ng kaunting tulong-pinansyal.

...at pati ang mga problemadong OFW na nasa shelter ng MWO

Muli ay ipinarating  sa kanya ni Edwina Antonio, executive director ng Bethune House, ang kahilingan ng mga OFW na nagka Covid dati na bigyan din sila ng ayudang US$200 na ipinagkait sa kanila dati dahil daw kulang sila sa pruwebang dokumento.

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Dagdag ni Laila Besana ng United Filipinos in Hong Kong sa isang komento sa Facebook account ng OWWA, “Mas masaya sana Overseas Workers Welfare Administration kung urgent ang aksyon kung ang OFWs ay humihingi ng tulong.”

“Huwag tabunan ng 1 araw na kasiyahan ang mga claimants ng Covid-19 assistance na hanggang ngayon ay wala pa.”

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Pinay na nag-overstay nang 2 taon, 7 linggong makukulong

 

Ikinulong pa rin ng mahistrado ang Pilipina kahit nagsabi itong payag na siyang umuwi

Isang 40-anyos na Pilipinang dating domestic helper ang ipinakulong kahapon, Mayo 8, ng isang mahistrado sa Shatin Law Courts matapos umamin sa sakdal na ilegal na pamamalagi sa Hong Kong nang dalawang taon matapos mapaso ang kanyang visitor visa noong 2015.

Humarap si Maricar Sotingco, isang single mother, kay Magistrate  Cheng Lim-chi  upang umamin sa sakdal na pananatili sa Hong Kong nang labag sa batas pagkaraan ng Agosto 13, 2015.

Ayon sa tagausig, dumating sa Hong Kong si Sotingco noong Setyembre 20, 2013 upang mamasukan bilang kasambahay ngunit naputol ang kanyang dalawang-taong kontrata bago ito matapos at hindi siya umuwi sa Pilipinas bago lumipas ang kanyang dalawang linggong palugit upang manatili at maghanap ng bagong amo.

Pagkaraan ng halos dalawang taong pag-overstay ay nagpasiya si Sotingco na sumuko sa Hong Kong Immigration Department at naghain ng “non refoulement application” para hindi mapauwi nang sapilitan.

Nabanggit ng tagausig na si Sotingco, isang high school graduate, ay may anak na babae na ngayon ay 18 taong gulang na at lumaki sa piling ng kanyang ina. Sinabi ring habang nasa Hong Kong ay nagkaroon ng anak na lalaki ang nasasakdal na ngayon ay 7 taong gulang na.

Ayon naman sa kanyang tagapagtanggol, nagpasiya si Sotingco noong Setyembre 8, 2021 na umuwi na lamang silang mag-ina sa Pilipinas upang makapiling nila ang kanyang panganay na anak at ang kanyang ina.

Sinabi rin ng abogado na sa pananatili ni Sotingco sa Hong Kong ay hindi siya nagtrabaho nang labag sa batas at napanatili niyang malinis ang kanyang record.

Bilang parusa ay pinatawan ng mahistrado si Sotingco ng walong linggo sa kulungan, pero sinuspindi ang pitong araw sa sentensya, kaya 7 linggo na lang ang kanyang ilalagi sa preso.

Habang siya ay nasa piitan, ang kanyang anak ay inilagay sa pangangalaga ng Hong Kong Social Welfare Department. 

   

 

Labour closes 2 employment agencies, issues warning

 

The Labour Department has warned employment agencies to comply with the rules that govern their industry as it closed two of them for various violations.

These are the first two EA closures for the year.

In a statement, LD said these agencies must conduct their business in compliance with the law and the requirements of the Code of Practice for EAs (the Code) at all times.

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The agencies that lost their licenses were Happy Joy Employment Training Center (Happy Joy) and Mission Employment Agency Limited (Mission) located in Tai Wai and Hung Hom, respectively.

“The license of Happy Joy was revoked because it failed to meet the requirement of the Code concerning withholding the passport of a job-seeker, and that its licensee was not a fit and proper person to operate an EA.,” LD said.

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“The licence of Mission was revoked due to its failure to meet the requirements set out in the Code in various aspects, including failing to exercise due diligence in checking the accuracy of the information provided by job-seekers; failing to ensure that the candidates offered to employers are available for filling the vacancy at the time of accepting payment of service fees from employers; and failing to ensure that any information that is made available to employers is consistent with the facts made known to it.,” it added.

The Employment Ordinance (EO) empowers the Commissioner for Labor to revoke the license of an EA for non-compliance with the Code, or the licensee concerned is not a fit and proper person to operate the EA.

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"The Code sets out the salient legal requirements that EA operators must observe in operating their business, as well as the standards which the Commissioner expects from EAs,” it said.

The EO, for example, stipulates that Labour may refuse to issue or renew a license, or revoke a license of agents for violation of the EO, such as overcharging job seekers or operating an EA without a license.

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For inquiries about matters related to EAs or complaints about malpractices, please call the Employment Agencies Administration of the LD at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.

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Migrants call for $6k minimum wage in May Day protest

 

The protest was 6 days late because HK Police did not grant permits for mass gatherings on May 1

Rains failed to stop several groups of migrants from staging a three-hour protest outside the Central Government Offices in Tamar on May 7 to press for a minimum wage of $6,014 a month, and stop accusations of “job-hopping” by foreign domestic workers.

The protest led by the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body was meant to be an International Labour Day mass action, but was held six days late because Hong Kong police did not grant permits for May 1.

Five groups under the AMCB umbrella took turns protesting from 11am to 2pm, to call on the government to include them in the statutory  minimum wage for local workers, which was recently raised to $40 an hour.

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While this is not yet legislated, the groups said they must be given a “living wage”, which according to an NGO’s estimate, should be at least $6,014 per month.

An added call was to stop accusations of job-hopping against FDWs who apply to move to a new employer while in Hong Kong after their contracts were prematurely terminated.

The Hong Kong Labour Deparment is in the process of consulting stakeholders on its plan to include job-hopping as a prohibited act under the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies.

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Under this plan, recruiters are obliged to warn migrant workers of the adverse consequence of job-hopping, which is, that they will be made to leave Hong Kong within 14 days if their contracts are prematurely terminated.

Agencies are also required to discuss with employers the possibility of them getting a refund of the placement fee collected from them, or provide them with a replacement worker should the current one is terminated for being unsuitable.

AMCB said in a statement that this move to brand migrant domestic workers as “job-hoppers” is discriminatory.

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“Under international and national law, all workers in Hong Kong and around the world are given the right to change jobs for whatever reasons, especially when the work does not fit the expectation or if there is misconduct and violation of rights,” said the AMCB’ s statement.

“But why are only migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong prohibited from changing employers or changing to another type of employment? This is clearly discrimination!,”

The protesters also included in their list their continuing resistance to the 14-day rule and live-in requirement for all FDWs, and their long-standing call for their work hours to be legislated so domestic workers are not at the beck and call of their employers.

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The picket ended with AMCB leaders handing over a petition letter signed by 9,038 people who are supporting their calls for better protection for all FDWs.

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WHO says Covid-19 no longer global health emergency

 

The WHO chief says the pandemic continues, though it's no longer a global health emergency

The World Health Organization has declared an end to Covid-19 as a global public health emergency, more than three years after the disease spread across the planet and claimed the lives of nearly 7 million people and brought the global economy to a virtual standstill.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the declaration on May 5 at the recommendation of the health body’s emergency committee, which earlier held a video-conference for the 15th time since the pandemic began in January 2020.

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“I have accepted that advice. It is therefore with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over as a global health emergency,” Tedros said. He said the committee advised that it is time to transition to long-term management of the pandemic.

Globally, there have been 765,222,932 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to WHO data that included 6,921,614 deaths reported to the agency as of 4:16pm in Central Europe on May 3.

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The committee said that 13.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered. It said that, currently, 89% of health workers and 82% of adults over 60 years have completed the primary series (the initial one or two doses recommended as per the vaccine schedule), although coverage in these priority groups varies in different regions.

In Hong Kong, the number of PCR- and RATS-confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 2,893,635 as of today, May 7, with a total of 13,584 deaths, according to the Hong Kong University School of Public Health real-time dashboard.

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The number of infected patients has plunged from 25,053 in January this year to just 126 in March, or a total of 151,114 cases for the first quarter of this year, according to data from the Department of Health’s Centre for Health Protection.

In January 2022, CHP revised the COVID-19 figures according to the date the cases were reported. The Hong Kong government revised the reporting criteria of the disease on January 30 this year, requiring doctors to report only severe and fatal cases to the CHP.

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WHO’s designation of a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) is reserved for the most serious disease outbreaks. The United Nations agency has assigned the label to seven outbreaks since 2007: monkeypox, COVID, Zika, H1N1 flu, polio and Ebola (designated twice as an emergency).

 “For more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing. This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19,” Tedros said on Friday.

He noted that the number of weekly reported deaths and hospitalizations continue to decrease, but expressed concern that surveillance reporting to WHO has declined significantly, that there continues to be inequitable access to life-saving interventions, and that pandemic fatigue continues to grow.

“The worst thing any country could do now is to use this news as a reason to let down its guard, to dismantle the systems it has built, or to send the message to its people that Covid-19 is nothing to worry about,” Tedros said.

In response, the Hong Kong government said it will use WHO’s latest advice on the epidemic situation in appraising its prevention and control mechanism, and adjust the remaining relevant measures and arrangements accordingly.

HK also took note WHO’s warning that although Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern, the pandemic continues.

“As the number of local infected cases keeps climbing recently, the government will continue to closely monitor the situation of Covid-19 mutations and the risks with emphasis on the protection of high-risk groups, and keep watch of WHO's latest assessments,” said its statement.

“We also call on those who have not completed the first three doses of vaccine, as well as persons in the high-risk groups who have not yet received vaccine boosters as per experts' recommendation, to get vaccinated as early as possible for protection of oneself and one's family.”

The WHO director-general advised all states parties to adopt the following temporary recommendations:

·         Sustain the national capacity gains and prepare for future events to avoid the occurrence of a cycle of panic and neglect. States parties should consider improving country readiness for future outbreaks, including updating their respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness plans. 

·         Integrate COVID-19 vaccination into life course vaccination programs. States parties should maintain efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage for all people in the high-priority groups with WHO-recommended vaccines and continue to actively address vaccine acceptance and demand issues with communities. 

·         Bring together information from diverse respiratory pathogen surveillance data sources to allow for a comprehensive situational awareness. States parties should maintain reporting of mortality and morbidity data as well as variant surveillance information to WHO.

·         Prepare for medical countermeasures to be authorized within national regulatory frameworks to ensure long-term availability and supply. States parties should strengthen their regulatory authorities to support long-term authorization and use of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. 

·         Continue to work with communities and their leaders to achieve strong, resilient, and inclusive risk communications and community engagement and infodemic management programmes. 

·         Continue to lift COVID-19 international travel-related health measures, based on risk assessments, and to not require any proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as a prerequisite for international travel. 

·         Continue to support research to improve vaccines that reduce transmission and have broad applicability; to understand the full spectrum, incidence and impact of post COVID-19 condition and the evolution of SARS-COV-2 in immune-compromised populations; and to develop relevant integrated care pathways.

https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic

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