OFWs in student visa ‘scam’ ask DMW for urgent help

 

DMW OIC Cacdac met with complainants in the Philippines and HK on Aug 4

Fourteen overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong have urged the Department of Migrant Workers to speed up its investigation into a group that allegedly collected almost P2million from them but failed to deliver the student visa to Canada promised them in February this year.

The 14 complainants also asked for immediate intervention, saying that three of them were sent letters to their Philippine addresses by a lawyer for Opportunities Abroad Visa Processing Services, warning them of an alleged breach of an agreement they signed when they applied for the student visa.

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In the letter, lawyer Taunino Jillandro G. Neri, said that the complainants had breached the agreement when they demanded a refund of the $18,731 (Php132,000) that they each paid to Opportunities Abroad.

Further, he said that a clause in the MOA provided that they could be made to pay Php500,000 each for breaching the contract, apart from “actual damages” to the company.

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He gave the recipients five days to respond and “settle the breach amicably,” or face legal action.

But according to all 14 applicants, the agreement being referred to in the letter was given to them after they paid the processing fee in full so they were left with no choice but to sign it. Its contents were not fully explained to them, nor were they given a copy of the document.

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In addition, several of them managed to take pictures of the documents they were made to sign then, and they said nowhere in any of those pieces of paper was there a mention of the Php500,000 penalty that the lawyer had mentioned in his letter.

They attached copies of the lawyer’s demand letter and screen shots of the document they signed in the emailed appeal they sent to Undersecretary and now DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac on Sept. 3.

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In any case, they said an agreement that forbids them from seeking a refund or redress for the fraud committed against them was morally wrong and unjust, and should be deemed illegal.

In their letter, the complainants  said they feared for their and their family's safety, as they know the founder of Opportunities Abroad, former Cebu City Councillor Prisca Nina Mabatid is well-connected, rich and powerful.

They also said they do not have the means to defend themselves if the company makes good on its threat to sue them if they persist with their claim. The OFWs said in their initial complaint that they had to take out loans to pay Opportunities Abroad between February 19 and 25 this year.

DMW lawyers spoke with OFW complainants in HK on Aug 13

Apart from seeking protection, the OFWs also want an update on the DMW’s investigation into their complaint which they filed on June 28, and resulted in the late DMW Secretary Susan Ople sending an investigation team to Hong Kong in mid-August.

The complainants recalled that the DMW lawyers who came to interview them and collect their evidence on August 13  said that they were told to submit a report on their findings within two weeks.

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The OFWs wanted to know if a report had already been submitted, and what action the DMW intended to make regarding their complaints.

Three more Filipino migrant workers filed complaints with the Migrant Workers Office since, and each submitted copies of the receipts for the total of $18,700 that they paid to Opportunities Abroad.

The last to step out claimed that after completing the long list of requirements set out by the recruiters, she was told that she had missed both the September 2023 and January 2024 intakes, even if she had forwarded all her documents in June.

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The recruiters also allegedly said her application was not transferrable, contrary to what she was told at the beginning.

All the complainants want DMW to hold Opportunities Abroad and its officers led by Mabatid and her partner, lawyer Russ Mark Gamallo, accountable for illegal recruitment or human trafficking, and possibly estafa.

They also want sanctions imposed on their fellow OFW, Bryan A. Calagui for promoting and allegedly taking an active part in the recruitment activities of Mabatid and her team.

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Cacdac to go after illegal recruiters, traffickers as DMW OIC

 

Cacdac closed down an unlicensed consultancy firm on the day he was appointed OIC

Undersecretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac  hit the ground running after being appointed officer-in-charge of the Department of Migrant Workers. He led a team from the DMW and the local police in closing down an unlicensed consultancy firm for alleged illegal recruitment activities and unauthorized collection of fees.

Two seafarer applicants sought DMW’s help after R. T. M. Maritime Consultancy Services Corp failed to abide by its promise to secure jobs for them on board a container vessel in Dubai, despite collecting a total of P245,000 from them in the first quarter of the year.

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“We cannot allow these unlicensed agencies posing as ‘consultancy firms’ to continue offering supposedly lucrative job postings to our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and goading them to pay excessive amounts of money. This is criminal and unconscionable,” Cacdac said.

Cacdac was named OIC on September 7, 16 days after the passing of Secretary Susan Ople from a lingering illness.

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In a published statement on Friday, Cacdac said he was accepting with humility his designation as OIC, and remembered how he worked for two decades with the late Secretary Ople to help distressed and trafficked OFWs.

“As we remain in grief and mourning over the loss of our dearest Secretary Toots, we adhere to her constant reminder that there is so much to be done, with so little time. Indeed, our dear OFWs expect no less from each and every one of us here at the DMW, their home in government, dito sa kanilang Tahanan ng OFW sa pamahalaan,” said Cacdac.

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Apart from combating illegal recruitment and human trafficking, Cacdac listed among the DMW’s ’s  priorities in the coming months the following:

1)      To get its proposed P15.54B budget approved by lawmakers

2)     

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To enhance legal, medical, and humanitarian assistance to OFWs through its P1.2B AKSYON Fund

3)      To set up all its proposed 17 regional centers and four additional Migrant Workers Offices (MWOS) overseas.

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4)      To fill up nearly 1,000 post in the Department;

5)      To enhance the “full-cycle reintegration program for OFWs;

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6)      To continue its engagements with host countries and to enter into new, more equitable bilateral arrangements that assure the rights, protection and welfare of OFWs

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Urgent appeal for blood donation

 

Donors are urged to make an appointment before going to a blood donation centre

Members of the public are being urged to donate blood, as supplies have dipped to a “very low level” in the wake of extreme conditions caused by Thursday’s record rainfall and widespread flooding, as well as last week’s T10 typhoon.

In a statement posted in the government’s website today, Saturday, the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) urgently appealed to donors, especially Type O, to come forward to speed up clinical transfusions to patients in need.

According to reports, about 140 people were taken to hospital for treatment in the wake of the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Hong Kong’s history.

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At least three deaths have been reported, although police are still investigating if they are linked to the widespread flooding and several incidents of landslips and road subsidence reported across the city.

The latest reported death involved a man in his 50s who was fished from a river off a Yuen Long village.

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Earlier today, a contract worker of the Airport Authority died after being critically injured when he was crushed between a street cleaning vehicle and a truck. The 55-year-old man was certified dead at the scene by emergency services personnel.

A freebie cooler bag will be given to each successful donor from now until Sept 15

The BTS said the blood collection service has resumed to normal so people should not hesitate to go to the nearest donor center or mobile donation vehicle.

As a token of thanks, every donor who successfully donates blood at the designated collection areas of BTS from September 9 to 15 will receive a "Captain Blood Denim Cooler Bag" (photo above), while stocks last.

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Those aged between 16 and 65 (donation is possible until age 75 if certain conditions are met), weighing 41 kilos or more and in good health are eligible to give blood.

To donate, a qualified donor must book an appointment by calling the BTS donor centres, booking online or via the "HK Blood" mobile apps. For details, please visit www.ha.org.hk/rcbts.

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End of line for 55-year-old asylum seeker

 

Judge upheld Immigration's decision to reject the Filipina's bid against deportation

After fighting for 16 years for the right to remain in Hong Kong, a 55-year-old former domestic worker who was seeking to stop her deportation to the Philippines on claims that she faced persecution, even death there, finally agreed to return home.

But M.C. Dadivas’ effort was also due to the losing battle she faced, trying to get the High Court to review the decision by Immigration and the Torture Claims Adjudication Board to deny her application for non-refoulement, or against being sent back home.

In a decision handed down on September 6, Judge Bruno Chan dismissed Dadivas’ application for leave or permission for a judicial review of Immigration and TACB’s decisions.

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The dismissal was based both on the lack of merit in Dadivas’ application and her filing of an affirmation on June 9 that she wished to withdraw her case, saying it was now safe for her  to return home.

“In the premises, as I am for the given reasons not satisfied that there is any prospect of success in the Applicant’s intended application for judicial review, and in view of her latest confirmation that it is safe to return to her home country, I accordingly dismiss her leave application,” said Judge Chan.

In the judgment, it was noted that Dadivas last arrived in Hong Kong on Feb. 11, 2007 to work as a foreign domestic helper on a two-year contract.

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However, her contract was terminated on May 19, 2007 and instead of going home within the 14 days allowed under her visa, she decided to remain in Hong Kong.

She was arrested more than five years later, or on Dec. 26, 2012 and subsequently sentenced to six months in prison.  After being discharged from prison and just as she was about to be deported, she filed a non-refoulement claim, saying her husband or his brother would kill her because of a loan dispute.

Records showed Dadivas was born and raised in Iloilo City. After leaving school she got married and had four children in her hometown.

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The High Court said that marriage ended in divorce (possibly annulment, as divorce is still not recognized in the Philippines), and the applicant remarried in 2003 to another man called Nicolas.

In 2005 Dadivas opened a grocery store which she funded with a loan from Nicolas’ brother, Diddy, which she was meant to repay within a year, with interest.

However, the grocery business failed and was eventually closed down in November 2005. As she failed to repay her loan Diddy allegedly made threats against her, so to appease him she came to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper.

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She did start repaying the loan when she first came to Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2006 but when she again missed repayment, Diddy went to Nicolas and started harassing him. Irked, Nicolas made similar threats against the applicant.

When she got terminated in her last employment, Dadivas said she started fearing for her life and decided to overstay her visa.

After completing a non-refoulement claim form she attended a screening interview with the Immigration Department, assisted by counsel from the Duty Lawyer Service.

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But on Jan 26, 2014 the Immigration Director decided to reject her application, saying the risk of her being harmed by her husband or his brother upon her return to the Philippines was low, as past incidents showed there was no real intention on the men’s part to seriously harm or kill her.

In any event, said the Director, these were just “private monetary or domestic disputes between them without any official involvement”, meaning the applicant can seek state or police protection if her life was truly in danger.

Morever, the “country of origin information” on the Philippines showed that internal relocation was possible in the country, as its population of 107 million is spread out “across a  vast territory of more than 300,000 square kilometres”.

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As an able-bodied adult with working experience it would be difficult if not impossible, for  persecutors to find her, said the Director.

On May 5, 2015 the applicant appealed against the Immigration Director’s decision with the TCAB. On Jun 28, 2016, the TCAB dismissed her appeal and upheld the Director’s decision.

Despite this, the Director, on his own initiative, invited the applicant on Jan 20, 2017 to submit additional facts that she may consider relevant to her non-refoulement claim.

Instead of complying with the invitation Dadivas filed an appeal with the TCAB against the Director’s decision more than a year later, or on Jan. 31, 2018. As it was filed way beyond the 14-day dealine for lodging an appeal, the Board rejected the appeal.

Dadivas then went to the High Court on Sept. 4, 2019 to apply for leave to apply for a judicial review, saying she just wanted to get the decision reviewed as it disregarded her dangerous situation.

In rejecting the application, the court said it did not find any reasonably arguable basis for her intended challenge.

“Having considered the decisions of both the Director and the Board with rigorous examination and anxious scrutiny, I do not find any error of law or procedural unfairness in either of them, nor any failure… to apply high standards of fairness..” said the court.

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Magbabalik ang National Day fireworks sa Oct. 1

 

Isang malaking fireworks display ang magpapaningning sa Victoria Harbor, ang dagat a naghihiwalay sa Hong Kong at Kowloon, sa pagdiriwang ng National Day sa Oct. 1.

Magbabalik ang fireworks display, na magsisimula sa 9pm, pagkatapos na matigil sa nagdaang limang taon dahil sa kaguluhan na likha ng mga protesta sa kalsada, at pagkalat ng Covid-19 sa sumunod na tatlong taon.

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Ito ay isa lang sa mga magaganap na aktibidad sa pagdiriwang ng pagkakatatag ng China bilang isang bansa, noong Oct. 1, 1949.

Para maayos na mapanood ang mga paputok, maagang pumusisyon sa mga lugar sa magkabilang pangpang ng Victoria Harbor upang maiwasan ang gitgitan. Magdala na rin ng baon upang hindi gutumin.

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Sa pagpili ng pusisyon, alalahanin din na libo-libong tao ang manonood kaya bubuhos sila sa mga sakayan pagkatapos: mas mahaba ang lalakarin upang makakuha ng sakay pauwi. Tingnan din kung may toilet na malapit para makasiguro.

Ilan sa mga lugar na magandang panooran ng fireworks display ang sumusunod:

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Sa Hong Kong side:

• Sa Central Waterfront Promenade, mula Star Ferry Pier hanggang Tamar Park.
• Sa paligid ng Hong Kong Convention Centre at Bauhinia Square.
• Sa Level 4 ng IFC Mall, may Roof Top Garden na napaliligiran ng mga bar at restaurant.
• Mga lookout point sa Midlevels at Victoria Peak.

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Sa Kowloon side:

• Sa  Tsim Sha Tsui promenade at Avenue of the Stars, mula sa Star Ferry pier hanggang sa New World Centre.
• Sa Hung Hom Promenade.
• Sa West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade na malapit sa MTR Kowloon Station.

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May iba pang pagtatanghal na kasama sa programa ng National Day celebration, pero karamihan sa mga ito ay mas nakatuon sa lokal na manonood.

Isang halimbawa ay ang Chinese Opera Festival (COF) 2023 na gagawin sa Sept. 23 hanggang Oct. 8 sa Bamboo Theater na itinayo sa Victoria Park ng Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD).

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Apat na lokal na Cantonese opera troupe amg magtatanghal ng mga dula na may mga kilalang artista.

Ipagdiriwang ng COF hindi lang ang National Day kundi ang Mid -Autumn Festival.

Abangan ang iba pang detalye tungkol sa kaganapan sa pagdiriwang na ito sa mga darating na araw.

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