Isang kaibigang tunay

Nagkakilala sina Florence, 49,  at Ana, 42, sa Hong Kong mga pitong taon na ang nakakaraan at naging matalik na magkaibigan. Lagi silang magkasama sa mga lakad sa unang limang taon ng kanilang pagkakilala, at nagdadamayan tuwing may problema ang bawat isa.

Kailan lang ay nasubok ang lalim ng kanilang magandang samahan nang ihanap ni Florence ng amo si Ana, na nagdesisyong umuwi na at magpakasal dalawang taon na ang nakakaraan. Kahit kasi nagkalayo na sila ay patuloy pa rin ang kanilang kamustahan sa Facebook.

Dahil may edad na nang nag-asawa ay hindi na nagkaanak si Ana, kaya naisipan ng kanyang asawa na bumalik sa kanyang trabaho sa Qatar para madagdagan ang kanilang ipon. Nagdesisyon si Ana na bumalik na lang din sa Hong Kong, na sinang-ayunan naman ng asawa.

Dahil sa kanyang edad ay nagdalawang isip si Ana na mag-apply sa ahensya kaya naisip na humingi na lang ng tulong kay Florence. Nangako naman si Florence na tutulong, at agad na kinausap ang mabait na amo kung mayroon ba itong kaibigan na naghahanap ng katulong.

Pagbalik ng amo kamakailan galing sa bakasyon ay ibinalita nito kay Florence na inirekomenda niya ang kaibigan nito sa kapatid, at pumayag naman ito. Tuwang tuwa naman si Florence dahil makakabalik na rin ang kaibigan sa Hong Kong, at mas madalas pa niya itong makakasama.

Tuwang tuwa din si Ana dahil may mabait siyang kaibigan katulad ni Florence. Sa ngayon ay naghihintay na lamang ng visa si Ana para makabalik ng Hong Kong at mag-umpisang manilbihan sa among taga Aberdeen. Si Florence na tubong Iloilo ay halos 10 taon na sa mabait na amo na taga Kennedy Town. – Ellen Asis

2 Pinay moms fail in final bid to stay with kids in Hong Kong

Two Filipina mothers have failed to get permission from the High Court to go to the Court of Final Appeal to challenge the Immigration Department’s refusal to let them stay on in Hong Kong to be with their resident children.

Milagros T. Comilang, Desiree R. Luis and their co-applicant/co-appellant children, who were all on Legal Aid, were also ordered by the Court of Appeal on Jul 24 to pay the Immigration Director’s court costs of $250,000.

The High Court.

Comilang and Luis, both former domestic helpers, filed separate applications on Jun 4 to seek leave to appeal the appellate court’s decision denying them the right to remain in Hong Kong so they could look after their children who are all minors.

Named as co-applicants were Comilang’s daughter Zarah Noor Ahmed and Luis’ three sons David John, Carl Benz and Mark Joelry.

Gladys Li, SC,who represented the mothers, cited “great general or public importance” as the main ground for asking for leave to appeal. She also cited international laws to support her claim that the CA had failed to consider the appeal properly.

The two mothers and their children, through Li, raised nine questions, including whether a non-Hong Kong resident parent-caregiver and her resident child could not rely on Art 37 of the Basic Law to guarantee their enjoyment of family life in Hong Kong.

The three justices sitting as Court of Appeal, answered all the questions point by point, before refusing the application.

While accepting that the case could have potential impact on other families similarly situated, the CA said they were not convinced any of the questions raised on behalf of the appellants were reasonably arguable and satisfied the requirements for using the “general public interest” ground.

The application stemmed from the decision by the Court of Appeal on Mar 26 this year, dismissing the appellants’ challenge to the Director of Immigration’s decision denying them the right to remain in Hong Kong.

Comilang married a Pakistani citizen in April 2005 and gave birth to Zahrah on Feb 2, 2006, who acquired permanent residency by birth. Since September 2007, Comilang had made several futile applications to extend her stay in Hong Kong so she could take care of her daughter.

Desiree Luis married a fellow Filipino domestic helper in 1997, and they had four sons, the
eldest of whom was born in the Philippines and the three others in Hong Kong. Her second son has gained permanent resident status.

Since 2011, Luis had applied but failed to get an extension of stay to take care of her three sons in Hong Kong, so she overstayed. In May 2014, Luis applied for leave for judicial review, which was granted her in July that year.

However, her appeal against the Director’s rejection of her application to stay in Hong Kong was also denied in March this year.

The Court was made up of Vice President Justice of Appeal Jeremy Poon, who penned the decision; and Chief Judge Andrew Cheung and Vice President Justice of Appeal Johnson Lam.

POLO vows help for OFWs forced to undergo useless ‘retraining’

By Vir B. Lumicao

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office has vowed to take action against employment agencies that require overseas Filipino workers returning to Hong Kong to undergo retraining despite being in possession of valid training certificates.

Labor Attache Nida Romulo issued the statement after being told that agencies in the Philippines are requiring holders of Tesda (Technical Education Skills Development Authority ) NCII certificates to go through  training again because the document has been renamed.

Labor Attache Nida Romulo interviews workers who were made to retrain for new NCII.

But Romulo cautioned the affected OFWs to ensure they have documentary evidence such as receipts so POLO can take action.

“Kailangang meron tayong ebidensiya laban doon sa mga ikino-complain natin ha, kasi mas maganda iyon dahil may mga aksiyon tayong gagawin,” Romulo said, as three workers dopped by her office on Jul 29 to complain against the retraining.

Other Hong Kong-bound workers who are still processing their papers in Manila have also told The SUN about the new practice of agencies.

Training is one of the biggest costs borne by a Filipino worker before she flies to her destination abroad. A two-week training offered by agency partners costs upwards of PhP15,000.

The agencies are apparently capitalizing on the name change of NCII , which was for “household service,” to a new certificate for “domestic work” to further squeeze money from OFW applicants.

One worker who said she still had three years left in the validity of her NCII was charged PhP25,000 for retraining. She said she had used two years of the five-year validity certificate as a domestic helper in Malaysia.

Her two companions, who were charged PhP26,000 each, had worked previously in Kuwait and Malaysia.

Filipino community leader Leo Selomenio said she has also received reports about the apparent scam being used on returning OFWs. “Marami talaga”, she said in a message.

One worker who went through a new training offered by an agency partner said she and her batchmates were taught nothing new. “We were just made to watch videos,” she said.

Romulo said her office will forward the complaints to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in Manila.

 “Unang-una, i-endorse natin iyan sa POEA para sa anumang dapat nilang gawin doon. Sabay niyan dito ay pag-aaralan namin, kasi kung madami talaga kayo ay bakit ganun, di ba? May gagawin din kaming mga aksiyon,” Romulo said.

However, she did not specify what action might be taken against the errant agencies.

Earlier, Assistant Labor Attaché Ma Nena German also said there was no need for holders of valid NCII certificates to retrain.

She said all they have to do is go to assessment centers accredited by the Tesda and show their valid NCII and employer’s certificates to get the new certification.

German said the name change was announced by Tesda in a resolution some time ago. But she said the costly retraining can be avoided if the worker would just go for skills assessment and pay only Php470-630.

Foreign domestic workers in HK call for $5,500 minimum wage

By Daisy CL Mandap

The speakers show what they hope to bring
 to tomorrow's meeting with HK labor officials

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong are calling for their minimum monthly salary to be raised to $5,500, and their food allowance to no less than $2,500 a month.

The call was issued earlier today, Aug 6, a day before the biggest support organizations for migrant workers were due to meet with Hong Kong labour officials for the yearly consultation on the “minimum allowable wage” (MAW) for foreign domestic helpers.

The migrant workers, along with three of the biggest organizations fighting for their rights and welfare, announced their position at a media briefing called to unveil the findings of a survey that shows where their monthly earnings go.

The joint study by the Mission for Migrant Workers and the Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants showed that three-fifths (3/5) of FDWs’ salaries, or $2,700 goes to paying for goods and services in Hong Kong, leaving only about $1,700 for savings and family remittance.

Given these figures, the Mission said: “It is estimated that they (migrant workers) infuse over $562 million per month or over $6.75 billion per year towards the Hong Kong economy through purchases alone.”

Despite their huge contribution to the local economy, the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) said in a statement that wages given to FDWs leave them unable to cope with the steady rise in the cost of goods, utilities and services in Hong Kong.

Using the government’s own estimates of the cost of living in Hong Kong, and even granting that FDWs have to live with their employers, AMCB said they should be getting $5,585 for working 10 hours a day on average.

The demand for a $2,500 monthly food allowance is also said to be based on government statistics on the per capita expenditure on food by Hong Kong residents.

According to the group, the current minimum wage of $4,410 is “a measly 44%” of what is needed for a person to survive in Hong Kong. The current monthly food allowance of $1,053 is said to be 59% lower than what is considered sufficient in the city.

AMCB spokesperson Dolores Balladares-Pelaez said that her group intends to bring to tomorrow’s meeting a reiteration of their call to be paid the same wages as local workers, and for the government to use a more transparent scheme for computing the MAW.

Indonesian migrant leader Sringatin, also of AMCB, said they also want to call on both Hong Kong and the sending countries to work jointly on promoting the rights and welfare of FDWs, and acknowledge their great contribution to their respective economies.

The Mission’s Cynthia Tellez said that her group would push for a more realistic MAW based on a more transparent mechanism - and “better yet”, align it with the statutory minimum wage for other workers in Hong Kong.

She also wants the Hong Kong government to actively address the recurring issues of illegal recruitment and illegal agency fees, and to enact an anti-human trafficking law based on the United Nations-Palermo protocol.

APMM’s Ramon Bultron backed the other groups’ calls, but put emphasis on ensuring that the rights and welfare of FDWs are protected, and reiterated the need for Hong Kong to pass a law against human trafficking.

He also called on the media and other groups to continue working with organizations that support and promote the rights of migrants.

5 Pinoys lose valuables to jailed Repulse Bay thief

The intense summer heat prompts many people to go to Repulse Bay beach

By Vir B. Lumicao

A 29-year-old Chinese man was jailed for eight months on Friday, Aug 3 after he pleaded guilty in Eastern Court to five charges of stealing the properties of Repulse Bay beachgoers who included five Filipinos, three of them tourists.

Lo Kam-fuk, a construction worker and HKID holder, was sentenced by Magistrate Peter Law after admitting to stealing various items between Jul 21 and 31 this year.

His first victims were tourists Sebastien Zoe G. Rodriguez, 17; Mark Francis Almonte, 22, and Ian Jeric Gatmaitan, 23, who went swimming near No.1 observatory at Repulse Bay Beach on Jul 21.

They placed one Nikon camera, one Gopro camera, a pair of sunglasses, on G-shock wristwatch, a white and brown waistbag, a Philippine passport, a Security bank credit card, a BDO debit card, an iPhone 7 mobile phone and $700 cash in Sebastien’s green backpack before they went into the water.

When they came ashore around 5:10pm, they found the backpack gone, and immediately reported the loss to the police. They had all since returned to Manila.

At about 7pm on Jul 24, Merly B. dela Cruz, 50, and her friend Nora Berondo, 49, Filipinas who both held HKIDs, also lost a blue handbag containing their belongings near No. 3 observatory at the same beach. The bag contained two brown wallets, two Hang Seng Bank cards, a wrist watch, a pair of earrings, a ring, $580 cash, a HKID card, another blue bag, as well as a Sony and Honor mobile phones. 

The thief struck again around 7:30pm on Jul 28, this time near No. 4 observatory, and made off with one black rucksack containing $400 cash and a Samsung mobile phone  owned by Kwok Chi-hang.

On Jul 29, Lo returned to the beach at 5pm to steal again, but the blue bag he took from an “unknown person” contained just a pair of sunglasses, five keys and one lipstick.

He went back to the beach near No. 2 observatory at 8:05pm on Jul 31 and stole a rucksack containing two black wallets, $200 cash, 63 yuan, a driver’s license, a bank card, two Netherlands passport and an iPhone 6 mobile phone belonging to Dutch tourists Johanes S. Mulder, 19, and Floris M. Hagedoorn, 21.

That was Lo’s last outing, however, as a police officer who was staking out the area intercepted and arrested him.

The court was not told if any, or all of the missing items, had been recovered.

      

Kaibigang putik pala ito

Laking pagsisisi ni Christine dahil nagtiwala siya sa isang kaibigan na biglang naglaho matapos niyang ipangutang ng $38,000 sa isang financing company. Muntik pa siyang nawalan ng trabaho dahil sa 10 taon na pagtatrabaho niya sa amo ay ngayon lang ito nadismaya sa kanya.

Dahil sa hindi nabayaran ng kaibigan niyang sinungaling ang utang ay natawagan siya ng kolektor sa landline ng kanyang mga amo na nagkataong nasa bahay ng mga oras na iyon. Naiiyak na humingi ng paumanhin si Christine at sinabi ang totoong dahilan kung bakit nagkautang siya ng ganoong kalaking halaga.

Ilang araw din siyang hindi nakapagtrabaho ng maayos dahil sa takot na baka i-terminate siya dahil sa kanyang kapalpakan. Ibinigay niya kasi sa pautangan pati ang address ng amo ng walang pahintulot.

Nang biglang maglaho ang dating kaibigan ay noon lang napagtanto ni Christine na ni hindi niya kilala ang sino mang kaibigan nito o kapamilya. Mabuti na lang at nanaig pa rin ang kabaitan ng mga amo at inalok siya na babayaran nila ng buo ang utang, at ibabawas na lang sa suweldo niya buwan-buwan sa loob ng isang taon.

Pero may kundisyon ang amo na kung gagawin pang muli ni Christine ang mangutang ay tatanggalin na siya at hindi babayaran para sa long service. Laking pasalamat ni Christine sa alok ng amo, at agad na ipinaalam sa asawa at apat na anak na mababawasan ang kanyang padala sa kanila buwan-buwan habang binabayaran ang utang na hindi naman niya napakinabangan.

Nakilala ni Christine ang kaibigan sa isang pagtitipon apat na taon na ang nakakaraan at mula noon ay lagi na silang magkasama tuwing Linggo. Hindi akalain ni Christine na gagamitin ng kaibigan ang kanilang matagal na pinagsamahan para maisakatuparan ang pangarap na magandang buhay, na siyang gusto rin niya para sa sarili.

Kahit nanghihinayang si Cristine sa isang taong pagbabayad inisip pa rin nya na swerte nya at hindi sya na terminate ng kanyang employer. Si Christine at 42 taong gulang, taga Davao at nagtatrabaho sa Kennedy Town. - Rodelia Villar

Pinoys in US$5B bank draft case denied bail

By Vir B. Lumicao

District Court.

Three Filipino male tourists, one of whom is a government lawyer, failed in their attempt to gain temporary freedom after an Eastern Court magistrate denied their bail application on Jul 19,  saying their offense of trying to pass off a fake US$5billion bank draft as genuine, was a serious one.

The failed bail bid happened two days after two other Filipino male tourists appeared in District Court, both charged with trying to encash fake bank instruments worth nearly US$1trillion. One tried to encash fake traveler’s checks worth US$50,000 in February this year, while the other tried to get a fake HSBC deposit slip with a face value of a whopping US$943 billion credited to his account in April.

In the first case, Elmer P. Soliman, 57, his son Eric Jude P. Soliman, 31, and Eliseo L. Martinez returned to the court with bail money and addresses to stay in Hong Kong in case they gain temporary release, as well as a promise not to leave the city and report to police daily.

But that did not convince Magistrate Peter Law to grant their bail applications. He ordered the three defendants, who are facing a charge of “using a false instrument”, were ordered back in jail.

HSBC staff called police after seeing the fake US$5billion bank draft

Soliman and his son, who claimed to be a secretary and engineer, respectively, submitted an address on Jordan Road near the Tsimshatsui Police Station. They also offered bail money of $15,000 each and their Hong Kong Chinese friend who was in court was ready to put up a surety of $3,000 each, their lawyer told Law.

Third defendant Martinez, a lawyer, offered bail of $15,000 in addition to an offer of $15,000 surety from his friend “Mr Pieter”,  a Hong Kong resident. His lawyer also offered a new address, also in Saikung, where Martinez would reside.

Despite the offers, however, Law remained firm in refusing their bail applications, saying the charge against them was serious. But he said they could try their luck at the High Court.

Law told Martinez he had considered his case separately, but rejected his bail application. 

Martinez, wearing a red round-neck shirt, smiled to his wife and daughter as he emerged in the dock along with the Solimans. The daughter wiped off her tears as she beheld her father, a 46-year-old municipal lawyer in Tarlac province.

For the Solimans, a son and grandson of Elmer came with two local Chinese friends and a Filipina companion.

  Magistrate Law said the case could now go to a pre-trial review on Aug. 9.

The three defendants were arrested on Jun 25 at the HSBC main office in Central after they tried to open an account using the fake bank draft worth US$5 billion. Two other unidentified persons who were with them were initially arrested but were later released by the police.

The prosecution said the elder Soliman approached a female staff to open an account. He then presented the bank draft that was handed to him by Martinez. The staff called the police when they noticed that the bank instrument was spurious.

A raid on their hotel room in Tsimshatsui followed, and police seized a suitcase with documents. Investigations are continuing.

In the District Court, Filipino tourists Noel Rambuyon and Brudencio Bolaños appeared for the first hearing of their individual cases of “using a false instrument” since the transfer of their respective cases from Eastern Court in Sai Wan Ho.

No plea was taken from either of the defendants. Their lawyer from Legal Aid applied for a six-week adjournment to study the cases.

Judge Gary Lam adjourned the cases until Sept 4 and ordered Rambuyon and Bolaños back in jail.

Bolaños was arrested on Apr 9 after he allegedly tried to update his account at HSBC on using the US$943 billion deposit slip.

Staff called police after he allegedly tried to convince them that the document was genuine.

Rambuyon faces a charge of using a false instrument after his arrest around the Lunar New Year this year when he presented the Thomas Cook traveler’s checks worth US$50,000 for exchange at a money shop in Central.

A police forensic examination determined that the travelers checks were fake, and this was confirmed by the bank that used to issue similar instruments in Britain.

The cases are the latest in a recent string of similar incidents involving Filipino tourists, mostly professionals who are middle aged to elderly, trying to pass off as genuine fake bank instruments supposedly worth astounding sums.

A Consulate officer had earlier said the resurgence of money scams involved people claiming access to Marcos-era hidden wealth in the form of bank instruments and looking for investors who are willing to exchange these for cash in Hong Kong.

There are now three other such cases pending in the District Court.

2 Filipinas dead as heat wave takes toll on OFWs

By Vir B. Lumicao

People doing outdoor activities are more prone to heat stroke 

Two Filipina workers have died due to heat-related causes within the past week, with the second one succumbing to the extreme weather condition only yesterday, Aug. 2, according to Labor Attache Nida Romulo.

Both were found lifeless in the toilets of their employers’ residences.

Labor Attache Romulo declined to name the two, saying their next of kin had not yet been informed of their deaths.

Meanwhile. two other Filipinas were taken to hospital in an ambulance on Tuesday for feeling unwell on the 18^th floor offices of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office at Mass Mutual Tower in Wanchai.  

Romulo said the two were diagnosed to have suffered from high blood pressure and heat exhaustion.

Welfare officer Lorna Obedoza of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said the latest victim who was from Ilocos was 54 and had been working in Hong Kong since 2006. She was found dead in the morning of Aug 2.

The first victim was reportedly a 62-year-old native of La Union who was found dead on Jul 28 in the bathroom of her employer’s house in Mid-Levels. She arrived in Hong Kong in 2007.

Romulo, however, said that the police could not yet say for sure if the death was weather-related because the victim was said to be one or two days dead when her body was found.

But the labor official, who assumed her post on Jul 15, said she is alarmed at the relatively high incidence of deaths and illnesses among OFWs in this city that she is planning to launch quarterly seminars on wellness for the Filipino community.

“Our workers are too engrossed in their work that they neglect their own health. They should not forget their own health so that they can do their jobs well,” Romulo said.

Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga, who is a registered nurse in the Philippines, has reportedly been tapped to conduct the quarterly wellness seminars which should start soon.

As temperatures soared to 33 degrees Celsius in urban areas over the past week, the Hong Kong Observatory has kept up the Very Hot Weather warning that it has been posting almost on a daily basis for the past two months.

The Centre for Health Protection’s public health warning is posted below:

What is heat stroke?

The human body can regulate internal temperature within safe limits spontaneously. When we get hotter, the temperature control centre inside our body will trigger responses such as sweating and increasing breathing rate to cool us down. However, when the environment becomes extremely hot and spontaneous responses cannot effectively cool down our body, heat exhaustion or even heat stroke will occur.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include giddiness, headache, nausea, shortness of breath and mental confusion. When the body temperature reaches 41°C or higher, the sufferer will have convulsion or become unconscious; and this is heat stroke. Immediately, the body temperature must be brought down and first aid be given, or else the sufferer’s life will be in great danger.

Who is at risk?

1. The obese

2. The Sick

3. The elderly

4. Children

Precautionary measures

Pay attention to the weather warning issued by the Hong Kong Observatory and take the following measures:

1. Wear light-coloured, loose and air permeable clothing to reduce heat absorption and promote heat loss from sweating.

2. Bring and drink plenty of fluid to prevent dehydration.

3. Avoid drinks containing caffeine (e.g. coffee and tea) or alcohol, because these substances will speed up water loss from the body through the urinary system.

4. Do not engage in prolonged activities such as hiking and trekking under extremely hot weather, as heat, sweating and exhaustion place additional demands on one’s physique.

5. Perform outdoor activities in the morning or late afternoon, if possible.

6. Choose an indoor venue with good ventilation by opening all windows and using fan or air-conditioning. Avoid doing vigorous exercise in a hot or stuffy environment.

7. Re-schedule your work to cooler times of the day. If you must work in a hot environment, introduce shading in the work area where practicable, then start slowly and pick up the pace gradually. Take breaks every now and then in a cool area to recharge yourself.

8. Do not stay inside a parked vehicle.

9. Stop in the course of activity immediately and seek medical advice if feeling unwell.

HK agencies ‘back off’ on illegal loans, but OFWs wary

Three workers forced to pay the illegal loan complain to Labor Attache Romulo

By Vir B. Lumicao

A group of newly arrived domestic workers are celebrating after learning that they no longer have to pay an illegal $2,938 loan made out for each of them by three employment agencies in Hong Kong and their Manila counterparts.

The workers said a staff at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office called up one of them yesterday, Aug 1, to say “Sir Tony”, referring to Tony Chan, managing director of Pacific Jet Consultants, had waived a loan from finance company Mutual Honour (Hong Kong) Ltd that they were told to pay.

The backdown came after The SUN published a front-page story about the illicit loan.

However, Labor Attaché Nida Romulo said today, Aug. 2, that she was not aware of the purported loan waiver. She said she did not want to speculate on the report and preferred to hear about it from the workers themselves.

Pacific Jet, Sacred Heart International Consultants and Waytech Consultants, which occupy adjacent rooms in Cameron Commercial Building in Tsimshatsui, were named by at least 19 workers as the Hong Kong counterparts of the Philippine agencies that deployed them to Hong Kong between Apr 1 and May 31.

Three of the workers approached Romulo on Sunday, Jul 29, to complain about the Php16,000 loans each that they were allegedly made to take out from Caezar Pacific Money Lending Co Ltd in Makati so they could fly to Hong Kong.

On their arrival here, Chan allegedly told them to repay the loan in two installments of $1,469 each at 7-11 convenience stores (or a total of Php19,671 at current exchange rate for a 22% markup) and issued them payment cards that they were to use for that purpose.

The loan was supposed to pay for their further training on arrival in Hong Kong, but the workers said no such training took place.

Apart from the loan, the workers said they were also made to pay placement and training fees by their agencies in Manila amounting to at least Php85,000 (HK$12,686) each. Two workers from Cebu said they were charged a training fee of Php25,000  (HK$3,731) twice, once in that city, and another when they went to Manila prior to taking their flight to Hong Kong.

Philippine laws provide that the cost of recruiting overseas Filipino workers should all be borne by the employer, while in Hong Kong, the agency commission should be no more than 10% of the worker’s first monthly salary, which in this case should just be $441.

Amendments made to the Labour Ordinance which took effect in February this year provide a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of $350,000 in overcharging cases.

Romulo asked the workers to submit proofs of payments and execute affidavits so she could act on their complaints. Her staff also called up Chan about the complaint and the agency owner suggested a meeting with them and Romulo on Tuesday. But the workers instead pushed for a meeting this Sunday, Aug. 5, as that’s when most of them are off work.

But late on Wednesday the worker reportedly contacted by POLO staff Medith Chaneco relayed to the other complainants the information about Chan’s offer to cancel the loans.

“Tumatawag po ang POLO. Si Ma’am Medith, sabi niya hindi na daw kami dapat magbayad sa loan. Nagpasa na ng waiver si Sir Tony (Chan) para hindi na daw kami magbayad pa. Salamat po. Dahil sa inyo kaya namin nalagpasan ang problema. Salamat po talaga,” one of the workers said in a private message to The SUN.

But another posted cautioned: “We need to have the waiver so we have proof that the loan’s been waived,” said another.

The group expressed concern for a batch of about 18 other workers who are still in Manila waiting for their flight to Hong Kong.

They said the workers are now being told to pay cash up front for the extra charge, or they would’t be able to fly out to Hong Kong.

2 Filipinos held for fake US$1trillion docs

By Vir B. Lumicao

Two Filipino tourists accused of using false instruments totaling nearly US$1 trillion to try to transact business in Hong Kong appeared for the first hearing of their cases in the District Court in Wanchai on Jul 17.

They included Brudencio J. Bolanos, who allegedly tried to pass off a US$943 billion bank deposit slip supposedly issued by HSBC on Jul 25, 1983.

The other was Noel Rambuyon, who was found with a wad of Thomas Cooke travelers cheques worth a total of US$50,000.

District Court.

Rambuyon,  in his 30s; and Bolaños, in his 60s; did not apply for bail and were ordered remanded in jail.

District Court judge Gary Lam adjourned the hearing to Sept 4 on the application of the defendant’s lawyer from Legal Aid who asked for time to review the cases.

Bolaños was arrested on Apr 9 after he allegedly tried to update his account at HSBC on using the US$943 billion deposit slip.

Staff called police after he allegedly tried to convince them that the document was genuine.

Rambuyon faces a charge of using a false instrument after his arrest around the Lunar New Year this year when he presented the Thomas Cooke traveler’s checks worth US$50,000 for exchange at a money shop in Central.

A police forensic exam determined that the travelers checks were fake, and this was confirmed by the bank that used to issue similar instruments in Britain.