Church group celebrates 35th

Crusaders of the Divine Church of Christ at their favorite spot.

Amid the cold brought by intermittent rain on Nov. 25, about 350 members of the Crusaders of the Divine Church of Christ, Mariners Hong Kong Chapter gathered to celebrate their 35th year anniversary at Mariners Hill Garden in Tsimshatsui.

The church group started the celebration with a morning mass, followed by a program which included dancing and  singing.


Administrator Prince Estrelito V. Magliba graced the occasion and urged the members to improve their economic status by doing well in their respective employers and to be resilient in facing the problems that arise when working abroad.


Magliba announced that about 400 members have availed of the church’s “fly now pay later” scheme devised for those who want to go overseas but don’t have the means for it. He said the scheme has been in place for the past four years.


Another service is the advance summer class for elementary school kids. In just a year, he said about 1,000 children have joined the program, which uses the church as classroom, and the teachers are all volunteer church members.


The program ended with a lunch fellowship among members. – Marites Palma

Nalulong sa Mark 6

Tumataya si Lita sa Mark 6 (Mark 2 noong una) pero mula $10 hanggang $20 lang ang kanyang isinusugal noong una dahil iyon lang ang kaya ng bulsa niya.

Bandang huli, nagdesisyon syang itaas ang taya sa $50 at pinalad naman siyang manalo ng $60,000.

Ginamit niya ang pera sa pagpaayos ng kanilang bahay at pinambayad ng kanilang mga utang.



Pero mula nang maambunan siya ng grasya ay hindi na siya kuntentong tumaya lamang ng $50, umabot na ito una, sa $100 at bandang huli, sa $200 kada taya.

Unti-unti nang nag-alala ang kanyang mga kaibigan sa lakas ng kanyang taya, pero ang lagi niyang sagot ay “Ok lang yan, bawing-bawi naman kapag natiyempuhan mo”.



Pero mabilis na lumipas ang mga araw, linggo at buwan na hindi na siya muling pinalad kahit palaki nang palaki ang taya niya.

Pati utang niya sa dalawang pautangan ay hindi na niya nababayaran dahil naipantataya na niya ang perang dapat sanang pambayad niya dito.



Nang nag-umpisa na siyang kalampagin ng mga pinagkakautangan ay walang abog-abog na sinesante siya ng kanyang mga amo.

Naiwan niyang luhaan ang isang kaibigan na kahati niya sana sa utang na umabot sa Php200,000 ang halaga.



Sa kabila nito ay hindi pa rin nagpaawat si Lita sa katataya, sa pag-asang susuwertihin siyang muli.

Kahit napauwi na ay nagpapataya pa rin sa mga kaibigan niya na nasa Hong Kong, at ang bayad ay pinapadala sa mga kapamilya ng mga ito sa Pilipinas.

Mabuti na lang at napagtapos naman niya sa pag-aaral ang kanyang panganay, pero ang bunso ay nasa elementarya pa. Si Lita ay 40 taong gulang at nakatira sa Nueva Ecija. – Marites Palma

HK has no plans to change policies on job-hopping

Immigration Department

The Hong Kong government has no plan to change its policies against domestic helpers' premature contract termination to change employers (commonly known as “job-hopping”) because enough measures are in place to prevent it, according to the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong.

Answering a question by legislator Dr Hon Chiang Lai-wan in the Legislative Council on December 12, Law said: “Since June 2013, ImmD (Immigration Department) has strengthened the assessment of employment visa applications from FDHs who changed employers repeatedly to combat abuse in changing employers.”

He cited figures indicating that this abuse is not prevalent.



“From June 2013 to end-October 2018, ImmD received around 544,000 employment visa applications from FDHs, of which 11,077 were subject to further scrutiny, accounting for 2 per cent of the total number of applications. Among the 11,077 cases closely scrutinized by ImmD, various exceptional circumstances may be involved, including premature contract termination on grounds of the transfer, migration, death or financial reasons of the ex-employer, or where there was evidence suggesting that the FDH had been abused or exploited. Of these 11 077 cases, ImmD refused 1,817 applications, 819 applications were withdrawn by the applicants, and 658 applications could not be processed further.”

He added: “The Government has all along been closely monitoring the suspected abuse of the arrangement for premature termination of contract by FDHs.



“Since June 2013, in order to combat suspected "job-hopping" by FDHs, ImmD has strengthened the assessment of employment visa applications from FDHs who changed employers repeatedly within a short period of time.  ImmD later implemented a series of measures to further combat "job-hopping", including improving the visa application assessment workflow, increasing manpower to handle cases, and issuing clear operational guidelines to staff, which include checking relevant records of employers and FDHs, and contacting the former employers and FDHs suspected of "job-hopping" to understand the reasons for premature contract termination etc."

He added that ImmD will continue to and review the effectiveness of the measures.



Law said the Labour Department (LD) has "all along been encouraging employers to purchase air tickets for FDHs instead of providing them with cash equivalent to the value of an air ticket... to reduce the chance of FDHs or employment agencies (EAs) not returning to their places of origin or not arranging FDHs to return to their places of origin after receiving from employers free return passage to the places of origin."



He also rejected a proposal for the government to introduce a probationary period in which employers can terminate their contracts with their helpers, because this would also make it easier for helpers to terminate their contracts prematurely, with the cost of recruitment still shouldered by employers.

IBP bats for paralegal training for Filcom leaders

Consul General Antonio A. Morales (above) meets with a delegation from the Intergrated Bar of the Philippines. 

By Daisy CL Mandap

Lawyers from the national office of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines have suggested holding a paralegal training for Filipino community leaders in Hong Kong to make them better equipped to handle legal queries from their members.

The suggestion came from June Ambrosio-Macaspac, director of IBP’s National Center for Legal Aid (NCLA), during a visit by her team to Hong Kong on Dec 15-16.

June Ambrosio-Macaspac, director of IBP’s National Center for Legal Aid (NCLA), and Congen Morales shake hand on future joint projects.

In a meeting with Consul General Antonio A. Morales, Macaspac said there is a group with the University of the Philippines College of Law which conducts formal paralegal training for private individuals or companies. She said their training module could be shortened to fit the needs of overseas Filipino workers.

Congen Morales responded positively to the suggestion, but asked if it was possible to have just a day-long session to minimize costs.

He also asked if the NCLA could coordinate the visits of the various IBP chapters that come to Hong Kong regularly to provide one-on-one legal consultations so the free service could be better utilized.

In a separate meeting with Filcom leaders earlier, the IBP-NCLA team was also asked if a referral system could be set up so OFWs with legal problems or cases could be given names of lawyers in their hometowns who could best provide the services they need.



This, according to Ching Baltazar of Balikatan sa Kaunlaran Hong Kong Council, would help ensure that OFWs are not squeezed for their hard-earned money by unscrupulous lawyers.

Baltazar said, “Ok lang magbayad, pero huwag namang sobra.”



Macaspac said in response that NCLA is ready to give free legal advice to OFWs even if they earn more than what is prescribed for indigent clients.

“Nililibre na ho namin kayo kahit na may means test, at ang kinikita ninyo ay lampas doon sa prescribed income,” she said.



Another leader, Josie Pingkihan of Cordillera Alliance, asked if it was possible for NCLA to come up with primers on such common legal issues such as transfer of title, or respond to their so-called “frequently asked questions.”

Another suggestion was for NCLA to set up a data base of basic information about such issues affecting many migrant workers such as annulment, child custody and property rights.



Other suggestions included setting up a hotline to NCLA for HK migrant workers, a Facebook page where they can post questions, or video consultations with lawyers on Sundays when most OFWs are off work.

Macaspac promised to look into all the suggestions and try to come up with a more efficient way for NCLA to respond to the OFWs’ concerns.