Pinay jailed 30 days for $21k theft in employer’s house

By Vir B. Lumicao

Malana admitted the theft in Eastern Court 

A Filipina domestic worker who had been working for less than two months for her employer has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for stealing the personal belongings of the employer’s niece worth more than $20,000.

Maricris Malana, 30, pleaded guilty to theft before Eastern Court Magistrate Peter Chun on Feb 12.

Malana was accused of stealing in the house of her employer Winnie Yung Wai-yee in Green Lane, Happy Valley, various items worth a total of $21,600. The items belonged to Yung’s niece, Christy Cheung Hiu-ching.

The prosecution said the thefts took place between Sept 4 and Oct 26 last year, while Malana was working for Yung.

A prosecution report said the stolen items included a Hermes wallet worth $20,000, a silver necklace that cost $500, a silver ring valued at $300, a YSL lipstick worth $300 and a pair of Zara boots valued at $500.

All the stolen items had been recovered because the defendant kept them in her drawer instead of disposing of them immediately, the prosecution said.

Cheung, who was staying with Yung, reportedly noticed that some of her personal property were missing but took no heed.

But on Oct 26, Yung found all the missing items in a drawer in the maid’s room. Cheung confirmed they were her property.

Yung recorded the theft to police and Malana was arrested. 

Magistrate Chun said Malana, who has a son in the Philippines, came to Hong Kong in 2017 and worked for another employer before she started working for Yung on Sept 4, 2017.

The defendant, a Hotel and Restaurant Management graduate, had a clear record.

The judge said Malana’s offense was a serious breach of trust, considering that she committed it inside her employer’s flat.

But because she pleaded guilty and the stolen items were recovered, Chun said he was sentencing the helper to 30 days in jail, instead of the 40 days that he had in mind.

Malana was accompanied to Eastern Court by an officer of the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge and about half a dozen of her fellow wards at the shelter run by the Mission for Migrant Workers.

The prosecution said Cheung, who was staying with Yung, noticed that some of her personal property were missing but took no heed.

But on Oct 26, Yung found the wallet, silver necklace and ring, lipstick and pair of boots in the drawer in the maid’s room. Cheung confirmed they were her property.

Yung recorded the theft to police and Malana was arrested. 

A ‘Bagong Bayani’ goes home for good

By Daisy CL Mandap

Consul Deric Atienza handed the Consulate's plaque of appreciation to Ching on Feb 3, the day she went home for good 

Up until the day before she was to return home for good in the Philippines, multi-awarded migrant worker Conchita “Ching” Baltazar was hard at work in the kitchen.

At the last minute, her employers for the last 12 years of her stay in Hong Kong decided to throw a party, and Ching did not think twice about canceling a previously arranged farewell dinner so she could do their bidding.

“Nakiusap na i-train ko yung kapalit ko,” said Ching, with nary a trace of annoyance in her voice. “Tinuruan kong gumawa ng Hainan chicken.”

Still, she was gratified when on leaving their house for the last time, her male employer, a lawyer, bid her goodbye with tears in his eyes. He reportedly said, “We will never find another one like you.”

Ching shows off her newest award to BSK members on the Admiralty bridge where they hang out

Indeed, her dedication to work - and passion for helping fellow migrants - made Ching, who decided to go home for good on Feb 3, a month after turning 65 years old, one of the most exemplary overseas Filipino workers to have served in Hong Kong.

Ching is the recipient of two top awards from the Philippine government, the Bagong Bayani presidential award in 1999, and the Bayani Cagayanos award presented by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the local government in Tuguegarao City in 2001.

She also remembers receiving some sort of a public service award from former President Fidel V. Ramos in the 1990s, but when pressed for more information, just shrugged it off, like it was not that important.

This remarkable humility was another trait that endeared Ching to many in the community. Despite her string of achievements which many Filcom leaders could only aspire for, Ching never threw her weight around.

And, while she may have been called “Bossing” by many of her friends, it was more a term of endearment than an acknowledgment of superiority because Ching dirtied her hands along with everyone else when it came to work.

She was legendary for not taking phone calls, much less chat via social media, while attending to the needs of her employers and their three grown-up sons, all of whom became lawyers like their father when Ching was already part of their household.

She was the only help in a huge Taikoo Shing flat which had two floors and a rooftop, which meant she had to do everything, from cleaning to cooking and washing clothes.

“Nag ha handwash pa yan,” said her friend Cristina, who is clearly in awe of the veteran migrant.

Another group close to Ching's heart is Card HK, which provides financial literacy and livelihood training to OFWs

Indeed, Ching was from a vanishing breed of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who are so focused on their work that they do not fritter time away on Facebook or chatting with friends.

Luckily, Ching had loyal friends who willingly helped her set up an email account, worked on her organization’s logo, and typed out her solicitation letters the few times she decided to hold an event.

Outside of her employer’s home, Ching was equally unstoppable in the various roles she assumed to help serve her fellow migrant workers.

She was founding president of Balikatan sa Kaunlaran Hong Kong Council, a provider of livelihood training for migrants; and a financial literacy and livelihood trainor for Card HK Foundation.

As if these didn’t make her busy enough, Ching often volunteered for projects ran by the Philippine Consulate and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, and attended many livelihood courses offered by various groups. These included the six-month long Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship program for migrant Filipinos offered by the Ateneo School of Government.

Ching’s swan swong was the realization of her long-held dream of holding a livelihood fair on Chater Road last November, where various groups providing skills training to OFWs displayed their products.

No less than Consul General Antonio A. Morales and Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre spent the whole morning with Ching’s BSK, a clear proof of how much her work for the community was valued by even the country’s top representatives here.

The last award she received was a plaque of appreciation from ConGen Morales, which cited Ching’s support for the Consulate’s various projects, and her “invaluable contribution to the upgrading of skills of Filipino Community members in Hong Kong…”

Ching first came to Hong Kong in 1985, after realizing that her management degree and job as bookkeeper in a government agency could mean her compromising her ideals just to pacify some officials who expected her to fiddle with the books.

After working uninterrupted for 20 years, she headed home when her older brother Peter decided to run as mayor in their hometown of Enrile in Cagayan, so she could help in his campaign.

Peter won by a landslide but managed to serve only briefly, as he was murdered by a political rival. That made Ching fear for her own safety.

Despondent and wanting to help provide for the large brood her brother had left behind, Ching made her way back to Hong Kong in early 2007, just over a year since her return home.

As with many of those who succeed because of hard work, Ching managed to turn her life around again. She was able to send six of her nieces and nephews through college and buy some real properties, including an apartment row and a house in Laguna, from her earnings as an OFW.

Despite some misgivings, she also helped bring over to Hong Kong some of her nieces, all college graduates, who decided to follow her journey as a migrant. A nephew who had gone all the way to Afghanistan in search of work, is now reportedly earning well enough to take over the job of supporting his siblings.

While she may have gone home for good, Ching is not done doing projects. For one, there is that cleaning service business hatched up among her classmates at Ateneo’s LSE program that is waiting to be pursued back in Manila.

Along with her live-in partner for the last couple of years, Ching is also looking at starting her own livelihood projects in Laguna, which could be partly funded by her share in the sale of some ancestral properties in Cagayan.

Serving her in good stead is her frugal ways, which means the long service pay she had collected from her employers and deposited directly into her bank account in the Philippines would go a long way.

It would seem that life is all set for Ching, after all the hard work she did working away from home for the past 32 years – but not quite.

“Ma mi-miss ko ito,” she says, her hand sweeping across the happy groups of migrants camped at her group’s favorite haunt on a bridge in Admiralty.

They, in turn, would surely miss her more. Ching’s work ethic, humility and passion for helping others made her one of a rare breed of migrants, the ones who will long be remembered by many in the community.

5 Pinoy tourists on trial for attempted pickpocketing

The five Filipino tourists are being tried at District Court

By Vir B. Lumicao

Five Filipino tourists who allegedly tried but failed to pick the wallet of a Korean female tourist in Central 10 months ago stood trial at the District Court on Feb 11, after pleading not guilty to a charge of attempted theft.

Defendants Zenaida Aviles, Rasim Linambos, Arlene Gerodias, Manuelito Camacho and Delia Tagalo remain in custody nearly 11 months since they were arrested following the botched theft on Apr 24 last year.

Judge David Dufton had to call for a break in the hearing twice during the morning session as four of the defendants shifted their language of choice from Cebuano to Tagalog.

Initially, only Aviles and Linambos chose to answer in Tagalog during the trial, while the rest said they preferred Cebuano. But after the charges were read to Aviles and Linambos, the fifth defendant, Tagalo, also asked to use Tagalog.

Dufton called for a break which lasted more than 20 minutes so the lawyers could consult their clients on the language and seating arrangement changes.

After the language issue was settled, another snag came up when some changes had to be made in the admitted facts. The judge had to give the court another recess.

The first witness called was a police officer in plain clothes who said he tailed the suspects after he observed them acting suspiciously in the MTR station in Wanchai on Apr 24 last year.

He followed them until they exited in Central, walked around World-Wide House and re-entered the station where they spotted their alleged victim, the Korean woman, at the concourse.

They followed the victim down an escalator and sandwiched her. When they got to the bottom of the escalator, two of the defendants in front of the victim suddenly stopped.

The officer said he saw Aviles dip her hand into the bag of the victim and pull out her wallet, but it was chained to the bag. The officer arrested Aviles and immediately radioed his team, who arrested the other suspects separately.

The prosecutor said eight witnesses, all officers who were either part of the arresting team or investigators of the defendants, are expected to give evidence.

But the Korean victim, who was described as a “substantial witness,” declined to testify.

Dufton was adamant to get the trial started on Monday, telling one of the defense lawyers who had suggested an adjournment that it would mean a further delay of four months.

The trial continues.  

OFW poets get advanced lessons in Cha workshop

Kate Rogers with the OFWs who took part in her second Cha workshop

By Vir B. Lumicao

Poetry should sound like a conversation piece and not be encumbered by grammar rules, aspiring poets among Filipino helpers in Hong Kong were told in a creative writing workshop held on Feb 10 at Chinese University in Hong Kong.

Canadian poet Kate Rogers, who held the workshop under the auspices of the Asian literary journal Cha, described the Filipino workers’ English proficiency as advanced compared with her university students.

Rogers also said they have a good understanding of poetry, which was why she decided to push for a workshop for Filipino helpers.

She said the day’s topic, free verse, was born when some US and British poets at the beginning of the 20^th century decided to break away from structured poetry and introduced free verse to make poetry more accessible to people.

Rogers, a former full-time lecturer in literature at the Community College of City University, told the seven workshop participants that free verse advocates discard rhyme and meter.

“No one will make a connection with poetry, it will only be for people with a very high level of education… it will only be cerebral, that is, in the head and not in the heart” if it remains structured, Rogers said, quoting the free verse poets.

She said in free verse, a poet should stop thinking about grammar, such as conjunctions and prepositions, as poetry is dreamlike.

“That kind of fits with my idea that there is less structure and, therefore you don’t need grammar because grammar is to create structure, right? … So, I think if you keep those things in mind, perhaps you will relax a little bit.”

The workshop held at the CUHK in Shatin was a continuation of a government-funded program launched by Cha, CUHK and HKBU to unlock and develop the hidden literary talent of the migrant workers.

It was Rogers who suggested conducting a workshop also for Filipino helpers after Cha and its partners launched a similar program for local students and economically and socially disadvantaged migrant groups.

 “Maybe domestic helpers, many of whom are very smart and often educated if they have a chance to get education but surely not lacking in intelligence…I said maybe a workshop for them will also be good,” Rogers recalls telling Cha and its partners last year.

Cha, CUHK and HKBU obtained funding from the government last year for the workshops. The first for OFWs got under way last October with more than 20 poets-to-be taking part in a session held by Dr Jason Polly.

Rogers speaks highly of Filipino poets, such as Ricardo de Ungria and Luis H. Francia, whose works she came across when she was invited to speak at the University of Santo Tomas last year. In the Feb 10 session, she used Francia’s “The Hand” as a pattern in the build-a-poem activity.    

The first batch of 10 participants under Rogers held their initial session on Nov 18. Eight did not show up for the second meeting, but six new, enthusiastic participants took up their places.

Rogers will hold three more sessions before flying back to Toronto later this year, but she said someone else will continue the workshop.

Rogers began the first session by putting the participants through a vocabulary and word-and-picture matching exercises based on the words George Ella Lyon used in her poem, “Where I’m From”.

The second session, designed for advanced students, focused on poem-building that involved brainstorming – or figuring out –a poem. This began with line-by-line unfolding using “the bright sun” by local poet Leung Ping-kwan, followed by filling the missing words patterned after “Anthem” by Aaliya Zaveri.

The last, most challenging activity was rebuilding “At the Bomb Testing Site” by William Clifford putting together cut-out phrases from his poem without reading it first.

The poet, who has won awards in various poetry contests in Hong Kong and overseas, said her aim is to enable the OFW workshop participants to write their own poems and, hopefully, get them published later by Cha.