Pinay DH fighting for life after being hit by runaway taxi

By The SUN

 

Abunda (center) celebrated her 46th birthday with friends one day before the tragedy

A Filipina domestic helper remains in coma at Queen Mary Hospital tonight, 36 hours after being hit by a taxi which ran out of control in Aberdeen. She had just taken her 10-year-old ward to school when the accident happened.

Marilou P. Abunda, who celebrated her 46^th birthday only on Thursday, May 23, was reportedly conscious when taken by police to the hospital, but immediately lapsed into a coma on arrival.

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Welfare officer Marivic Clarin who visited Abunda at the hospital only a few hours ago said medical personnel were hesitant to give out information about the patient’s condition but the prognosis did not appear good.

“Pinatingnan naman sa amin pero ayaw magsalita ng mga nurses. Kinalbo na siya dahil may brain hemorrhage,” said Clarin. However, she was not sure if this was in preparation for an operation.

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Clarin also said Abunda’s friends had told her the victim sustained the most injuries because she had apparently tried to shield an elderly woman from the runaway taxi.

Abunda’s friends were especially disconsolate because just a day before the tragic accident, they had joined the victim in celebrating her birthday at their hangout in Central.

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According to Elenita Rubello, Abunda’s friend and townmate from Hilongos, Leyte, the celebration was simple but fun, with the group sharing food they had prepared and taking photos with the celebrator before parting ways in the  evening.

TV video of  the carnage in Aberdeen, shows Abunda (in white) lying in a pool of blood 

Little did they know that tragedy would strike just a few hours after their fun get-together.

Abunda, who has been separated from her husband for years and is childless, has been working for her employer, Chris Lee and his family, for the past 16 years.

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Clarin said Lee has been looking after Abunda well, hardly leaving her side while working on getting her relatives fly to Hong Kong as soon as possible to comfort her.

With help from the Consulate and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, Lee had managed to issue an invitation letter to Abunda’s sister-in-law Jocelyn and niece Loriepel  so they could fly out to Hong Kong immediately to be by the helper’s bedside.

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Lee reportedly told Clarin that Abunda had just taken his younger daughter to her school and was waiting to cross a second pedestrian lane near their home when the accident happened.

Photos from the scene of the crash show the steel pole with the traffic light at the pedestrian crossing landing partly on Abunda’s body, and her head resting atop a pool of blood.

Another woman lay unconscious beside her, while an elderly woman is on her other side, sitting up and apparently unharmed.

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A police spokeswoman told The SUN that a total of seven people were injured in the crash, which happened at the junction of Aberdeen Main Road and Aberdeen Reservoir Road at 9am yesterday, May 27.

 

The taxi came to a halt on the opposite side of the road after hitting pedestrians at the junction crossing 

The injured were all taken to hospital, including the 70-year-old taxi driver, who suffered head injuries.

Two women, including Abunda, were admitted in critical condition.

According to the spokeswoman, Abunda was conscious at the scene, and “claimed she had injury on her head.”

Media reports said the driver apparently lost control of his vehicle while going down  Aberdeen Main Road, and plowed into a group of people standing at a pedestrian crossing, before hitting a steel railing and coming to a halt.

However, police said no arrests have been made, and their investigation is continuing.

Rubello said she and her friends only learned about the tragedy late last night, when she saw a message sent from Abunda’s phone saying: “This is Malou’s boss. Pls call me. Urgent.”

Rubello immediately returned the call and learned the sad news. Early this morning, it was passed on to Rodelia Villar, founder of the Domestic Workers Corner online group, who immediately contacted the Consulate and The SUN to get help.

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Makabayan supporters hold victory party amid claims of vote-rigging

By Daisy CL Mandap

Makabayan HK says thanks despite its unexpected poor showing in the recent polls  

Shaking off an unexpectedly poor turnout in Hong Kong for their candidates, supporters of the Makabayan political bloc in the Philippines had a victory and thanksgiving party at Repulse Bay on May 27.

As most of their leaders said at the gathering, “Hindi sa eleksyon nagtatapos ang lahat. Ituloy ang laban.”

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But they also had reasons to celebrate. Their perennial top-drawer among the party-lists, Bayan Muna, still won three seats in Congress, although it surprisingly took a backseat to newbie pro-administration group, ACT-CIS, in the national vote.

“That was a real surprise, as Bayan Muna consistently ranked first in the surveys,” said Makabayan Hong Kong spokesperson Eman Villanueva.

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Other affiliated groups, Gabriela, ACT Teachers and Kabataan each won a seat, but a fourth, Anakpawis, failed to garner enough votes to regain its Congress slot.

It was a hard-fought win, as the leftist bloc came under heavy red-tagging campaign by pro-administration candidates during the election period.

The leftist bloc vows to fight on

But Makabayan’s attempt to secure a seat in the Senate through former Rep. Neri Colmenares, failed anew.

In Hong Kong, the trouncing was more severe, as Colmenares came only at no 21, way below the 12 winning slots, but still ahead than all the opposition candidates who ran under the Otso Diretso banner.

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In the party-list vote, Bayan Muna was relegated only to the fifth slot, after ACT CIS, the Jesus Is Lord-backed CIBAC or Citizens Battle Against Corruption, the pro-administration’s AA Kasosyo, and Sagip, which was pushed by the Iglesia Ni Cristo church.

It was the first time since overseas elections were held in 2004 that the top party-list slot was not won by the leftist bloc.

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In a statement released a day after the election on May 13, Villanueva denounced what he called the “dirty, deadly, deceptive elections by a desperate Duterte.”

The statement alleged that the Duterte administration had pulled out all stops to ensure victory, especially in the Senate, through vote buying, intimidation of opponents, and patronage politics.

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These allegedly happened on top of some electronic tampering that ensured a near-sweep of the elections by pro-administration candidates.

Still, Villanueva said that while it was the dirtiest elections since the time of the late dictator Ferdinand E, Marcos, it also forged unity among the opposition.

“The recent elections have shown how opposition to the administration is spreading across political parties and blocs,” he said.

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Indeed, this appeared to be the case in Hong Kong, when Makabayan campaigners often had to link arms with supporters of Otso Diretso, as they had four common candidates for the Senate.

At the victory party, a big group of Otso supporters also came to show solidarity and echo calls for further cooperation to stop what they see as a looming dictatorship by President Duterte.

A nationalistic beauty contest to lighten the mood

But it was not all serious talk at the beachfront party, as about 100 Makabayan volunteers and their guests played games, shared a hearty lunch, swam, and even staged a beauty and talent contest.

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Judge slams police inaction in jewelry theft

By Vir B. Lumicao

Judge says police should have also arrested the Indonesian maid who stole the jewels pawned by her Filipina friend

A District Court judge has scored Hong Kong police for not taking action against an Indonesian helper who he said appeared to have stolen jewelry pieces from her employer on The Peak which she then asked a Filipina friend to pawn.

Judge Stanley Chan’s criticism of the police came on May 27 before he sentenced Filipina maid Merlie Corpuz, 56, to 10 months in jail after she pleaded guilty to two counts of handling stolen goods, a downgrade from the original charge of burglary.

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The judge asked the prosecutor pointedly why the Indonesian, Winarti, was not arrested for her role in the crime while her friend, Corpuz, was charged, when she only admitted to pawning the stolen jewelry.

“Why have the police not taken action against Winarti when it appears she has committed the stealing offense twice? At this moment, the defendant is awaiting sentencing for the theft committed by another person,” Chan said.

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The judge said there was no Immigration record of Winarti’s movement because the police did not take action against her. He said she could still be in town committing the same offense on other people.

He ordered the prosecutor  to state in her case report that police had not acted against Winarti.

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The judge then turned to the defendant and told her that what he had just discussed with the prosecutor had nothing to do with her own case, which had been amended to handling.

“But if you want to help in the investigation of your friend, please let the court know. It will be to your benefit,” Judge Chan said.

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In mitigation, the defense counsel said Corpuz, a widow with three children and seven grandchildren, came to Hong Kong as a domestic helper in 1990 and worked for her first employer for 18 years before moving to another who lived on The Peak.

Corpuz reportedly had a clear record and was remorseful, and got only $100 from hocking the earrings for $800, and $300 from the $2,000 for the anklets. The rest all went to her Indonesian friend.

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The judge imposed on Corpuz discounted sentences of 8 months in jail for handling the stolen earrings and 10 months for the anklets, to be served concurrently.

But Corpuz’s lawyer told her after the sentencing that she would be released on May 27 because she had already been in custody for 11 months.

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The judge challenged the prosecution’s case against Corpuz, who was first charged with burglary for allegedly stealing a pair of diamond earrings and a another pair of gold anklets from The Peak flat of a certain Ms Li, on Jun 9 and 17 last year.

Corpuz was about to enter her plea on May 23 when the judge noticed loopholes in the prosecution’s case.

He asked why the charge was burglary when the defendant said in her police statement that Winarti had given her the jewelry to pawn. 

The judge noted Corpuz claimed she pawned the items, believing they were Winarti’s.

The Indonesian had invited Corpuz to work for a month in Li’s flat when she went on vacation.

The judge said there were two main set-ups in the case:

First, he did not believe the pawnshop valued the earrings at $100,000 then paid Corpuz only $800 for the pair. He said pawnshops give a high valuation to invite business.

He told Ms Chan he changed the earring’s valuation phrase in the charge to “believed to be worth $100,000” after hearing it was the victim, Ms Li, who gave the value. He asked Ms Chan whether Li had taken out insurance for the jewelry, but he did not go further.

Secondly, the judge asked why the rear door of Li’s flat next to Corpuz’s employers’ flat was unlocked. He said after 6:30 am on Jun 14 when Winarti had surrendered all the keys following her termination, there was no evidence anyone else entered the premises.

The judge asked if Winarti left Hong Kong after Jun 14, but Ms Chan said Immigration had no record of the Indonesian’s movement between Jun 8 and July 8 last year.

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Militant groups honor deceased feisty member

Macatol being seen off at the airport by her employers and friends in July last year

By Daisy CL Mandap

A somber mood came over most of those who gathered on Sunday, May 27, for the victory and thanksgiving party of Makabayan supporters in Hong Kong, as they paid homage to one of their own who passed on just days earlier.

Tellez paying tribute to 'Tita Vio'

Violeta Madeja Macatol, 63, died at about 6:30am on May 16, less than a year after she was found to have stage 4 blood cancer, forcing her to bid Hong Kong goodbye.

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Cynthia Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, led the remembrance, recalling how their feisty volunteer case worker had vowed to outlast the three months she was given by doctors in early July last year.

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“I  will get stronger, I will get better,” the woman who preferred to be called “Tita Vio” had reportedly said.

She left Hong Kong for good on Jul 1 last year, and was seen off at the airport by her employer Edith Yuen and her siblings, whom she had served for 16 years.

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Also on hand were a couple of friends including Tellez, who handed a last-minute “Happy Homes” award to both Macatol and Yuen.

Macatol's photo on her coffin

Although she bravely fought to live longer, even checking herself into the hospital straight from the airport, Macatol’s health seemed to have gradually worsened.

She was laid to rest on May 22 in her hometown of Bansud, Oriental Mindoro, with dozens of family members and friends gathering to bid her farewell.

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At the Hong Kong memorial, Tellez remembered with sadness that Macatol was among those who had joined the fun in the last post-election outing the group had, also on Repulse Bay.  

She was an ubiquitous presence in many other activities organized by allied organizations, including United Filipinos (Migrante) Hong Kong, and ACFIL, or Association of Concerned Filipinos.

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Tellez also remembered Macatol’s contagious sense of humor, like how she preferred to be called Tita Vio instead of Violy, saying it was more “sosyal.”

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But it was her firm militancy that Macatol will always be remembered for.

“You were always a fighter,” said Tellez of her late colleague and friend. “May you rest in power.”

See related story here: 

https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=violy

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