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Four more Filipina domestic workers sacked amid Covid-19 scare

Posted on 21 February 2020 No comments

By Vir B. Lumicao

An OFW sacked earlier amid fears of the Covid-19 spread

A Filipina helper who insisted on going out to pick up her new passport at the Consulate so she could renew her work visa had been dismissed by her employer who was reportedly paranoid over the Covid-19 contagion in Hong Kong.

Her case was one of four virus-related terminations of Filipino workers in Hong Kong reported to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration on Feb. 20.

The other dismissal involved a maid whose employer was relocating to Australia and had to terminate the services of the Filipina, Welfare Officer Marivic C. Clarin said.

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Two related sackings were also reported, both involving Filipina domestic workers who lost their jobs a day after Tuesday's lifting of the travel ban to Hong Kong and Macau. Clarin said their employers lost their patience waiting for the stranded helpers to return/

But there could be others which were not reported to OWWA, as can be seen from several online postings by the dismissed OFWs themselves.

OWWA's Clarin says two Filipinas got sacked after they got stuck because of the travel ban

Clarin said the worker over the passport issue had insisted on going to the PCG and on to the Immigration to pick up her new passport and apply for a new work visa.

But the employer reportedly said that if the maid insisted on leaving, she would have to go for good. They eventually agreed on an early release of the maid, with the employer to pay all her financial obligations to the Filipina.

The other worker was dismissed by her employer who was relocating her family to Australia due to the fear that the novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, was spreading rapidly among Hong Kong people.

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As at noon Thursday, public hospitals had reported to the Department of Health that they admitted 19 patients, comprising 4 male and 15 female aged 6 to 89, in the past 24 hours who met the reporting criteria for Covid-19.

There are now 69 confirmed cases in Hong Kong and 2 deaths. Five patients been discharged upon recovery.

But there are also happy stories for some stranded Filipino workers. Clarin said four local employers had called to ask when their helpers could return to Hong Kong after the travel ban from the Philippines was lifted on Feb. 18.

Clarin said that as soon as the employers confirmed that the lifting of the ban was already in effect, they immediately booked flights for their stranded workers.

The Philippine government partially lifted the travel ban it imposed on Feb 2 to allow tens of thousands of Filipinos to return to their homes and workplaces. But the travel restrictions on their arrival in the Philippines remain in place, including a 14-day self-quarantine.

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Notarized forms and other questions that plague HK-bound OFWs

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By The SUN

Filipino travelers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (DWC photo)

Notarized or not? Medical certificate or barangay clearance? Self-quarantine or total isolation?

These are among the questions that have been fueling debates on online chats among stranded Filipinos preparing to return to their Hong Kong homes and jobsites after the partial lifting of the travel ban from the Philippines on Feb 18.

The biggest debate among overseas Filipino workers was whether the declaration form they are made to sign to indicate their willingness to proceed to Hong Kong despite the spread of the coronavirus or Novid-19, should be notarized or not.

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Despite reports from those who have successfully made it back to Hong Kong that the declaration or waiver form can be secured at the airport at no cost, and with no need of being notarized, talks persist otherwise.

Several frazzled OFWs have even posted pictures of their notarized forms, insisting that one needs to get this done before proceeding to the airport.

They based their information from staff at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration which has been tasked to distribute the form.

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An OFW from Davao who was frantically trying to book a flight back to Hong Kong said she had called the POEA office in her area and was told that she needed to pick up the form from their office.

“Need po kumuha ng declaration at ipapa notaryo po. Then ipapadala nila sa Manila, then ibabalik sa yo (at) iyon ang dadalhin mo sa airport,” she said.

“May dalawa akong kasama nakapagpa notaryo na kanina.”

She would not listen even when told that she didn’t have to go through the trouble as many of those who had flown out had reported.

Another OFW named Daphne said that even after seeing on a TV news report that the form could be filled right at the airport, she was still confused as to what was right.

Sample of a notarized declaration shared by a confused OFW

“Kasi may form yung friend ko. Sabi nya ipapa xerox, then ipapapirma sa attorney. Kaya nalilito na ako kung ano ba talaga ang dapat gawin, kasi sa Monday na flight (ko). Kailangang maihabol ma process bukas.

A cursory check of posts made by several OFWs who have already flown back to Hong Kong show, however, that nobody had any trouble picking up the form at the POEA counter at the airport, and signing it right there.

But the trouble may have been due largely to the form being set out to look like a notarial declaration, with spaces for a notary to fill and sign. Add to this the lack of guidance or information for the OFWs from the websites of POEA or even the Department of Labour and Employment.

Asked to explain the confusing signals, Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Overseas Employment Administration said in a short message: "The DOJ (Department of Justice) and POEA say it should be notarized, Ma'am. This goes jnto the substance of the document."

He did not reply when asked why no advisory has been issued to this effect, and why many OFWs have been allowed to fly even without having the declaration form notarized.

The inbound travel restrictions which remain in place have also caused confusion to many, particularly because of the 14-day self-quarantine period required of Filipinos arriving from Hong Kong, Macau and China.

Many OFWs are particularly concerned about the 14-day requirement as only a few are being allowed home leaves for that length of time. They also worry about whether they could get out of the house, or even go near their family members.

The quarantine form to be signed by every Filipino arriving in the Philippines from HK

Many inquiries online were from OFW parents anxious to attend their children’s upcoming graduations but have permission to stay in the

Philippines

for only a few days.

Many were disappointed on being told that they need to stay in the country for the entire 14-day quarantine as they will not be allowed to depart back to Hong Kong otherwise.

Others were worried that they would not be allowed to go onstage to be with their graduating child because they're supposed to be on self-quarantine.

Another question was the offshoot of several unfounded claims: that Filipinos who entered the Philippines from Feb 2 onwards should get either a medical or a barangay clearance being allowed to board their flights back to Hong Kong or Macau.

The reason cited was that the clearance was needed to prove that the passenger was free of any symptoms after undergoing self-quarantine for 14 days. This was not among the instructions given them when they flew into the country, but many were still bothered by the persistent talks that they needed to do this.

Again, the only way this was disproved was through a first-person account by an airline crew. Her colleague recounted: “We have a crew who went to the barangay but even the staff there don’t know what to give them. LOL. In the end, she went to the airport na lang and managed to get on the flight. From passport entry stamp it was obvious naman na more than 14days na sya.”

After being stressed out for 16 days because of the travel ban, it is time for the affected Filipinos to get a break.

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Stranded Filipinos begin returning to Hong Kong

Posted on 20 February 2020 No comments

By Daisy CL Mandap

Temperature check at Manila airport for Filipino travelers

Relief has replaced 19 days of anguish and frustration for many Filipinos stranded in the Philippines, as they began flying back to Hong Kong on Feb. 19, a day after the Manila government partially lifted a travel ban to allow them to return to their work and homes.

Although the partial lifting of the ban was supposed to take effect immediately, many opted to wait for at least another day before booking their flights because of a lack of clear guidelines from authorities.

The biggest concern was over the waiver or declaration that overseas Filipino workers were supposed to make before being allowed to fly back to Hong Kong. Confusion grew when some netizens said the declaration was supposed to be in legal form, and notarized.

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Another concern was whether all Hong Kong-bound passengers were meant to show either a medical clearance or a barangay certificate before being allowed to board, as other worried travelers said they had been told.

In the end, the qualms were all for naught as the passengers who braved flying out at the first opportunity reported sailing though the check-in and immigration control.

Among the first to post about a hassle-free flight out of Manila was Jennifer Silvano-Briones, a teacher and business proprietor who had agonized with her OFW-aunt who had been stuck in Pampanga for nearly a month.

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“There were no issues upon check-in and going through immigration. Everything was smooth sailing (as we expected it to be),” said Briones in an online post.

“There was also no requirement for a notarized declaration. Just make sure that all the blanks are completed, (and) affixed with their signature.”

OFWs are made to sign this declaration saying they voluntarily put themselves of potential risk to Covid-19

She accompanied her post with a copy of the declaration form, which in part requires OFWs to subject themselves to “prescribed health checks by concerned authorities” in the Philippines and their place of work abroad.

The form that the OFW is made to sign also carries the declaration “that I am informed and made aware by government authorities that I am putting myself at potential risk of exposure to CoVid-19 by proceeding to_____ (country or territory).”

Surprisingly, non-OFW residents and dependents are not required to sign the same declaration, even if they remain Filipino citizens entitled to the same protection by their government, and are given the same health protection in Hong Kong as migrant workers.

But for Briones, signing the risk declaration was a small price to pay for her aunt’s seamless return to Hong Kong. They both had waited for a tense two weeks since her aunt was supposed to fly back, after spending the Chinese New Year break in their hometown of Capas, Tarlac.

Because of the travel ban on Filipinos departing for Hong Kong, China and Macau, even Briones’ husband was stranded in Manila, so she was left all by herself looking after their four children – aged 13, 6, 3 and 1 – while running their trading business.

Thus, when news got out that the ban on Filipinos flying to Hong Kong had been lifted, Briones lost no time booking a one-way Cathay Pacific ticket for her aunt, even at the steep price of $1,200. She was to learn later that the price had nearly doubled by the day’s end because of the high demand.

Cathay has been on limited flights to and from Manila since the ban was imposed on Feb. 2, while Hong Kong Airlines flies once a day. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific which used to fly at least thrice daily, have yet to resume their flights.

Jennifer with husband Marc Briones and their 4 children she was left to look after while working

Once her household has settled back to its normal routine and her husband has returned to Hong Kong, Briones says she and her children might take advantage of the prolonged school holiday and fly to the Philippines for a vacation. This time, at least, they won’t have reason to fear that they’d be stuck there indefinitely.

But for others who also want to go home, especially OFWs who have been looking forward to attending their children’s graduation in March, the 14-day self-quarantine that remains in force for Filipinos flying in from Hong Kong, is a big cause for concern.

Nearly all have been granted home leaves that will not be long enough for them to comply with the quarantine period. Others are also worried that overzealous local officials might force them to stay at home to observe self-quarantine.

Asked one in the Facebook page of Domestic Workers Corner, “Sa sitwasyon po natin ngayon tama po bang umuwi tayo sa graduation ng mga anak natin. Wala pa po akong ticket. Magsabi lang daw ako sa amok o ipa-book nila. Isa lang po ang anak ko. Grade 12 po siya. Naguguluhan po ako kasi nagtatanong na amo ko if uuwi pa ako.”

Another replied that she also has one child whose graduation is coming up, but has decided not to push ahead with her plan to go home. Asked why, she said: “Uuwi tapos may home quarantine. Hindi rin ako makaka-attend, useless. Tapos baka habang nasa vacation ka baka biglang mag travel na naman.”

Because of a lack of clear guidelines, the quarantine requirement remains a big cause for concern for all Filipinos traveling to the Philippines. Many of those who had flown to Manila have reported not getting any calls or visits from health officials while some of those who went on to provinces say their barangay officials had been monitoring if they were taking daily temperature checks.

Cebu remains a big trouble spot for those who fly home from Hong Kong, as authorities there require all non-residents to stay in a sanitarium for the entire two weeks of quarantine.

One thing is for sure: they will not be allowed to fly out again until after they have remained in the Philippines for the mandatory 14-day period.

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Infected Filipina is recovered and in good spirits, says PCG

Posted on 19 February 2020 No comments

The first Filipina to get infected by the novel coronavirus or Covid-19 is healthy and in good spirits, says Consul General Raly Tejada, who spoke with her on the phone.

Here is a statement from the Philippine Consulate:

UPDATE ON FILIPINO PATIENT

The Consulate General had a brief telephone conversation with our kababayan. Her voice sounded normal and she is in good spirits. She also has no symptoms (No fever, no colds and no cough). She said that she is well taken care but hospital visits are not allowed given that she is in isolation. Doctors told her she could be released soon if further tests come out negative. She asked that we maintain her privacy and keep her identity secret. The Consulate will continue to monitor her condition and render all necessary assistance.

Consulate officers Virsie Tamayao, Beth Dy and Arnel de Luna
check on the Filipiina's condition at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital

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If you are one of her friends who hung out with her outside City Hall in Central in Feb 9, please contact Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection so you can be tested for the coronavirus. The link to their website is here: https://www.dh.gov.hk/english/tele/tele_enq/tele_enq.html

Covid-19 scare batters Filipino businesses

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By Vir B. Lumicao

WorldWide Plaza which used to teem with Filipinos, is now mostly empty

Businesses in World-Wide Plaza in Central, a favorite haunt of Filipinos, are reeling from the novel coronavirus contagion as sales receipts have shrunk by as much as 70% since most customers have been staying away.

Shopowners and salepersons in the three-storey shopping mall of World-Wide House say the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic now sweeping Hong Kong is worse than the Sars contagion in early 2003.

“Tatlo ang tindahan namin dito sa World-Wide at talagang malaki po ang impact,” one owner of a cosmetics shop who requested not to be named said in an interview on Feb 19.

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She said the downturn this time is worse than during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) because the contagion then was not as widespread, although it was centered in Hong Kong.

Covid-19, which began in December, continues to ravage the central city of Wuhan, where most of China’s 2,010 deaths and 74,185 full-blown cases were reported as of this writing. The total death toll from Sars was about 600, with half of them occurring in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong reported on Feb 19 its second death out of 62 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 since the outbreak began in December last year.

The mall draws in the crowds only on Sundays when many workers send money home

The cosmetics shop owner said the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on her business is much worse than Sars or even the anti-extradition bill protests in the second half of last year.

“Normal sales namin every Sunday used to reach $60,000 to $70,000, now kung maka-$30,000 ka sa Sunday, suwerte mo na,” she said.

She said the downturn that began during the anti-government protests in June last year got worse when Covid-19 spread to Hong Kong, leading the government to advise foreign domestic helpers to remain at home on their rest days.

That appears to have been seen by many employers as a signal that they could already tell their helpers not to go out on Sundays, their usual day off. But the helpers themselves are opting to stay in for fear of the contagion.

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“Noon, may lumalabas pa na mga domestic kahit may rally, pinapayagan sila. This time hindi na sila pinapayagan. Ang inaasahan na lang namin mga Chinese na naghahanap ng alcohol, stuff na ganyan,” she said.

The shopping mall used to teem on Sundays with thousands of OFWs remitting money to their families, buying sundry items such as Philippine snacks, air tickets, clothing, jewelry, etc. Now it looks like a neglected bazaar with just a few people buying small items.

The recent dive in sales is compounded by high rents, such as the $35,000 that this shopowner pays for a small annex of her bigger shop on the second floor. Prices of goods from home have risen on higher transport costs due to flight cancellations by the country’s airlines.

Supplies are now transported by DHL as Cathay Pacific does not carry liquid cargo such as alcohol, sanitizers and lotions, driving up costs that are passed on to the consumers. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific stopped flying to and from Hong Kong since Feb. 2, when the Philippines imposed a travel ban to Hong Kong, Macau and China.

The shopowner said she had to lay off one staff from each of her three shops in World-Wide during the protests to cope with losses, not expecting that another whammy would follow soon.

Tan happily attends to some rare customers at her shop

Her views about the impact of Covid-19 are echoed by other shop owners like Joy Tan, who used to have three adjacent units in the mall, but now has just a corner shop on the third floor where she sells snacks and ladies’ underwear.

“Lugi negosyo,” Tan said. She said only Cathay Pacific carries her goods from the Philippines now, but the airline can’t transport liquids.

“Siyempre naka-rely ang negosyo ko sa pabango, mga liquid (pero) hindi magsasakay ang Cathay. Wala, bra at panty lang sa Avon. Wala, lugi talaga. Wala ka ring maasahang bibili kasi di rin palalabasin ng amo, natatakot ang amo,” she lamented.

Also hit hard are the shop assistants like Nanay Fe Tacderan, who plans to go back to the Philippines on Feb 22 after sales at the garment shop she helps tend dropped to just a fifth of its former level.

“I’m going home. I’m going to plant camote in my yard in Cogeo, Antipolo. Even if I go home, at least I have a plot to plant to camote,” said Nanay Fe, who has been in Hong Kong for 25 years. She first came in as a domestic worker, before becoming a dependant of her daughter who married a local.

Sales have dipped even more in a telecom gadget shop where Janet Garan works as a saleslady. She said the shop used to register sales of $50,000 to $$60,000 on Monday to Friday, and up to $70,000 on a Sunday. “Now, it’s difficult for us to achieve $5,000 sales on weekdays and $24,000 on Sunday,” she said.

She worries that her employer might close the shop during the weekdays because of poor sales.

This is one of the worst downturns for AFreight, which has been in business for 3 decades

One business that is also suffering a steep decline in revenue is A-Freight, the community’s leading door-to-door cargo service which has a shop on the third floor of World-Wide.

Eric Goyena, the shop manager, said sales have dipped by about 50%, adding that the situation during the recent protests was better than now because then, the helpers were still able to go to World-Wide to pack their boxes. This time, they are not allowed to leave their employers’ house.

On the first Sunday of each month, the company used to send out 1,000 boxes for workers’ families in the Philippines, but that has now been halved due to the contagion, he said.

He said that hopefully, the contagion would end during the warmer months and enable businesses to recover from their losses.

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