Sentosa nurses re-launch campaign for justice in NY

MANILA, Philippines - Supporters of 27 former Sentosa nurses and their lawyer Felix Vinluan recently re-launched their campaign to seek justice against illegal recruitment in New York.

With the theme "Up the Ante," the so-called Sentosa 27++ welcomed last March 22 some 150 representatives from various organizations supporting their quest for justice.

The nurses, former employees of Avalon Gardens in Woodmere, New York, were charged with patient endangerment by SentosaCare after they resigned from their posts in 2006 due to unpaid back wages, discrimination and being recruited under false pretenses.

“We would like to up the ante, to increase the value of our campaign, by giving more attention and focus this time to our civil and federal discrimination cases, and to our Philippine labor cases, as we already won the legal battle in the criminal prosecution front," said Mark Dela Cruz, one of the 10 nurses who were indicted for alleged patient endangerment.

Mary Joy Garcia-Dia of the Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) and Julia Camagong, co-executive director of Philippine Forum, welcomed around 150 representatives from various organizations supporting the Justice for Sentosa 27++ (J4S27++) Campaign.

Rico Foz, executive vice president of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (Nafcon) narrated the history of the campaign – from the time when only the nurses and their lawyers believed in their cause – to the present when support comes from all sectors of society, not only in the US and in the Philippines, but in other countries as well.

Foz’s narrative history was complemented by a video presentation of the Campaign’s events prepared by Jonna Baldres of Anakbayan NY/NJ.

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Second Department, issued last January 13, 2009 a writ prohibiting the nurses’ and Vinluan’s criminal prosecution. The Court ruled that the criminal prosecution violated the nurses’ 13th Amendment right against involuntary servitude and Vinluan’s 1st Amendment right to free speech.

“Even while we are successful in getting the criminal cases dropped, we should strive even harder to obtain our Campaign’s other demands, foremost of which are the dropping of the breach of contract cases against us, and the shutdown of Sentosa Recruitment Agency," said Harriet Avila, another one of the former 10 Avalon nurses who were prosecuted.

Vinluan challenged the organizations and individuals in attendance to remain standing side-by-side with him and the nurses until total justice is obtained, not only for the Sentosa 27++ nurses, but also for the many other Filipino immigrant nurses who continue to suffer silently at Sentosa’s employ.

PNAA’s Leo Felix Jurado and Philippine Nurses Association of New York’s (PNA-NY) Leonila Mariazeta saluted the Sentosa 27++ nurses for their courage in fighting for their rights and reiterated their respective memberships’ unwavering support to the J4S27++ Campaign. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more