Terminated Filipino workers in Hong Kong appeal for govt help

ABS-CBN News MANILA—Two Filipino workers are seeking assistance from the Philippine government after they were terminated by their employers amid a COVID-19 surge in Hong Kong. Speaking to ANC's Rundown, Mylene Commission said her visa application was rejected by the immigration department. She later learned she tested positive for COVID-19. "Sana mapansin nila 'yung maliliit na, 'yung katulad po namin kasi sa last few days, pati nga ako naii-stress, nade-depress na. Naaawa na kami sa sarili namin. Hindi lang kasi ako, marami po talaga kami, na sobrang apektado po nitong nangyari samin," she said. "'Yung wala ka ng trabaho, na-COVID ka pa, tapos 'yung pamilya mo na umaasa diyan sa Pilipinas, hindi namin alam kung saan kami kukuha ng isusuporta sa kanila," she added. Meanwhile, Roxanne Florendo said she was terminated after she failed to return to work due to a flight cancellation in the Philippines. "Some of us suffer from anxiety and depression kasi sobrang hirap ng situwasyon ngayon," she said. Both are staying at a shelter run by a non-government organization. Should they be ordered to return to the Philippines, they called on the government to provide displaced workers with financial assistance. Commission is a single mother who provides for her children while Florendo's mother was supposed to undergo surgery. The Hong Kong government has assured Manila it would protect the rights of overseas Filipino workers amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government reminded employers of OFWs, mostly domestic helpers, of their legal obligations to take care of their employees even if they are stricken with the virus. Hong Kong employers who will be found guilty of violating regulations will be prosecuted and fined up to $100,000. Employers are also reminded of the possible violation of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance if they mistreat their domestic helpers due to COVID-19 infection. "Any breach of such requirements will render them ineligible to employ an FDH (foreign domestic helpers) for a period of time and their visa applications for FDHs will be refused," said the HKSAR.

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