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| One of possible sites for shelter, located on Victoria Road. |
Reports about a new shelter being offered by the Hong Kong government to house troubled Filipino domestic workers are premature, according to the Consulate.
At this stage nothing has been finalized and there’s no certainty about it, said Consul General Bernardita Catalla, as she requested a media embargo on the issue.
“Let’s not publish anything about the shelter because there’s nothing final about it,” Consul General Bernardita Catalla said.
“Kasi nakakahiya sa Hong Kong, alam mo nakatira ka lang dito. Pangkortesiya yan eh. Before telling the world about something, pinatatawag kami at ini-inform kami especially if the documents are pinai-embargo lang,” Catalla said.p
“Let’s not talk about it, nasa negotiations eh. Baka mainis ang gobyerno e pinangungunahan natin, sinasabi natin yung terms and conditions, wala pa eh, nothing,” she said.
However, another source said the HK government has firmed up the offer for a site in Tsuen Wan and is now just waiting for the Philippine government to submit a "letter of intent" to take it up and shoulder the refurbishment of the building.
The two-storey building in Tsuen Wan is reportedly made up of 12 separate flats which used to house staff of the Water Supplies Department.
Prior to this, Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre inspected six sites being offered by the Hong Kong government as possible shelters for distressed migrant workers, to be run by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.
In a Facebook post, de la Torre showed pictures of two sites he inspected and cited the Tsuen Wan facility as the best possible alternative to the 10-bed facility being rented by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration at the moment.
POLO runs the 652 sq ft., three-bedroom shelter on Belcher’s Street in Kennedy Town, which is being leased for more than $20,000 a month.
Before this, the HK government allowed POLO to take over, rent-free, a disused post office facility in Cheung Sha Wan and use it as the Filipino Workers Resource Center for about 10 years. The place was more than four times the size of the rented flat in Kennedy Town.
According to de la Torre, ConGen Catalla brought up the search for a possible shelter during a recent meeting with Labour and Welfare Secretary Matthew Cheung. The HK official quickly offered several sites which the Consulate could choose fro
“We didn’t expect that they would act so quickly,” Catalla said.
For its part, the Philippines might take some time to match the offer with a letter of intent, given the looming change in administration with the recent election victory of incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
