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| Secretary Bello |
By Daisy CL Mandap
Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has moved his
visit to Hong Kong from this weekend to Sept.
24-25.
This was according to Eman Villanueva, secretary general of
United Filipinos – Migrante Hong Kong, which is organizing the Filipino
community meeting with Secretary Bello.
“We were informed about it only recently, and we are still
trying to make sure it will push through before making an announcement,” said
Villanueva.
Unifil-Migrante had moved forward to Sept 4 a rally for a
higher wage and better work security for domestic helpers that they had
originally set to Sept 11 in anticipation of the visit.
Luckily, the venue that they had booked for the meeting was
still free on the new dates given to them for the visit.
Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre confirmed the new dates but
said the Secretary’s itinerary was yet to be set.
Unifil’s original plan was for Secretary Bello to meet from
with Filipino community leaders from 2-5 pm at the University of Hong Kong
Part of the plan was to take Secretary Bello to Chater Road and
Garden in Central where thousands of Filipinos congregate on Sundays “para
makita niya ang tunay na kalagayan ng ng ating mga manggagawa dito,” said
Villanueva.
During the consultation, Unifil plans to present the
long-standing demands of overseas Filipino workers, including the strict
implementation of the government’s no placement fee policy and scrapping many of the fees imposed on OFWs.
Another key demand, which is the removal of the overseas
employment certificate (OEC), has already been met, but Villanueva said his
group still wants clarification on the resolution which is due to take effect
on Sept. 15.
Another issue they are anxious to discuss with Secretary Bello
is the case of former labor attache Manuel Roldan, who was let off lightly
despite accusations he allowed his driver to operate an employment agency in
violation of anti-graft laws.
Roldan was also cited for extending accreditation to 90 new
employment agencies, despite a long-standing freeze on the practice.
But Roldan was found guilty only of simple misconduct, for
which he was ordered suspended for one month and one day, or to pay an amount
equivalent to his pay for this period.
