by Vir B. Lumicao
The date is barely a month away, and about 3,000 have already registered, but no venue has yet been found for the first-ever Civil
Service Examinations for Filipinos in Hong Kong.
For this reason, Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre told The SUN the Civil Service Commission has moved the date of the exam to Dec. 18, instead of the previously announced date of Nov. 27.
But even with the new schedule, the event is still on the waitlist at the CRC's favored site, a hall at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Wanchai.
Labatt de la Torre said he is still hopeful the exam would go ahead as originally scheduled..
“If we’re able to book venues for Nov 27 then we will still go with that date,” Labatt de la Torre said.
Finding a suitable venue is a challenge because the two target dates are among the busiest in Hong Kong's calendar.
Cost constraints are also part of the equation.
Labatt De la Torre said the rental for one day at the HKCEC hall is already $250,000.
He said an alternative venue big enough to accommodate the number of examinees is the AsiaWorld-Expo at Chek Lap Kok.
“Kaya lang $1 million iyon. To break even, we have to have 2,000 examinees,” he said.
The examination fee for overseas Filipinos taking the exams is said to be around US$44 per person.
But gauging from the keen interest shown by Filipinos in the exam, gathering enough examinees shouldn't be a problem.
“I imagine it would top 3,000. Those who may have backed out may be cancelled out by those taking interest for the first time,” Labatt De la Torre said, adding that the deadline for the online registration is Nov 11.
In the absence of a big venue, Labatt De la Torre said the exam could be held simultaneously at three sites.
One of these prospective sites is the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Town, and probably schools because of the need for school desks, he said.
He said he had already checked with the University of Hong Kong and Polytechnic University but their venues won’t be available on the dates they are needed.
Another ideal venue would be the City University in Kowloon Tong, but he said the school wants to host only local events.
