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| Secretary Law with Congen Tejada |
Hong Kong has urged the Philippines to allow its
nationals to return to the city.
The call was formally communicated this afternoon,
Feb. 4, to Consul General Raly Tejada by Hong Kong Labour Secretary Law
Chi-Kwong, during a meeting at the Legislative Council that lasted about 45
minutes.
ConGen Tejada said Secretary Law “made strong
representations for the Philippine government to allow Filipinos to return to
HK.”
The appeal came in the wake of chaos that followed
the Philippine government’s sudden decision to restrict flights to and from
China, Hong Kong and Macau starting Feb. 2, as part of measures to contain the
spread of the novel coronavirus.
As part of the restrictions, Filipinos traveling to these places, including migrant domestic workers, students and residents, have been barred from leaving Manila and other international airports in the Philippines.
As a result, hundreds of Filipinos, many of them domestic
workers in Hong Kong, have been stranded in airports across the Philippines.
A similar number of outbound travelers were also
affected, as the two major airlines that fly several times daily to the
Philippines, cancelled all their flights on both routes.
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According to the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, about 500 workers deployed by its members have been affected by the ban. Another big agency group said 300 of their recruits have been stranded.
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According to the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, about 500 workers deployed by its members have been affected by the ban. Another big agency group said 300 of their recruits have been stranded.
Both Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific said they
will resume flights to Hong Kong on Feb 29, while Cathay Pacific continued
flying to Manila, but did not accept bookings from Filipinos flying out to Hong
Kong.
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In calling for the recall of the ban on returning Filipinos,
Law reportedly assured the Manila government that Hong Kong continues to
undertake vigorous measures to combat the spread of the disease.
In the meantime, the Immigration Department will give
special consideration to workers and other travellers affected by the situation.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave the same assurance about Hong Kong’s unrelenting effort to combat the disease at a news conference
held on Feb. 3, and in a letter addressed to consuls general a day earlier.
She also promised "compassion" in handling immigration and labour problems faced by Filipino migrant workers affected by the ban.
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| CE Lam at the press conference where she addressed the Philippine travel ban |
The Philippines is one of only four countries that have included Hong Kong in the travel restrictions to China in the
wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The others are Italy, Kuwait and North Korea. Vietnam
initially took the same move, but backtracked on the same day after being told how
Hong Kong has been battling the disease.
ConGen Tejada promised to immediately convey the Hong
Kong government’s request to Manila.
He was accompanied to the meeting by Consul Paulo Saret and Philippine Overseas Labor Office head Antonio Villafuerte.
On the same day, one of the biggest migrant workers groups in Hong Kong sent a letter to ConGen Tejada, asking for the same restrictions
on returning Filipinos to be lifted.
The letter from United Filipinos in Hong Kong said in
particular that the ban could lead to loss of jobs for many Filipino domestic workers.
“As domestic workers we do not have the luxury of
time. We are also not afforded job security. We work at the whim of our
employers,” said the letter. If the workers don’t get back to work on time,
they could be terminated, it added.
ConGen Tejada said he had yet to receive a copy of
the letter but promised to act on it immediately.
The Philippines has 70 suspected coronavirus cases,
but only two have been confirmed, including a man from Wuhan who was reported
to have died from the disease 24 hours before the travel ban was imposed. He
was the first person to die from the disease outside of China.
Hong Kong today reported the second death of a
patient outside of the mainland, and the first in the city. Two more confirmed
cases were reported, bringing the total tally to 17.
The last two cases have raised alarm as the source
of infection could not be traced, leading to the suspicion that they had been
transmitted locally.
Across China, the total number of cases have
exceeded 20,000 with more than 420 deaths.
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