 |
| With nearly all flights to Manila from HK cancelled, Ann and her friend are thinking of flying to Taiwan first |
Anna Jean Zamora, a domestic helper in Hong Kong for just
three months, struggled with her large luggage and a heavy backpack as she
phoned a friend on Feb 3 on the sidewalk of World-Wide Plaza
She said she had just been terminated by her employer and
was waiting for her friend to escort her to the employment agency in Kowloon so she could pick up her air ticket and fly home
to Iloilo as
soon as possible.
She said she’d already received her one month’s wage in lieu
of notice but was clueless as to when she could fly back to the Philippines because of a travel ban to and from
Hong Kong that the Manila government had
imposed the day before.
 |
| CALL NOW! |
At least three other helpers had gone to Philippine Overseas
Labor Office on the same day to seek help because their flights to Manila were cancelled.
It was a story told several times during the day, as the
travel ban imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte for all inbound and outbound
flights between Manila and Hong Kong, Macau and China , went on
its second day.
POLO officer-in-charge Antonio Villafuerte said his office was
kept busy the whole day by employment agencies, employers and workers all
asking how to respond to the ban.
Not a few were worried because their visas were expiring,
but they didn’t know when they could head home, or where to stay in Hong Kong while they waited out the ban.
Over in the Philippines ,
hundreds of Filipino overseas workers were left wringing their hands at several
international airports because they, too, could not fly to Hong
Kong because of the ban.
 |
| Anxious OFWs hoping against hope they could still board their flight to HK |
Villafuerte said that those in Hong Kong whose visas are
expiring should go to the Immigration Department to ask for an extension, which
he said would most likely be given as Hong Kong
was aware of the travel ban.
“If they still encounter problems then they could come and
see us in Polo,” Villafuerte said.
He advised those who do not have accommodation to seek
temporary shelter with their employment agencies. Otherwise, they could stay in
low-cost boarding houses, or shelters run by NGOs like the Mission for Migrant Workers or the Catholic
Centre.
For the workers stranded in the Philippines due to the ban,
Villafuerte said they should explain the situation to their employers to avert
dismissal.
“Paliwanagan nila ang mga amo nila kung ano ang nangyayari.
Kung may malawak silang pag-iisip, tatanggapin kayo,” Villafuerte said.
He acknowledged that the biggest potential problem could be
terminations, especially those who are badly needed in Hong
Kong by their employers.
One of the stranded workers had this in mind when she sent a
message online to appeal for help.
“Bakasyon po ako dito sa Pinas. Ang flight ko pabalik sa Hong Kong ay na-cancel… Paano po pag i-terminate ng amo,
may makukuha pa po ba ako sa employer ko? May 7 days pa ako na sahod na naiwan
sa kanila,” Joan Tolentino said in her message.
Villafuerte said that if a termination does occur, all Polo
could do is to help the worker go after the employer for the compensation due
her under the employment contract.
But if there is a chance that the employer could be
convinced to change his or her mind, Polo could try to intercede on the
worker’s behalf.
 |
| Villafuerte says Polo will extend help to OFWs who might be fired for failing to return to work as scheduled |
At least one positive news came the way of the stranded
passengers in Manila ,
when Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said they’d get each P10,000 financial
assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Those stuck at the
airport will also be housed at OWWA’s halfway-home.
OWWA Welfare Officer Marivic Clarin said the guidelines for
the distribution of the Php10,000 was still being finalized. “It’s for workers
who are on vacation in the Philippines
and have confirmed flights back to Hong Kong .
We had a similar assistance (program) before.”
Unfortunately for those who are in Hong Kong and have been
bumped off their flights to the Philippines ,
the financial aid won’t be made available to them. Clarin said it’s because
they can still fly out to the Philippines ,
and allowed entry.
President Duterte imposed the ban after a Chinese man from Wuhan died of coronavirus infection in Manila ,
making him the first casualty of the deadly disease outside China .
The government moved to stop the contagion by banning all
non-Filipinos who had been to China ,
Hong Kong and Macau from entering the country.
Filipinos would be allowed in, but they will have to undergo self-quarantine
for 14 days.
On flights back to the three destinations, however, only
foreigners are allowed to book seats, Filipinos can’t, even if Hong Kong and
Macau, or even China ,
will not bar their entry.
 |
| PAL canceled all its flights to China, HK and Macau until Feb 29 |
There was immediate chaos after the ban was announced, with
Filipinos, including those permanently residing in Hong Kong, scrambling to
find ways to get past immigration scrutiny in Manila .
Not a few booked flights to Thailand and Singapore and other
nearby destinations, but secretly made onward flights to Hong Kong, in a bid to
get around the prohibition.
Travel industry insiders say a number of Filipino
professionals successfully got out using this trick, but Manila Immigration
caught on by noon on seeing an unusually large number of departures to Bangkok and Singapore , and immediately clamped
down on the practice.
One of those in the
know said the dead giveaway for immigration officers was if the traveler is, or used to be, an overseas Filipino worker in Hong Kong .
At least one foreign domestic worker who tried to pull off
the same trick was offloaded at Ninoy Aquino International
Airport despite showing an invitation
letter from a supposed host in Singapore .
In truth, her Hong Kong employer was just
determined to fly her back to the city after her vacation so she could resume
taking care of her young ward.
Another desperate employer also tried to get his Filipina
domestic worker to fly to Bangkok , then on to Hong Kong , but on being shown a message from Polo
advising against this move, he relented.
 |
| Quarantine card issued to all Filipinos who arrive in Manila from the affected routes |
Polo’s advisory read, “Do not attempt to fool Manila
Immigration by going to another country en route to Hong
Kong . Immigration officers there have banned HK OFWs leaving for
whatever reason, and in at least one case, traumatized one who tried to go to Singapore .”
Those due to fly out of Hong Kong
are similarly trapped. While the ban says they will be allowed entry in the Philippines , all three major airlines flying to Manila had cancelled all
their flights, inbound and outbound, until Feb 29.
Only Hong Kong Airlines was still flying its sole direct flight
to Manila , but
with prices as high as $7,300, one way. The cheapest ticket on the route still
comes out to $3,000 one way, which is just a third of what the budget airline
used to charge.
The challenge of getting home despite the ban does not faze Zamora and her friend.
They are now talking of flying to Taiwan ,
then on to Manila
from there.
The two could be quarantined when they get to Manila once immigration sees them as having come from Hong Kong , but that’s the easier part of the problem. The
bigger part is, will Zamora ’s friend still be
able to fly back to Hong Kong ?
Only the lifting of the ban could guarantee that.
--
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer. Pindutin ulit upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin ang mga numero.
