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| Despite the cash infusion, HK OFWs are told the handout will still be given on a first come, first served basis |
Dizon said in an advisory on May 19 that the additional funding from the Department of Labor and Employment in Manila will allow the Philippine Overseas Labor Office to give aid to more OFWs affected by the novel coronavirus.
“…Ipinaaabot sa lahat ng nga kuwalipikadong OFWs sa
Dole-Akap program, na patuloy na tatanggap ng inyong aplikasyon ang POLO Hong
Kong dahil inilabas na ng Department of Budget ang karagdagang pondo para
dito,” Dizon said.
(We would like to inform all OFWs qualified
for the Dole-Akap program that Polo Hong Kong
continues to receive your applications because the Department of Budget has
released additional funds for this.)
But his advisory posted on the Polo Facebook page said applications
will be considered on a first come, first served basis due to the limited
supplementary funding.
That means, the cash aid will be dispensed only until the new
“quota” approved by the Department of Labor and Employment for Polo Hong Kong has
been reached.
Dizon did not mention the amount of additional funding for
displaced OFWs in Hong Kong or the number of
affected workers who have received the financial aid.
This has led Dolores Balladares, chair of United
Filipinos in Hong Kong , to question Polo’s lack
of transparency.
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| Balladares says Polo should say how much money was allotted for HK OFWs, and how many were given the aid |
Balladares was surprised to hear that Polo is inviting new
applications for Dole-Akap when, just this week, its staff reportedly told a
newly dismissed domestic worker the deadline for application for the cash aid
had already closed.
“Dapat tulungan pa din ang ating kababayan. Priority ang Hong Kong , bakit ang bilis magdeklara na tapos na. Hindi
nga namin alam kung ilan ang nabigyan. Dapat maging transparent ang Polo dito,”
the Unifil leader said.
She also decried the narrow interpretation by Polo of who
should be getting the financial aid.
“Dapat bigyan ng tulong ang mga na-terminate, kahit di Covid
ang nakasulat na dahilan sa mga termination. At kahit totoong hindi Covid, tulungan
pa din sila. At magreport sa mga OFW kung ilan na ang nakakuha ng ayuda. Maging
transparent ang Polo,” she said.
Those who were put on hold pending the additional cash
injection includes some of the 49 Filipino musicians who were put in quarantine
centers after the virus swept through a cluster of bars in Hong
Kong .
According to Manuela Lo, chairperson of the Hong Kong
Musicians Union, most of the quarantined musicians had already received the
USD200 cash aid, but a few were told the wait after the money had run out.
In addition, 22 other musicians stricken by Covid-19 also
got help from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
A few OFWs commented on the Polo post that they could not
get through the online application site, or did not get confirmation after
applying a month ago.
One said that she decided to go personally to Polo to apply,
but was told only online applications were accepted.
One complainant, Beng Ellorin, said she had been stranded in
the Philippines
Another complained Polo rejected her application even when
she was summarily dismissed two months ago and was now jobless.
The number of Filipino domestic workers who lost their jobs in
April alone surpassed 3,000, Hong Kong Immigration figures show. From January,
the figure was almost 5,000.
Most, if not all of them, should receive the US$200 cash aid,
if the criteria used by Polo in assessing applications are not as stringent as they
appear to be.
