By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Filipino DHs may now come in and go home without worrying too much about the cost |
Filipinos have largely welcomed Hong Kong’s decision
to lift its 3-month flight ban on nine countries including the Philippines and reduce the hotel quarantine for all incoming travelers to seven days from
the previous 14 days, starting next month.
Among those who were ecstatic about the move announced
by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday were the thousands of Filipino migrant
workers who had been waiting for months to come to Hong Kong.
T.T. said she had hoped to take up her new job as
domestic helper in Hong Kong in October last year but because of the difficulty
of booking a place in a government-designated quarantine hotel she could not
come immediately. Then the latest ban was announced in January this year.
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“Sa kasamaang
palad nagkataon na utang ang aking ginamit na pera para mag-apply. My God! Yung
P50k na utang ko ay naging Php100 na,” she said. (Unfortunately I just
borrowed the money I used to process my application. My God! My Php50,000 loan
has now grown to Php100,000)
She said she was so happy to hear the news about the
ban being lifted but due to initial misapprehension of CE Lam’s announcement,
her recruitment agency told her only residents were being allowed to come in.
She is still waiting for word on when she could come.
Even Filipino workers in Hong Kong were jumping for joy over the news as it meant them being able to go home for a vacation without fear of
being stranded, or paying a fortune for hotel quarantine. This was because before
the Omicron outbreak, most new arrivals were made to stay for 21 days in quarantine hotels.
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Ma Theresa Aquino, president of Radiant Organization of
Amiable Drivers, which is made up of Filipina drivers in Hong Kong, was among
those who were stranded in the Philippines after the latest ban was imposed in
early January.
She spent the Christmas holidays in the
Philippines and had intended to return middle of January when the ban was
announced. Desperate to get her back in Hong Kong, her employer paid for her to
go to Dubai for a 14-day “washout” of her stay in the Philippines, then make
her way back in.
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| Aquino in Dubai where she did her 14-day 'washout' to gain entry to HK |
Aquino was still lucky because before the Omicron
outbreak, most new arrivals in Hong Konghad to spend 21 days in
quarantine hotels. They also needed to stay for at least 21 days in another place
to get rid of all traces of having stayed in a banned country beforehand.
“Napakagandang
balita ito para sa aming mga manggagawa dito sa Hong Kong, lalong lalo na po sa
mga kababayan natin na kinakailangan nang mag-umpisang magtrabaho dito, na ang
karamihan ay inutang lang ang ibinayad sa gastusin,” said Aquino. “Pati na rin sa mga na stranded dahil
nagbakasyon nung Pasko”
(This is great news for all of us migrant workers in
Hong Kong, especially those who have been waiting for a long time to start
their work here, most of whom just borrowed the money for their expenses. Also
for all those who were stranded when they went home for Christmas).
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| BAN ON FLIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES LIFTED ON APRIL 1. BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS NOW! PRESS FOR DETAILS |
“Para naman po sa mga kababayan natin na hindi nakakauwi sa loob ng dalawang taon o higit pa ay posible nang payagan ng mga employer nila dahil nabawasan na ang dating 21day/14day quarantine.”
(For our fellow Filipinos who have not been able to go
home for two years or even longer, it is possible their employers may now allow
them to go because the previous 21- or 14-day quarantine has now been reduced).
Marites Palma, founder of Social Justice for Migrant
Workers, is also happy not only for herself but for many of her compatriots who
have been seeking her group’s help because of the many problems spawned by the
travel bans and Hong Kong’s strict pandemic restrictions.
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“Ako ang unang
natutuwa sa pag lift ng ban dahil may isasagot na ako sa mga nagtatanong kung kailan
makakapasok ang mga baguhang lampas na sa ulo ang utang dahil sa nagastos sa
pag-apply nila papunta dito sa Hong Kong,” she said.
(The lifting of the ban makes me particularly happy because
I am now able to respond when asked when the newcomers who are over their heads
in debts they incurred in securing their jobs, could come to Hong Kong).
“Tungkol naman
sa pagpapaiksi ng quarantine ay lubos akong natutuwa kasama ang aking buong grupo
dahil hindi na maghihirap ang kalooban ng mga baguhan sa pagkakakulong ng 21
araw. Napakahirap na sa unang araw pa lang ng pagdating nila sa ibang bansa ay
kailangan nilang mag-isa sa quarantine hotel, at mahirap lunukin ang mga
pagkain na binibigay sa kanila.
“Salamat din sa
Hong Kong dahil pitong araw na lang ang quarantine para hindi na magbayad ng mahal
ang mga employer sa hotel, at higit sa lahat, maari na rin kaming makapagbakasyon
sa Pilipinas.”
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| Palma on a mission to deliver relief packs to fellow migrants in distress |
(As for the shortened quarantine I am very glad, along
with the rest of my group, because the newcomers will be spared the pain of being
confined for 21 days in a hotel. It is extremely difficult to be isolated in a
quarantine hotel from the first day of your arrival in a foreign land.
(But thanks to Hong Kong for the seven-day quarantine
because employers will no longer have to spend a lot on hotels, and most
importantly, this will allow all of us to go back home to the Philippines).
The latest ban was imposed in early January, after the
Omicron variant was detected among new arrivals in the city. At that time,
Omicron was wreaking havoc in many countries including the Philippines, which
recorded its highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic two years ago.
Employment agency operators are understandably also
relieved that Hong Kong’s flight and quarantine restrictions have been relaxed
because it means all their recruits who have been on standby in the Philippines
for months can now come in.
Thomas Chan, chair of the Hong Kong Union of
Employment Agencies said: “We in the employment industry absolutely welcome the
lifting of the travel ban and the reduced quarantine from 14 nights to seven
nights. This will of course reduce the burden on employers. At the same time,
quarantine hotels will be able to accommodate more inbound travelers.”
Chan said his group estimates that for the past three
months that the latest ban was in force, 2,000 Hong Kong-bound Filipino workers
on average were unable to come.
Including the 2,000 others who were unable to leave
earlier because of various restrictions, some 8,000 Filipino workers could
start coming in over the next few months.
There is a catch, however. With the expected surge in demand
after the April 1 implementation of the ban’s lifting, the going rate for hotel
rooms has hit the roof.
Previously, the highest amount charged per room by a
designated quarantine hotel for FDHs was $800, while others charged anywhere between
$500 and $600 per night.
Chan said that the hotel rooms he managed to book for
three workers on Wednesday cost $1,350 per night, and that’s even for late May.
This prompted the employers to reportedly quip that even when they stay in
5-stay hotels for staycations, they only pay around $800 to $1,000 a night.
But given that the length of stay in the quarantine
hotels has now been cut down to a third of the previous period, the amount
comes out less than what employers were made to shell out before. More
importantly, the door to Hong Kong is now open again.
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