The SUN HK : Filipinos seeking non-refoulement face HK’s tightened screening procedure

By Danilo A. Reyes

Failed non-refoulement claimants being escorted to the plane that took them home in November

As Hong Kong’s Immigration Department steps up its removal of unsubstantiated non-refoulement claims, Filipino nationals are reminded of the risk of being prosecuted and jailed if they make claims without proof in Hong Kong.

According to Immigration statistics provided to the Legislative Council on Nov. 23, out of a total of 14,900 non-refoulement claimants, 1,343 are Filipino nationals who claim that they face risk of torture, if not death, if they are sent back to the Philippines.

“I just wish to remind all Filipinos in Hong Kong to always obey and respect the law. To avoid problems, it is also important to be honest and truthful, especially when dealing with authorities,” said Consul General Raly Tejada.

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Some of these non-refoulement claimants, however, filed claims for various personal reasons–from avoiding prosecution once caught overstaying, to avoiding their creditors in the Philippines.

Among the more recent claimants whose appeal against their removal from Hong Kong were rejected by the High Court were Isabel Magna Ticuala and Loida Dontogan, both former domestic helpers who had overstayed their visas before filing for non-refoulement.

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Their claim that they feared retaliation by creditors in the Philippines was dismissed by the High Court, which has consistently said that there is a functioning government back home that could protect them.

Another option open to them is to move away from places where their creditors could possibly harm them.

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The High Court has also said that these are personal matters that the Hong Kong government must not interfere with.

In recent weeks, a number of Filipino non-refoulement claimants have been taken to Magistrates’ Courts to face prosecution for breach of condition of stay, after their bid against removal failed. Many of them have been in Hong Kong for over a decade, trying to fight off repatriation.

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This is in line with a new Immigration policy which took effect last December 7, which mandates the removal of all torture and non-refoulement claimants once they fail in their first bid to challenge their repatriation.

This aims to puts an end to the current practice of many of the claimants filing judicial reviews against the decisions by both the Immigration Department and the Torture Claims Adjudication Board to reject their opposition to non-refoulement.

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But according to a report published by the Legislative Council in August this year, the screening of torture and non-refoulement claimants was tightened as early as 2014, which led to a 95% reduction in the annual screening backlog from 2015-2018.

Of the total non-refoulement claims filed between 2014 to 2021, Immigration found that 99% claims were unsubstantiated. Ticuala and Dontogan’s claims were rejected within this period.