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| Letty Ignacio reportedly went missing after her arrest in September |
Another Filipina domestic helper has been reported as missing after being arrested on September 4 last year for not having a valid Hong Kong ID card.
The Filipina identified as Leticia "Letty" Rubio Ignacio, aged 61 years old, and a native of Isabela, was reportedly found to have overstayed her visa since 2005 after failing to renew or submit a new employment contract.
Her last employer, Anna Poon, a flight crew and media personality, said in an email to The SUN that she had emigrated to the United States at the time, but kept paying Letty her monthly salary “because I promised her when I left Hong Kong I would take care of her.”
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| How? Pindutin dito |
Poon said she had employed Letty since she first arrived in Hong Kong in 1985. But it would appear that since her employer’s family left for the U.S., Letty had stopped processing a new employment contract, causing her to overstay her visa.
Despite this, according to Poon’s daughter, Elizabeth, Letty had remained in their house in Shek Kong, New Territories until her arrest last September. She made a phone call to a friend shortly after her arrest, but has not been heard from since. She has also stopped using her Facebook account.
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| Letty posted this photo taken at the Bayanihan Centre in 2016 on Facebook |
Elizabeth, who was looked after by Letty from the time she was two years old until they left for the US 20 years later, said that when they contacted the Immigration Department, they were told that Letty may be “mentally unwell, as she might not remember us and therefore not giving access.”
She added, “I’ve been trying to stay patient and see where all this leads, but the fact that we cannot find proof that she’s alive and well is what bothers me most.”
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Elizabeth said a neighbor and friend had tried to see Letty at the Immigration detention centre, but were turned away as their names were not in the list of people allowed to see her. Undeterred, the Poon family tried to write to Letty as advised by Immigration officers, but all their letters were returned unopened.
“Lately
we were told that Letty was not in the detention center (anymore),” said
Elizabeth. “Immigration refused to give us more information.”
The anxious duo also said they had tried asking for help from the Philippine Consulate, but the only reply they received was that their concern had been directed to the appropriate department.
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| PINDUTIN |
In addition, Elizabeth said the consulate informed them that they had provided Letty with a phone card and a hygiene kit, but could do no more as she had refused to talk to them.
However, Consulate sources said that as far as they know, Letty is still being held at the immigration detention centre but is not allowing anyone to see or talk to her.
For the worried Elizabeth, this gives little comfort. “She’s been in HK for almost 40 years and has limited family in Philippines. She has limited access to funds,” she said.
“We just want to know (if) she’s alive and well and how to help her.”
(Those with information about Letty’s whereabouts may contact Anna Poon at 1-704-806-2299 or message Elizabeth through her Facebook account: Liz Zabzdyr.)
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| PADALA NA! |
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