DFA agrees to replace pawned passports – but only in Manila

Replacement passports will only be issued by DFA in Manila

By Daisy CL Mandap

Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong whose passports were seized by police in raids on loan sharks over the past few months may now be able to get replacements, but only if they apply personally at the Department of Foreign Affairs office in Manila.

This was disclosed on Jan. 20 by Consul Paul Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, when asked about complaints that the Hong Kong applicants had all been  turned away at the DFA.

“Ok na, the DFA has started issuing them new passports last week,” said Consul Saret.

But he added applicants can only secure them by queuing up at the OFW lane of the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) in the Mall of Asia on Roxas Boulevard.  There, they will be asked to sign a declaration that they will not hock their passport again or risk forfeiting the right to get a new travel document in future.

Consul Paul Saret

Saret said the rule applies even if the OFWs live in far-flung areas in the Philippines.

“We’ll just advise them to fly to Manila first to apply for the passport, then pass by again on their way back to Hong Kong on the date of release.”

Based on a report made to them in one case, Saret said the processing of the replacement passport will take a week. He said the applicant who does not have time to pick it up can ask for courier delivery service, or issue a special power of attorney in favor of the designated representative.

He explained that the confusion arose after the Consulate asked the DFA to decide on whether OFWs who had pawned their passports to secure loans should be issued new ones. But it turned out the DFA didn’t want to act on the applications without a prior go-signal from the Consulate.

The two sides eventually reached agreement that new passports can be issued to the applicants, once they sign an undertaking that they will not pawn their personal documents again.

As a result of this policy, at least five OFWs who had to go back to the Philippines after renewing their contracts had complained about being given the run-around at the DFA.

According to Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre, the OFWs feared losing their jobs because they didn’t have passports and could not fly back on time to their jobs in Hong Kong.

The workers were issued one-way travel documents by the Consulate so they could process their new work contracts and go home. But going back became a problem.

The Consulate’s tough stance was adopted because of the recurring problem of OFWs losing their passports to loan sharks.

In the most recent case, 300 Philippine passports were seized by the police from a local man in North Point who was found to have lent money to migrant workers at 125% interest, and secured the loans with passports and employment contracts.

Many of the borrowers in these cases would often declare that they simply lost their passports, so the Consulate resorted to requiring them to make an affidavit of loss with the police, before applying for a new one. The idea was to make it more difficult for them to acquire new passports so they would stop using their documents as collaterals for loans.

But when even this failed the Consulate decided to turn away those who lost their document in the police raids, and told them to apply for new passports directly with the DFA in Manila.

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No more mandatory medical checks, but OFWs told to keep eye on health

Labatt dela Torre scraps mandatory health check after consulting Filcom leaders

By The SUN

Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre has abandoned a plan to require a mandatory pre-employment check-up of all Filipino domestic workers following a consultation on Jan 20 with community leaders who mostly opposed the idea.

But Labatt dela Torre remains firm in saying a medical check-up is still a must for all workers.

“Sometimes, good intentions are not enough. But the need for medical check-up is still a priority need for our workers,” Labatt Dela Torre said.

“Whether or not imposed as a pre-requirement for verification of contracts, or requiring employers during the course of the contract, the community must find a way to ensure that workers who have unhealthy conditions are given the opportunity to get themselves checked out by a medical professional,” he said in a message to The SUN a day after the meeting.

The labor official issued the controversial advisory to agencies on Jan. 8 imposing the mandatory check-up as an additional requirement for contract processing of all categories of helpers.

But he recalled the advisory within hours of issuing it after hearing about the strong initial opposition by some leaders.

“Because of certain concerns that have been aired, we deemed it best to withdraw the memorandum first and until the consultations review so that we can see whether it can still be done with some refinements or totally withdrawn,” Dela Torre said at the start of the meeting.

About 40 Filcom leaders packed the small conference room of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Wanchai where the meeting was held.

Foremost of the fears the Filcom leaders cited was the likelihood that a worker who does not get a “fit to work” certificate would be terminated.

Many employers still allow their helpers to continue working even if they have ailments, but now they can use the mandatory check-up and “fit to work” requirements as an excuse to fire an incumbent worker of reject an applicant, the leaders said.

The leaders said it would be better to require the mandatory check-up “within”, rather than “before” the contract. But they agreed this would be difficult to implement as it would require the amendment of the standard employment contract through legislation.

Eman Villanueva of Unifil-Migrante Hong Kong acknowledged that the advisory was prompted by the labor attaché’s concern about the worrying state of health of workers, but added that the official did not seem to realize that the move could lead to job losses.

“Ang gusto natin kasi, yung medical checkup with the (framework) na kung paano tutulungan ang maysakit,” Villanueva said.

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez of the Mission for Migrant Workers concurred, saying the advisory had the effect of threatening workers’ job security although it was good-intentioned.

Unifil’s chair, Dolores Balladares-Pelaez said many OFWs believe that ailing workers who benefit from free or cheap medical services while working here would certainly lose their jobs if they were to submit themselves to a mandatory health check-up.

Other leaders echoed the fear, and said getting laid off would lead to more woes for the worker as medical care in the Philippines is very expensive.

A cancer patient from the cancer support group Filmcass said that if the mandatory check-up becomes a requirement for contract renewal, the Consulate would effectively be the first to reject them.   

Following the meeting, Labatt Dela Torre said he had already issued another advisory to the agencies officially recalling the Jan 8 order after listening to the community’s concerns.

Labatt's latest advisory permanently canceling the mandatory health checks

He had issued the controversial checkup requirement after seeing disturbing data gathered during the POLO’s Health-Wise free medical check-up program that began last October.

The results showed the average number of OFWs with elevated levels of blood pressure and elevated levels of blood sugar exceeded the national levels in the Philippines.

Pinoy convicted, fined $2,000 for bomb joke aboard PAL plane

The incident happened in a PAL plane.

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipino seafarer who joked about having a bomb in his hand-carried bag on a Manila-bound flight last Dec 20 has been fined $2,000 by a magistrate in West Kowloon Court following his admission of guilt.

Mateo F. Sumague, 42, was convicted on Jan 21 by Magistrate Ada Yim of a charge of “communicating false information on the existence of a bomb” after he pleaded guilty to the offense.

In mitigation, the duty lawyer assigned to Sumague’s defense said his client, who worked in Hong Kong earning $13,500 a month, had a wife and a daughter in the Philippines and begged for a suspended sentence or a fine.

The lawyer said the defendant, who was very remorseful for his offense, had a clear record both in Hong Kong and the Philippines, and that his employer would rehire him after his case was resolved because of his good performance.

The counsel said Sumague was only joking when he told a cabin crew of Philippine Airlines’ Flight PR311 there was a grenade in his hand-carried luggage.

Sumague made the quip to a female passenger after he was asked by the stewardess to put his bag in the overhead luggage storage while the aircraft was still on the tarmac.

The passenger told the cabin crew, who took the joke seriously and called aviation security. Sumague was arrested and the flight was delayed for an hour as officers searched for the grenade.

The flight was allowed to depart an hour late at 11pm, minus the defendant, only after the officers had made sure no explosive was on board.

The prosecutor said the case was a serious offense that normally calls for a minimum sentence of six months in jail and a maximum of two years in prison plus a fine.

Magistrate Yim said she had considered the defendant’s admission of guilt and his clear record, so she decided to impose a fine of $2,000 to be taken from Sumague’s money in hand. He had been held in custody without bail since his arrest.

But she told Sumague that causing a bomb scare on a plane, even if it was just a joke, was a serious offense because of the alarm that it caused the passengers and crew as well as the costs that the airline incurred for the delayed flight.

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Flores leads PAHK 2019

PAHK's new officers take oath before Congen Morales (with brown folder)

BPI’s Gary Flores has been sworn in as the new chairman of the Philippine Association of Hong Kong, in ceremonies held at the Consulate on Jan. 17.

Flores led 14 other members of the PAHK’s Board of Directors in taking their oath of office before Consul General Antonio A. Morales, who pledged the Consulate’s continued support for the professional group.

“We wish the new leadership continued success in their term,” Congen Morales said.

He also urged the PAHK to think of new projects, especially those that will benefit Filipino household service workers, saying the Consulate will back them up on these.

On the sidelines of the induction, Flores spoke of reinvigorating the PAHK through monthly cocktails and new projects.

The other new officers of the PAHK are: Greg Matubis (PLDT), vice-chairman; Julie Lee (Prime Credit), secretary; Jackielyn Ang (PLDT), asst secretary; Rico Maniquez (BDO), treasurer; Edna Hui (PNB), asst treasurer; Julius Barcela (Metrobank), auditor.

The committee  heads are: Karlo Benasa, public relations; Stef Chan, asst public relations; Emmerson Caro, sponsorships; Amiel Brul, asst sponsorships; Chad del Valle, events; Angel Jones, asst events; Eric Goyena, memberships; and Arn Cereno, community relations. - DCLM

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ConGen says health check-ups for OFWs to be taken up with HK govt

Congen Morales spoke on sidelines of PAHK induction

By Daisy CL Mandap

There is no final decision yet on the planned mandatory pre-employment health check-ups for Filipino domestic workers.

This was what Consul General Antonio A. Morales said on Jan 17, after he inducted into office the new members of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Association of Hong Kong.

ConGen Morales said the matter of requiring regular medical check-ups for Filipino domestic workers will have to be taken up at the next regular technical working group meeting with Hong Kong officials.

“There should also be consultations with members of the Filipino community first,” he said.

The country’s top diplomat said he was surprised himself when he saw the advisory from Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre informing accredited employment agencies that the mandatory health check-ups would take effect from Feb. 15.

Labatt dela Torre has since put the plan on hold on being told of concerns from various migrant workers’ groups, and called for a consultation meeting on Sunday, Jan. 20.

But this has not deterred the militant migrant organization, United Filipinos – Migrante Hong Kong, to call a protest on Jan 27 to denounce the plan as endangering the work of Filipino migrants.

Dela Torre’s advisory required both a medical insurance and a “fit to work” certificate for all Filipino domestic workers applying to process new work contracts starting Feb. 15.

The requirement would have covered all Filipino household workers, whether new arrivals, re-contracts, or signing up with a new employer.

The advisory also said the basic pre-employment check-up covers “physical examination, chest x-ray, stool exam, urine exam, blood test (complete blood count, hepatitis B, sugar, cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine).”

Unifil-Migrante’s Eman Villanueva was among the first to hit out at the plan, saying the “fit to work” requirement could lead to many longtime domestic workers losing their jobs if their medical tests show even the slightest abnormality.

He also expressed fear employment agencies would use this as a way to make extra money from either the worker or the employer.

In his upcoming dialogue with Filcom leaders, Labatt dela Torre said he would ask if a “fit to work” certification should be required for the processing of contracts, and if yes, what is the extent of the medical tests that should be required.

Another issue is whether POLO should accredit medical clinics in Hong Kong for ease of compliance with the requirement.

He decided to impose the mandatory checks after seeing alarming results in the free HealthWise medical examination his office has been offering to all Filipino migrant workers since November last year.

These included a higher-than-average percentage of workers who are pre-diabetic or confirmed diabetics, and have high blood pressure or are hypertensive.

Social media comments by Filipinos on his plan have been mostly in favor of periodic medical check-ups for domestic workers, but say this should not be made a requirement when processing a new work contract.

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