HK rights group condemns murder of Filipino peace consultant

By The SUN

Malayao was killed with two gunshots

A Hong Kong human rights group has condemned the assassination of National Democratic Front peace consultant Randy Felix P. Malayao while traveling home to Cagayan Valley on a bus early on Jan 30.

Police reports say Malayao, 49, was shot while fast asleep aboard an Isabela-bound Victory Liner bus.

The gunman reportedly boarded the bus when it stopped in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, at past 2am and fired two successive shots at the victim, killing him instantly.

The police said the suspect immediately got off the bus then boarded a getaway vehicle described as a black Yamaha Mio sedan driven by another person.

The murder of the NDF officer was vehemently condemned by the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines.

“HKCAHRPP holds the Duterte regime responsible for Malayao’s death. The cancellation of peace talks, the continuation of the all-out war, and targeting of activists, lead the violent march of his salaried goons,” the rights advocate said in a press release.  

“The cold-blooded killing of Malayao is the latest in a slew of attacks on peace-loving advocates,” HKCAHRPP said. “This brazen killing, on top of the attacks on other NDF consultants with trumped up charges, does not bode well for the future of peace talks.”

Malayao, a holder of an NDFP-GRP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees identification card, should have been protected from such an attack and arrests, the group said.

Malayao was abducted and jailed in 2008, during Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term. He was heavily tortured before being released in 2012. While in jail, he conducted literacy programs for the inmates, HKCAHRPP said. 

He graduated from University of the Philippines Visayas in Iloilo with a degree in fisheries. He headed the official student publication there, Ang Mangingisda, and was a previous vice president for the Visayas of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines.

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Filipino workers rally for junking of mandatory insurance

Labatt Jalilo dela Torre accept the petition calling for the scrapping of OWF compulsory insurance
(Photo by Migrante Hong Kong)

By The SUN

Workers led by the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante HK) marched to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Wanchai on Jan 17 to call for the scrapping of the mandatory insurance that the government plans to impose on all OFWs.

The marchers tried to get Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre’s position on the issue, but he said he wouldn’t be drawn to make a stand “at baka ako’y matapon na naman kung saan”.

He was referring to his six-month recall to the home office last year, which was reversed only after Filipino community leaders rallied to get him returned to Hong Kong.

But Labatt Dela Torre assured the protesters that their sentiments would be relayed to Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

Unifil chairwoman Dolores Balladares said the new exaction would be in addition to the insurance cover that overseas workers are required to pay for, such as Social Security System, Pag-IBIG, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and PhilHealth.

“Patung-patong na ang binabayaran nating mga insurance, at daradagan pa ng compulsory OFW insurance,” Balladares said before more than 100 workers who joined the march from Chater Road to the POLO offices in Wanchai.

She said the additional fee that is supposed to be charged to the employers could potentially increase friction between them and the workers, who might just end up losing their jobs.

Labatt Dela Torre confirmed during a meeting at the Consulate last November that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration had agreed to impose the mandatory insurance on every two-year work contract, but the implementing rules were not yet ready.

The insurance premium that is currently collected only from first-time OFWs, costs  US$144, or $1,200 for every land-based worker.

Balladares said more than 150 OFW groups had already signed a petition for the dumping of the insurance plan as of Jan 17 and that support was growing.  

The POEA Board issued Resolution No 4 in August last year which requires “principals” (employers or recruitment agents) to pay for the insurance coverage of both new and rehired OFWs.

The certificate of insurance will be among the requirements OFWs must submit before they could be documented by the POEA. 

Previously, Republic Act 8042 provided that only agency-hired OFWs leaving the country for the first time, should be covered by mandatory insurance.

At the rally, Labatt Dela Torre took the opportunity to explain why the equally controversial mandatory pre-employment health check he had initiated had to be recalled.

He said the mandatory health check-up was prompted by alarming findings of the POLO’s ongoing “Project Health-Wise” that the diabetes rate among the Filipino community in Hong Kong is greater than the national rate in the Philippines.

“Na-alarm kami and we thought that this might be the best way to push the promotion of the health evaluation. Upon reflection and consulting with the various community groups dito sa Hong Kong, nakita namin na nangangamba yung ibang mga workers na baka gamitin ito ng mga employers na reason for not renewing or terminating so many,” Labatt Dela Torre said.

“We appreciate the psychology behind the fear, so, minarapat natin na iatras muna but ipapagpatuloy natin yung ating Project Health-Wise and look for a way na i-promote maybe through a voluntary or a mandatory undertaking from employers na bigyan nila ang ating workers ng pagkakataon na lumabas during the right time para makapag-undergo ng medical checkup.”

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Pinay helper disputes charge she harmed employer's baby

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina domestic worker accused of harming her young female ward has pleaded not guilty to the charge on the first of her two-day trial in Shatin Court.

But after five prosecution witnesses gave evidence in court on Jan 29, Magistrate Jerry Chung said defendant Merlyn Ando had a case to answer.

Chung adjourned the hearing until Friday, Feb 1, when Ando is expected to give evidence.

Ando is facing a charge of “Ill-treatment by those in charge of a child or young person” due to injuries suffered by her employer’s six-month-old baby girl when the mother unknowingly gave the baby a bath using water that had been tainted with bleach.

The employer, Charlotte Chan, blamed the Aug 13, 2018 incident on the helper, who she accused of wanting to cause harm by allegedly placing a plastic bottle of Chlorox beside a bottle of Johnson & Johnson baby shower gel on the bathroom rack for baby toiletries.

She said the incident happened a day before Ando was to leave the employer’s flat after resigning from her job. The maid began serving the family in February 2017, and had been in their employ for one and a half years before the incident.

During cross-examination, defense lawyer John Murray asked Chan if it was true that she had been charging the helper for damages to her belongings, and that she demanded Ando to pay her a month’s salary for resigning prematurely.

The employer answered that she was aware of the Labour code and that the charges she demanded were within the law.   

Chan, the first prosecution witness, said she prepared the baby’s bath herself. But she said the maid had cleaned the toilet using the bleach just before she bathed her baby.

As a result of the tainted bath, the baby suffered redness on her arm and the side of her body that irritated her skin, the employer said. Chan said she had to take the baby to the Prince of Wales Hospital for treatment and observation, then complained to the police.

Ando was arrested on Aug 13 and had been kept in custody since because the prosecution opposed granting bail to her.

Magistrate Chung told the court he would finish the trial on Friday morning after giving Ando a chance to give evidence. He also ordered the prosecution and defense lawyers to make their submissions on their cases on that day.

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High Court to hear case of Pinay held for money laundering

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina domestic worker accused of money laundering has been refused bail by a magistrate, and will next appear at the High Court for the hearing of her case.

Jeanette C. Rodriguez appeared on Jan 24 before Eastern Magistrate Peter Law a week after she was charged with two counts of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offense”, a euphemism for money laundering.

No plea was taken. No details of the case were read out and the defense lawyer said his client was applying for bail and offering to put up $500 for her temporary release.

The lawyer also said Rodriguez was willing to surrender her passport and promised not to leave Hong Kong.

But Law rejected the defendant’s bail application, citing the serious nature of her case and the possibility that she would abscond.

Rodriguez has been in police custody since her arrest earlier this month.

She was charged in court on Jan 17 following the alleged transfer and withdrawal of a large amount of money to her bank account.

Law told the defendant that her case will be moved to the High Court on Feb 20.

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Pinoys trust China least, US the most—Pulse Asia survey

Results of a recent survey by Pulse Asia indicated that Filipinos still trust the United States the most despite the Duterte administration’s pivot to non-traditional allies like China and Russia.

Only 16 percent of the 1,800 respondents said they distrust the US while 84 percent said their trust remains for the long-time Philippine ally. The level of trust was five points higher than the 79 percent in March 2017.

The survey showed that China and Russia, which the Philippines is deepening its ties with, were the least trusted among the countries and foreign organizations on the list.



Japan placed second most trusted with 75 percent trust rating and 25 percent distrust rating. Australia got with 72 percent trust and 27 percent distrust rating, while the United Kingdom got 57 percent trust rating and 40 percent distrust rating.

For regional organizations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) got 82 percent trust and 16 distrust rating, while the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) obtained 80 percent trust and 17 percent distrust rating.



Sixty-four percent of the respondents expressed distrust to China—40 percent of which said the Philippines should extend only a little trust, while 20 percent said no trust should be given to China.

Only 39 percent said the country should give at least a fair amount of trust to China.

Last November, the Philippines and China agreed to improve economic, maritime, defense and security ties following the first state visit of President Xi Jinping to Manila.



Only a little more than four of 10 Filipinos (45) said they trust Russia. Fifty-four percent said the Philippines can extend either a fair amount of trust or little trust to the alternative power.

The poll was conducted from December 14 to 21 using face to face interviews. It has ±2.3 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.

Among the events at the time of the survey were the state visit of Xi, decision to name Udenna-China Telecom as the provisional third telecommunications company and approval of the martial law extension in Mindanao.

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