‘Lola’ in US$50M fake check flies home

Gosilatar tried to cash the fake US$50M check at Hang Seng bank's headquarters in Central

By Vir B. Lumicao

A 76-year-old Filipina tourist has flown home a day after a District Court judge freed her from than two years of detention for allegedly trying to cash a fake US$50 million check in a local bank.

The Consulate said Maria Ilao Gosilatar was deported by the Immigration Department on Jan 30 after a night’s stay at the Castle Peak Immigration Centre in Tai Lam, Tuen Mun.

She was escorted to the airport by two officers of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section.

Judge Josiah Lam ordered Gosilatar freed on Jan 29 after the Justice Department approved the withdrawal of a charge of “using a false instrument” against her because of ill health.

She was supposed to undergo trial for allegedly attempting to cash the fake check at the Hang Seng Bank headquarters on Des Voeux Road Central on Dec 9, 2016.

Gosilatar and a local male accountant were arrested and charged in Eastern Court with “using a false instrument” for the botched bank transaction. There has been no word about the case against Gosilatar’s co-accused.

Her case was the second involving an attempt to cash a fake bank instrument in Hong Kong to be withdrawn by the prosecution since last September. But in the earlier case, the three defendants were acquitted for insufficient evidence.

The three –Elmer Soliman, his son Eric Jude and their lawyer friend Eliseo Martinez – walked free on Sept 18, three months after being arrested and detained for allegedly trying to cash a US$5 billion bank draft at HSBC last June.

In Gosilatar’s case, the court was told that the defendant had been diagnosed with brain tumor that was growing faster than expected. Doctors reportedly said she only had two years to live.

Gosilatar said in earlier hearings that the cheque was a donation to her Sta Maria, Bulacan-based charity foundation, the Mama Mary 2000 International Foundation, by an unnamed female donor.

The foundation was registered 2015 in Britain’s Companies House with Gosilatar as  chairman and a Quezon City-based couple as board directors.

But after about a year, the defendant told the court she had received a report from the Philippine police that she was a victim of a scamming syndicate.

Tesda coming to HK to screen massage, caregiver trainees

By The SUN

Among those who will undergo assessment are graduates of Umela's massage therapy course

More than 500 migrant workers who completed massage and caregiver training courses will be assessed by officers from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) on the next two weekends for possible issuance of NC2 certificates.

This was according to Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre, who said that those who are seeking assessments are graduates of training courses given by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and other groups.

They include 338 massage therapists and 172 caregivers who will have their assessment starting on Feb 16 and 17, and continue on Feb 23 and 24.

All the caregiver examinees are graduates of Active Global, a private firm that provides training to migrant workers who want to focus solely on looking after the infirm or incapacitated.

The NC2 assessment for massage therapists will be held at the POLO premises on Mass Mutual Tower at 33 Lockhart Road in Wanchai, Dela Torre said.

The venue for caregivers will be the training center of Active Global at Unit 1703-04 on the 17th floor of Lucky Center, 165-171 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai. 

NC2 assessments are normally held in Tesda- designated centers in various regions and cities in the Philippines. – Vir B. Lumicao

When the employer dies

It is now very common to see migrant domestic workers (MDW) caring for the elderly. You see them on the streets, in parks, restaurants, hospitals, and homes for the elderly. It is also no longer unusual for the elderly employer to pass away within the employment contract period. Often, relatives of an elderly employer who passed away take over the responsibility of settling all claims related to the untimely termination of the contract. However, there are also those who live alone with the elderly, and face an uncertain wait for someone who would take responsibility over the obligations left by the deceased employer. This may also happen to those whose wards live with their family, but no one wants to take responsibility for paying the worker’s claims.

On top of these, there are certain misconceptions with regards the employment contract:

1.      There are those who think that when the employer dies, the employment contract will automatically transfer to the next of kin staying in the same address as that of the deceased employer; or

2.      That the unpaid benefits, salaries, and other contractual obligations of the deceased employer cannot be claimed anymore because the employer is already dead; or

3.      That because the death of the employer is considered as an exceptional situation they are allowed to look for a new employer even after two weeks from the death of the employer.

These are just some of the examples. There may be more.  So, let us first clarify and correct these misconceptions.

1.      When the employer dies, (‘employer’ refers here to the person who signed the contract), the employment contract ends. There is no such thing as ‘automatic’ transfer of contractual obligations. It should be taken as if the contract was terminated if it is in the middle of a two-year contract. The next of kin cannot just decide to continue the contract without signing a new contract under his/her name. The domestic worker’s visa will expire in 14 days. If one of the members of the family wants to continue hiring the domestic worker, a new contract must be signed and should undergo the usual processing. All new policies like upgraded minimum allowable wage will be applied in the new contract. It is not a continuation of the previous one. It is a new contract under a new employer.  In some instances, if there are personal belongings of the deceased that need to be sorted out, packed or dealt with for whatever reason, the next-of-kin could inform the Immigration Department that such is the situation and the MDW’s continued services are still needed, but only for the purpose of settling matters directly connected with the deceased employer.

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2.      With regards to all unpaid wages (benefits and salaries), of course, these can still be claimed by the domestic worker through the official representative of the deceased or the person in-charge of the properties and estate, if any, of the deceased employer. If disputes arise like unwillingness to pay, then it will pass through the usual process of filing the claims through the Hong Kong Labour Department. The domestic worker will file claims against the representative at the Labour Relations Division (LRD). If it is not settled there, it will be referred by the LRD to the Labour Tribunal (LT) or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB), depending on the total amount of claims. If it is still unresolved, then the domestic worker will bring the decision of the Labour Tribunal or MECAB to the District Court. At the level of the District Court, a lawyer may be needed to represent the claimant and help prepare documents needed. At some stage, you may be able to represent yourself but court orders or instructions are better understood by lawyers. The judge will tell you this. Service providers like the Mission can provide the necessary assistance in filing the claims at the District Court and referring the matter to a qualified lawyer. The Mission can also help in referring the matter to a government agency that can assist the claimant who has no means of hiring a lawyer.

3.      When an employer dies, it is public knowledge that such situation exempts the MDW from returning home to her country of origin before a new contract is approved. But the processing of the new contract should still be done within the 14-day grace period. This means that the domestic worker should have found a new employer, and started to process the new contract, before the lapse of the two-week period since the employment contract was deemed terminated. If she or he failed to find a new employer and the visa has been changed to a visitor’s visa because the required 14 days have lapsed, the Immigration Department might still require the worker to leave Hong Kong and process the contract from the country of origin. This is because, technically, the worker is already holding a visitor’s visa, and not one for employment which could be transferred to another employer. But there is no harm in trying to ask Immigration for consideration in such cases.

4.      Another matter that we must be aware of is, if the death of the employer happened after two years of employment, meaning within the period of the second contract, then the domestic worker can claim for severance pay. This is because the termination of the contract can be considered as a redundancy or a “lay-off”. In this case, the required number of years in service is only two years. The claim for severance pay can be included in the charges to be filed at the Labour Relations Division against the estate of the deceased, if the representative refused to pay the said benefit. (Note: the amount of severance pay is two-thirds of the last month’s salary multiplied by the number of years of service.)

Should there be any other similar situation that is unclear or difficult to ascertain, do not hesitate to contact the Mission For Migrant Workers at 2526 2894.

Pangalagaan ang ating kalusugan

Ni Rodelia P. Villar

Isa ang DWC (Domestic Workers Corner) sa mga grupo na nakipagpalitan ng ideya noong ika-20 ng Enero tungkol sa pwersahang pagpapatingin ng mga migranteng manggagagawa tuwing may bago silang kontrata.

Nakapaloob ang kautusan sa isang Advisory na pinalabas na Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre noong ika-8 ng Enero na nagtakda na dapat ay may katibayan ang bawat manggagawa na meron silang medical insurance, at “fit to work” certificate.

Pero si Labatt dela Torre mismo ang bumawi sa Advisory nang marinig ang malawakang pag-alma ng mga manggagawa sa bagong kautusan.

Sa aming pagtatanong, nalaman namin na karamihan ng aming mga miyembro ay pabor sa medical check-up dahil ito ay mahalaga sa bawat isa, nguni’t hindi sa fit-to-work certificate. Ayon sa kanila, malamang na marami ang mawalan ng trabaho ng dahil dito dahil hindi malinaw kung paano ba papasa ang isang manggagawa sa pamantayan ng titingin.

May isa pa ngang miyembro ang grupo ang nagsabi na iinom na lang siya ng lason kung ipatupad ito dahil hindi pa siya bayad sa nagastos niya sa Pilipinas para makarating dito, at kailangan na niyang mag-renew ng kontrata.

Takot siya na hindi makapasa sa pagsusuri dahil may bukol siya sa leeg.



Nang malaman ni Labatt ang tungkol sa kaso ay sinabi niya sa isang group na maaring alisin ang fit-to-work certificate pero hindi ang medical check-up dahil importante na malaman ng mga manggagawa ang kundisyon ng kanilang kalusugan.

Sang-ayon ang DWC sa pananaw na ito ni Labatt dahil kailangan talaga ng mga OFW na bigyang halaga ang kanilang kalusugan.

Sa isang linggong survey na isinagawa ng DWC sa mga miyembro, umabot sa 1,300 ang sumali. Ang 83% sa kanila ay may medical, accident at repatriation insurance, pero ang 17% ay wala.



Nais ng DWC na mabigyang pansin ng mga awtoridad ang ganitong kalakaran dahil nakatakda sa batas ng Hong Kong na kailangang kumuha ng insurance ang amo para sa bawat kasambahay. Dahil walang insurance, hindi makapag pa checkup ang helper kahit may nararamdaman. Hindi naman sila makareklamo dahil takot mawalan ng trabaho.

Sa 100 na miyembro na nagbigay-pahayag sa medical check-up, tatlo lang ang hindi pabor. Marami ang gusto na gayahin ng Hong Kong ang Singapore kung saan nakatakda na dapat magpa checkup ang isang kasambahay tuwing ika-anim na buwan. Iyong iba naman ay sinabing kung sagot ng amo ang pagpapatingin ay payag sila na sumailalim dito taon-taon, o tuwing mag renew ng kontrata.

May mga miyembro din ang nagsabi na kailangan talaga ang medical check-up na sagot ng insurance dahil sa tagal ng follow-up sa mga pampublikong ospital.



Minsan hindi na daw nila makayanan ang nararamdamang sakit lalo na kapag ubos na yung naibigay na gamot, pero hindi pa rin sila makapagpatingin. Muli, dahil sa takot na mag-iba ang trato ng kanilang amo sakaling malaman ang iniinda nilang sakit ay pilit nilang kinakaya ang trabaho.

 Marami sa mga taga DWC ang sumama ang loob dahil hindi natuloy ang sapilitang pagpapatunay ng mga amo na may kinuha silang insurance para sa kasambahay tuwing sila ay magpipirmahan sa panibagong kontrata.

Dahil dito minabuti namin na himukin ang lahat ng miyembro na sumailalim sa libreng basic physical check-up na isinasagawa ng Philippine Overseas Labor Office araw-araw, pwera sa Biyernes. Mag-uumpisang magpatingin ang mga miyembro sa susunod na Linggo, ika-27 ng Enero.



Marami na rin sa mga miyembro ang sumailalim na sa pagsusuri, at ang ilan sa kanila ay
sinabihan na kailangan ng follow-up dahil may resultang hindi normal. Hindi na bago ang ganitong resulta dahil marami ang kulang sa pagkain at pahinga, bukod pa sa malaking tensyon na nararamdaman nila sa araw-araw.

Ang survey ay isang paraan din para malaman ng Polo ang sitwasyon ng bawat manggagawa dahil kasama sa mga tanong ang kung ilang oras sila nagtatrabaho sa bawat araw, kung gumagamit sila sa nakalalason na kemikal sa kanilang paglilinis, kung may sapat silang pahinga at pagkain, at iba pa.

Sa kanilang pagbisita sa Polo para magpatingin, malamang na marami ang mabubuksan ang mga mata sa mga serbisyong ibinibigay ng libre sa kanila doon.

Marami din kasi ang mahilig tumuligsa ng hindi muna inaalam na may tulong silang matatanggap mula sa Polo, kabilang na dito ang libreng pagpapatingin.

Bawat isa sa atin ay may tungkulin na alagaan ang ating sarili dahil ang ating kalusugan ang pinakamalaki nating puhunan sa ating trabaho.

Sana isipin ng bawat isa sa atin na nasa ibang bansa tayo, at hindi dapat umasa kanino man para mapanatiling maayos ang ating pangangatawan at pag-iisip, at nang makapagtrabaho ng matiwasay.

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Ang ating panauhing manunulat sa isyung ito ay si Rodelia P. Villar, miyembro ng The Sun Writers Club at founder ng Domestic Workers Corner. Layon ng grupong kanyang binuo na tulungan ang mga migranteng manggagawa, lalo na ang mga bagong dating, na makapagtrabaho ng matiwasay sa Hong Kong. Nagbibigay sila ng payo o ideya sa mga miyembro na nangangailangan ng dagling tulong o opinyon tungkol sa kanilang trabaho. Kabilang dito ang kanilang mga karapatan bilang manggagawa sa ilalim ng batas ng Hong Kong, at iba pang tulong gaya ng paano magluto ng mga ulam na Intsik para sa kanilang mga amo. Ayon kay Rodelia, suportado ng kanyang grupo ang panukala ni Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre na magkaroon ng regular na pagsusuri ang mga kasambahay dahil ang kanilang kalusugan ang pinakamalaki nilang puhunan sa pagtatrabaho. –Ed)