Siony celebrates triumphant 1st year at co-working hub

 

All glammed-up Siony offers a toast at her 'thank you' party

It was what Filipinos would call a “bongga” (fabulous) celebration --- as it should be.

Around 200 guests, led by no less than Philippine Consul General Germinia Usudan, joined the celebration of Siony’s (Lutong Bahay) first year at The Hive Sheung Wan, and 11 years since its owner, Siony Yumul, bravely set up her own catering business.

The party, held at the big hall of the co-working space on April 19, was also in celebration of Filipino Food Month. Having worked hard to get Filipino cuisine given due recognition in Hong Kong since 2013, Siony was probably in the best position to gather people to celebrate the occasion.

The SUN was the first to feature Siony's foray into the catering business

Alternatively mixing with the guests and keeping an eye on what’s cooking inside her cavernous kitchen at the back of the dining hall, Siony made sure the food kept coming, and the drinks flowing. At no cost to anyone.

She said afterwards that it was her way of saying thank you for the great year she has had at The Hive, during which she met many people from different backgrounds and age brackets, who became not just customers but also friends.

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Siony also thought it was time to celebrate how her food business has managed to pull through more than a decade of challenges, especially during the three years of the pandemic.

That she did find time to throw a party, dress up and make sure that everything that was served tasted great and freshly cooked was a testament to how she manages to get things done with seemingly hardly any effort. But as always, her family was also there to help, from her husband Rey to her children Jan, Raymarc and Florenz, as well as her kitchen crew.

Congen Usudan (second from left) joined Siony and her happy crew at the party

It was just fitting that when the Philippine Consulate General decided to honor exemplary Hong Kong-based Filipinas in celebration of the National Women’s Month, it was Siony who rounded up the list.

Siony was cited for her “hard work, honesty and unwavering perseverance in the face of challenges.”

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In her own words, Siony said the biggest challenge she has had to face since coming to Hong Kong almost 40 years ago was the discrimination she was subjected to because of her ethnicity and the assumption that she could not do anything worthwhile.

But, she said she ignored all that, and just worked from the heart. “At the end of the day, I made it,” she said.

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Hard work, honesty, plus love for family keep Siony going, along with the sure-fire recipes she has developed for all the delightful Filipino dishes that come from her kitchen. 

HOW? PRESS HERE!

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Filipina gets five-month delay in sentencing

 

A Filipina who admitted taking part in a conspiracy to present a fake work contract to the Immigration Department to be granted a foreign domestic helper visa, will have to wait five months to know her punishment.

In the meantime, Josephine Sembrano, 39 years old, is free on bail of $1,000.

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Sembrano was charged last October at Shatin Courts with conspiracy to defraud, a violation of the Criminal Jurisdiction Ordinance and the Crimes Ordinance, on complaint of the Hong Kong Police.

Last April 22, she pleaded guilty before Acting Principal Magistrate Amy Chan and was convicted.

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The charges arose from Sembrano submitting a fake contract for processing by Immigration between April 22 and May 21, 2023.

She was accused of “dishonestly and falsely representing to the Director (of Immigration) and his officers that your entries to and remaining in Hong Kong were for the purpose of working as a domestic helper of Li Sin-ting….”

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This, the charge added, induced “the said Director and his officers to act contrary to their public duty, namely to give you permission to enter and remain in Hong Kong under circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted.”

Magistrate Chan told Sembrano to return for sentencing on September 10.

HOW? PRESS HERE!

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New DMW Secretary shuts down visa consultancy firm

 

Cacdac leads the closure of Dream Pathway's main office 

Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac hit the ground running on Thursday, the day he was appointed to the top post of Department of Migrant Workers.

Secretary Cacdac led an operation to shut down Dream Pathway Education and Immigration Services (Dream Pathway), an immigration consultancy firm found to have illegally offered jobs to applicants for permanent residency in Canada.

The DMW, through its Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) and in coordination with local government and police officers, padlocked Dream Pathway's head office in Mandaluyong City, as well as its three branches in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija; Apalit, Pampanga; and Lipa City, Batangas.

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Secretary Cacdac said Dream Pathway was closed down for illegally recruiting Filipino nurses, caregivers, nursing aides, and welders to Canada.

“Dream Pathway is among the unauthorized entities taking advantage of Canada’s immigration programs, which are being used as a doorway to Canada for temporary work before reaching permanent residency. Aside from not securing a proper license from the DMW, they are charging exorbitant processing fees to hopeful applicants,” he said in a press release posted in DMW’s Facebook page.

Disgruntled job applicants file complaints with authorities

However, Dream Pathway was not among immigration consultancy companies the DMW has warned the public against, for similarly offering jobs through the student or immigrant visa pathways.

Among these were Opportunities Abroad and PinoyCare Visa Center, two consultancy firms linked to Prisca Nina Mabatid, who is being pursued by hundreds of Filipinos who paid at least P100,000 each but were not helped in securing the Canadian student visa promised them.

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Several illegal recruitment and estafa cases have been filed against Mabatid and several co-accused in various places, including Baguio and Laguna, while the National Bureau of Investigation has recommended the filing of charges against her on behalf of complainants in other parts of the country.

In Hong Kong, the police have called the remaining complainants who have each been charged P132,000 by Mabatid's group so appropriate charges could be filed against them in court.

DMW has issued an advisory against PinoyCare Visa Center and Opportunities Abroad

In the case of Dream Pathway, a surveillance operation conducted by DMW showed it offered various jobs in Canada with a Php 110,000 professional fee under the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) program.

Filipinos bound for Canada under the AIP must undergo contract verification and documentary processing by the DMW, whether through direct hire processing or a licensed Philippine recruitment agency.

Cacdac ordered the filing of illegal recruitment charges against Dream Pathway and urged its victims to contact the DMW for assistance in filing cases against the agency.

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The firm's officers and personnel will also be included in the DMW’s "List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record" which means they will be permanently denied participation in the government’s overseas recruitment program.

The simultaneous padlocking of the company’s four offices was the first to be conducted by the DMW as part of its anti-illegal recruitment campaign.

The DMW reminds everyone that all Filipinos bound for employment in Canada must undergo proper document verification and processing with the DMW for legal documentation as migrant workers.

On its website, Dream Pathway is described as an immigration consultancy company based in the Philippines and “composed of well-experienced immigration specialists who trained and worked for years with the processing and consultation industry in the Middle East.”

The services it offered included assistance with permanent residency application, student visa application and “permanent residency application with job search support.”

HOW? PRESS HERE!

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Driver fails to show up for sentencing in drug case

 

Place in Wanchai where Filipino was intercepted. (Google Maps photo) 

A Filipino driver who had been convicted of possession of apparatus used for inhaling dangerous drugs, failed to show up for his sentencing today at Eastern Court, worsening his prospects for a kinder treatment.

A warrant of arrest usually issued for those who don’t show up for hearings, was not issued against Steven Sarmiento.

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Instead, Magistrate Minnie Wat ordered a further report from the probation officer to see how best to treat the 49-year-old Filipino.

His bail of $500 was forfeited and he was to be remanded in jail custody once found.

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Sarmiento was charged with possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of dangerous drug, a violation of the Dangerous Drug Ordinance.

The case stemmed from the police finding in his possession a glass bottle into which  two plastic tubes and a plastic straw were inserted, a glass tube with one end shaped like a bulb, and a plastic straw fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug.

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Also seized from him was 0.0l gram of a solid substance containing methamphetamine (also known as shabu or ice), which was in the plastic straw.

The items were found in his possession during a routine police check on pedestrians on Matheson Street in Wanchai last Dec. 20, 2023.

HOW? PRESS HERE!

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Migrant workers warn job-hopping claim gives HK bad image

The group claims HK's discriminatory policies make it less attractive to migrant workers

 A coalition of foreign domestic workers' organizations has called for an end to allegations of job-hopping, saying it has tarnished Hong Kong’s image and makes it a less desirable destination for migrant workers.

At a press conference held Thursday, Asian Migrants Coordinating Body spokesperson Sringatin said the wrongful allegation of job hopping by some migrant workers amounts to a further restriction of their rights.

“If Hong Kong continues to impose more restrictions on foreign domestic workers, I think people will leave Hong Kong, this is reality," said Sringatin. “It has to stop its anti-migrant policies because it will only stop migrant domestic workers coming to Hong Kong, it also gives Hong Kong a bad image.”

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Sringatin added that there are many other countries competing for the services of migrant workers like Singapore and Canada, so Hong Kong should stop curbing their rights as that could turn them away.

The AMCB called the press briefing to denounce renewed allegations of so-called job hopping by foreign domestic workers by an employers’ group led by Betty Yung. 

In recent interviews, Yung claimed that many FDWs are terminating their contracts prematurely so they can move to employers who offer them better pay and do not make them do as much work.

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Again, the migrant leaders slammed this as a myth, saying it is ridiculous to suggest that FDWs would quit their jobs on a whim because of Hong Kong’s policy forbidding them from switching employers when the contract is prematurely terminated. FDWs whose contracts are terminated before the two-year period is up are made to go home within 14 days, regardless of whether they quit, or were sacked.

Sheila Tebia of Gabriela Hong Kong said most FDWs are already mired in debt before they could even reach the city because of the high fees charged by employment agencies so they would not give up on their jobs so easily. When they do quit, it is usually because of the harsh or abusive working condition in their employer’s household.

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Tebia cited a 2023 report by the Mission for Migrant Workers that showed that one out of three FDWs do not have a room in which to rest, seven out of 10 reported working long hours, with many working more than 10 hours each day, or working even on their rest days; and more than one in ten are made to do dangerous window-cleaning.

She also said that while it is true that many jobs were lost in the aftermath of the pandemic in 2022, FDWs were among those who bore the most brunt.

“If our situation is good, if our employer treat us well, we will not leave,” said Tebia, citing the big number of FDWs who have been working with the same employer for years.

Dolores Balladares of United Filipinos in Hong Kong and also an AMCB spokesperson, said the 14-day rule for terminated FDWs alone is enough to deter them from job switching, as they know they will have to go back to their home countries and wait a long time before they can come back to work.

“This condition alone is enough to scare migrant domestic workers,” said Balladares. “No MDW in her right mind would quit unless it’s for a valid and urgent reason.”

Sringatin added that once a FDW is tagged as a job-hopper there is also now the added fear that she or he won’t be allowed to return to Hong Kong for work. 

HOW? PRESS HERE!

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Theft charge dropped against DH accused of shoplifting

 

Kwun Tong Law Courts Building

A Filipina had a charge of theft against her withdrawn, after she accepted a bind-over under which she must not commit any offense in the next 18 months or else be fined $1,000.

But the shoplifting case that landed H.M. Baybay at the Kwun Tong Court still cost her $300, which Acting Principal Magistrate Winnie Lau imposed on her yesterday (April 24) to cover the court’s expenses for handling the case.

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The charge was taken from her cash bail of $300.

Baybay was originally charged with violating Section 9 of the Theft Ordinance, for shoplifing $90.90 worth of goods, consisting of one pack of mushrooms and one box of Cold & Flu Hot Remedy.

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The theft happened last April 11 at the MarketPlace by Jasons store in Tseung Kwan O, owned by Dairy Farm Company Ltd.

The prosecution proposed the arrangement because of the small amount involved, and to give Baybay the benefit of the doubt.

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DH gets 6 months for $52.5K theft

The Filipina pleaded guilty to theft at West Kowloon Courts

A Filipina was jailed for six months today after she admitted stealing four pieces of jewelry from her employer in Luk Yeung Sun Chuen on Wai Tsuen Road, New Territories.

West Kowloon Court’s Principal Magistrate Don So imposed the sentence on Maria Teresa Nunez, 44 years old, without the usual one-third discount for her guilty plea.

Nunez was charged by police after her employer complained to police that she had lost one “Mabelle” diamond ring, one diamond necklace, a pair of gold bangles and one gold pendant, worth a total of $52,500.

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The evidence used against the accused were pawnshop receipts, which were found in her possession and which also helped the employer to recover most of the jewelry.

The prosecutor said a piece worth $4,350 has remained unrecovered, which Nunez said she was unable to pay.

In mitigation, her lawyer said she was motivated by greed and the need to pay debts, including mortgage for her house in the Philippines, where she supports her mother, husband, son and daughter on a salary of $4,730 a month.

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In another theft case also at West Kowloon, the trial against permanent resident Ana Labicane ended yesterday (April 24) with Magistrate Tsang Hing-tung scheduling his verdict for May 27.

Labicane, who is free on bail of $500, is accused of stealing a rucksack containing cash of HK$630, one Octopus card, two prepaid transportation card for Taiwan, cash of 11,100 Taiwan dollars, one cosmetic bag, two passport holders, one HK passport, one wallet, one HKID card, one WeWu UnionPay card, and four ATM cards.

The rucksack was alleged to have been taken in front of a shop of Tung Fung Hung near the escalator at the Departure Hall of HK Airport on March 5. 

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Verdict put off on DH accused of hurting girl in her care

 

The verdict on a case of a domestic helper accused of assaulting a four-year-old girl in her care, was put off after both the prosecutor and the defense lawyer summed up their arguments at the end of a two-day trial today at the Kowloon City Court.

In the meantime, Luz Umbao, 34 years old, was freed on $1,000 bail until the next hearing on April 30 when Deputy Magistrate Chao Sen-yee renders her decision.

Umbao was charged with “assault by those in charge of child or young person”, in violation of the Offenses against the Person Ordinance.

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The case arose after the mother of X found four scratches on her face and bruises on her right arm as they were having dinner on Sept. 19, 2023. The mother called police and Umbao was arrested.

However, in her testimony via a remote camera, the girl said the scratches were caused by her own fingernails.

This was echoed by the mother, who inadvertently admitted that her daughter had told her that her own fingernails scratched her face.

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In her own testimony, Umbao said she did not immediately notice the girl’s injuries that day as they were rushing out of her employer’s house in Ma Tau Wai Road in Hung Hom, to fetch the older sister from school.

Umbao told the court it was the sister who first noticed the scratches.

Earlier, X had a tantrum after being woken up to dress up so she and Umbao could fetch her elder sister, crying and resisting efforts to dress her up.

Umbao’s lawyer raised the possibility that the girl may have gotten the injuries accidentally.

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OFW sacked after being found with brain tumor, goes home

 

Febe is seen off at the airport by three of her caring friends who stood by her during her ordeal

A Filipina domestic helper is taking a flight back to the Philippines tonight, three weeks after being found with brain tumor which initially left her half-paralyzed, and being told by her employer that she was no longer welcome in their home.

Febe S. Anor, 52, was rushed to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital late on April 2, when she felt one side of her body go numb, leaving her unable to stand. A CT scan showed she had a brain tumor in her right frontal lobe, but after a number of medicines were prescribed, Febe was discharged on April 5.

That was when her employer said Febe was better off staying in a place where someone could cook and look after her. However, the employer did not offer any help in looking for a place for her, and merely said via a text message that the employment agency who placed Febe with them would take care of it.

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Undaunted, Febe decided to stay on for a follow-up consultation at the hospital. She was readmitted to the hospital on April 8, and the next day, the doctors performed a craniotomy to take out the brain tumor.

Febe's head wound after the surgery, and before the staples were taken out

But between April 5 and April 8, Febe had to, literally and figuratively, lean on friends after being virtually abandoned by her employer.  One of her friends luckily knew the local manager of a walk-up inn in North Point, so she was able to stay there at greatly reduced cost.

During this time, Febe had to pay her hospital bills herself, apart from her food and accommodation, and transportation in going to and from the hospital, even if she was supposed to be still under the care of her employer.

Febe, a single mother of two who has been a migrant worker for more than 30 years, last arrived in Hong Kong on September 23 last year to work for her current employer. This meant that she had been employed for more than six months when she got sick, and should have been entitled to at least 12 days of sick leave during which she could not be terminated.

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On April 12, the day Febe was due to be discharged from the hospital a second time, her friends got so worried about her that they reached out to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Office at the Consulate for help, and her agency was ordered to look after her.

But just a day after she arrived at the agency’s shelter, Febe was served a notice of termination from her employer, and the agency staff told her she needed to get on the plane the next day, April 14.

Febe resisted, as she had two more follow-up appointments at the hospital, and the staples that were used to close her massive head wound, still needed to be taken out. The doctors at Eastern Hospital also gave her a medical certificate recommending sick leave for her until April 19.

Undeterred, the employer sent Febe a message that Sunday morning, asking her to pick up her clothes from their house.

On Friday, April 19, Febe was again told that she needed to fly back to the Philippines, even if under Hong Kong law she could stay for 14 more days after the termination of her contract.

But this time, her agency gave her $8,000 which was supposed to cover everything that was due her, including her unpaid salary, one month’s salary in lieu of notice, and return air ticket.

Nothing was mentioned about the expenses she incurred fending for herself after her employer refused to take her back in after her medical diagnosis, so she decided to go back to the OWWA office to ask if these could be included in the settlement.

While conferring with her, Welfare Officer Dina Daquigan called up the agency owner and turned on the speakerphone mode, so the three other people in the same room all heard the man on the other line go mad, calling Febe “crazy” a couple of times, insisting he was never shown any receipts for the worker’s hospital bills and hostel payments.

When Daquigan asked about Febe’s claim that she was not given food while she was in the agency’s shelter, the man got even angrier, saying she was provided soup at each meal.

After several minutes of this tirade, Daquigan who kept an even tone throughout, cut the converstation.

Undeterred, the agency owner then called up Febe, apparently not caring that his angry outburst could be heard by everyone in the room. After again insisting on not getting the receipts which Febe said were left with his secretary, the agency owner shouted “F--g b--ch” at Febe, then hung up.

The worker who was left shaken by the unprovoked tirade, then sought help from Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga whose office was next door, and relayed everything that happened. ALA Sunga decided to take immediate action, and promised Febe that if the agency did not respond to her claim satisfactorily, all their pending transactions with the Migrant Workers Office would be put on hold.

Following this, Febe said she got word that she would be given about $1,600 more to cover the costs of her medical treatment and other expenses, so she agreed to get on tonight’s flight. 

But while relieved that her 21-day nightmare had ended, she remains worried about what the future holds, especially after being told that she will need constant medical surveillance, and will probably have to take medicine for the rest of her life.

Before leaving, she consulted with a non-government organization providing pro bono legal help, and was promised help in looking into whether she had been illegally terminated, or was treated differently or wrongly because of her ailment, in violation of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance.

There has also been a suggestion that she files a case for unlawful dismissal against her agency in the Philippines, which under the Labour Code, could be held jointly liable with the overseas employer in cases of this nature.

The fight is not over for Febe, but for now, all she wants is to forget her harrowing experience in the past three weeks, and just bask in the warmth of her family’s loving care.

Those who wish to help Febe pay for her future medical bills may  make a direct bank transfer to her Hang Seng bank account,  761 132 836 668, or through the QR code above. 

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