HK Seeks Input from PH on Code for Employment Agencies by Cheryl M
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Page 31 Page 16 Page 18-19 WINNER. Contestant MILESTONES. Maria Mika Maxine Overseas Filipino Medina is crowned as workers in Hong the 2016 Binibining Kong pay tribute to Pilipinas Universe on longtime migrant April 17. leader Sol Pillas. FIRST 100 Days. Voters share what they expect from the country’s next President during his The No.1 Filipino Newspaper Vol.VI No.344 May 1, 2016 or her first 100 days. ConGen appeals for sobriety ‘No cheating in HK’ By Cheryl M. Arcibal WITH some voters complaining about alleged fraud, Consul-General Bernardita Catalla called for sobriety among Filipi- nos as the overseas absentee voting (OAV) continued in Hong Kong. Catalla said the consulate was doing its best in addressing the complaints of OAV voters while cautioning against those who spread “confusion” among Filipinos in the city. “We are happy that Filipinos in Hong Kong are very much enthusiastic about participating in this political process, [but] let’s all be sober. We will assure them, cheating will not be done in Hong Kong,” Catalla told Hong Kong News. “No one is cheating anyone. Machines don’t have their own brains. What they feed, the machine reads and we’re not part of any machinery to cheat and deceive people,” she added. Some voters have complained that they were not able to read the names in the vot- er receipt or that their vote was not count- ed. “Please don’t confuse people and don’t set the minds of the people for certain things. We’re here, we’re doing our job and they should trust us,” Catalla said. She urged Filipinos in Hong Kong to avoid quarreling with each other over po- BAYANIHAN. Filipinos line up to vote at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town on April 17 as Consul General Bernardita Catalla urged everyone Turn to page 20 not to allow political differences to cause further division in the community. HK seeks input from PH on code for employment agencies By Cheryl M. Arcibal attended on April 15 “The deadline for inputs is on June 17. Kong were also attended the meeting and Hong Kong is coming up with the code a meeting arranged by They gave us copies so we can also give were asked to submit their own inputs. amid complaints from foreign domestic THE Hong Kong government has sought Hong Kong Labour inputs...We should really welcome it be- There are over 300,000 foreign domes- workers that erring employment agencies the input of Philippine labor officials on and Welfare Secre- cause we’re being given a chance to have tic helpers in the city and more than half were committing abuses, particularly the the proposed “Code of Practice” for em- tary Matthew Cheung a say in their own guidelines,” Catalla of them are Filipinos. collection of excessive placement fees. ployment agencies in the city. about the Draft Code said in an interview. The Labour Department (LD) earlier For the Philippines, Catalla said the Consul General Bernardita Catalla said of Practice for Em- She said the consuls general of oth- said that it was conducting a wide-rang- she and Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre Cheung ployment Agencies. er countries that send workers to Hong ing consultation on the proposed code. Turn to page 20 PUBLISHED BY HK PUBLICATIONS LTD. TEL: 2851 1766 WEBSITE : WWW.HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK 2 NEWS May 1, 2016 HONG KONG NEWS OEC applicants down by 40 percent By Peter Castillo Assistant Labor Attaché Henry Tianero yung off site, these are the people who Center, Worldwide House every Saturday, low the processing said the decision of Labor Attaché Jalilo would come here on Sundays,” Tianero from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. of OECs in the New THE number of overseas employment cer- Dela Torre to issue OECs in other parts said in an interview. On Sundays, OECs could also be se- Territories during the tificate (OEC) applicants lining up at the of Hong Kong has reduced by around 40 He said they observed the decrease dur- cured at PNB GLobal Remittance Shop “peak season.” Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) percent the number of OEC applicants at ing the second and third week of April, No. 122 in Worldwide from 9:00 a.m. to The POLO is also in Admiralty has gone down by almost the POLO. after Dela Torre decided to allow the pro- 5:00 p.m. and at the Metrobank branch in planning to issue half, a labor official said. “Forty percent ang nabawas. Kung wala cessing of OECs in Central on weekends. United Centre, Admiralty from 8:00 a.m. OECs in Tsuen Wan, Starting April 9, OECs could be ob- to 4:00 p.m. Tianero Tseung Kwan O, Sai tained at PLDT Hongkong Smart Pinoy Tianero said the POLO would also al- Kung, and Yuen Long. FDH says shabu good for her asthma By Cheryl M. Arcibal using dangerous drugs.” of her three children in the Philippines Judge Yao also said that the large were also submitted to the court. A High Court judge sentenced an over- amount of drugs confiscated plus the Baylon was the family’s sole breadwin- staying Filipino domestic worker to prison electronic scale and the re-sealable plas- ner. She was the fifth of six siblings and after she was caught with nearly $8,000 tic bags, found in the room showed that finished a commerce degree. worth of shabu (methamphetamine hydro- there was a “real and latent risk” of the She had three children with her husband chloride), which she allegedly used for her dangerous drug falling into the hands of but he reportedly abandoned them. asthma. other people. Baylon came to Hong Kong and eventu- High Court Judge Joseph Yau on April Baylon was arrested by police officers ally separated from her husband. 27 sentenced V.M. Baylon to 16 months in on May 20, 2015 in Asia House in North After finishing six contracts as a domes- prison after she was caught with the ille- Point. tic worker, she overstayed in Hong Kong. gal drugs in a North Point hotel in March She and her baby daughter had been Baylon then began a relationship with a 2015. staying in the room since May 14, 2015. person who was a drug abuser and “began The police confiscated 19.23 grams of The police found in the defendant’s bra taking ice to ease her asthma problem.” shabu, with an estimated retail value of around 2.79 grams of suspected shabu. After getting her pregnant, the man al- $7,845, from the defendant. They also discovered inside a handbag legedly deserted her. She then co-inhabit- Although Baylon claimed that the shabu another 19.12 grams of the illegal drug. ed with another drug-abuser. was for her own use---“to soothe her asth- Baylon’s lawyer asked for leniency, say- Baylon, who was seen wiping away tears, ma”---Judge Yau said he could not consid- ing she was “genuinely remorseful” and had one previous conviction for breach of er it a “valid mitigation because there are had learned her “bitter lesson”. condition of stay and for failing to register plenty of other means of cure instead of Letters from Baylon’s mother and two the birth of her daughter in Hong Kong. HONG KONG NEWS May 1, 2016 NEWS 3 Pinoy avoids jail after beating woman By Peter Castillo dence against Reynaldo D.RN. when he on his way to meet one of his children and hit her on the face. prosecution could not contact the woman, appeared at the District Court on April 22 when the Chinese woman invited him to The Filipino said the woman cried for who was reportedly in China. NO money, no honey. on the charge of assault with intent to rob. have some “fun.” help and two men entered the room and It turned out that she was a mainland- The government dropped the case The court therefore dismissed the case. But after they were finished, the woman they ganged up on him. er and was not allowed to work in Hong against a Filipino who was accused of While the Chinese woman claimed that allegedly asked her to pay but he told her He said they only stopped after he got a Kong. Reynaldo was advised by friends to beating up a woman in Yau Ma Tei last Reynaldo tried to rob her, the Filipino had that he did not have any money. severe beating all over his body. They then make sure he had money if ever he would year. a different tale. Reynaldo said the woman got angry and accused him of trying to rob the woman. decide to have “fun” again. The prosecution did not offer any evi- He said he was walking in Yau Ma Tei attacked him and so he also fought back But when the trial was about to start, the 70 days for diamond thief By Philip C. Tubeza was in prison. Imelda stole the diamond ring and dia- A Filipino domestic helper who was ar- mond pendant last year while still working rested at the airport for stealing diamonds for her former employer. She pawned the was sentenced to more than two months jewelry for $6,000, which she sent to the in prison. Philippines. Eastern Magistrate Lee Siu-ho on April “Her father was sick and needed money 27 ordered Imelda A.C. to be imprisoned for his operation. Her relatives in the Phil- for 70 days after she pleaded guilty to ippines asked for help but she did not have stealing a diamond pendant and a diamond money so she committed the offense,” Im- earring from her former employer.