High Court Denies Right of Abode to Three Domestic Workers by Cheryl M

Page 20 Page 8 Page 13 CURTAINS DOWN. WINNER. The High Filipinos are mourning Court rules that an the death of the FDH does not have to venerable showman pay $13,000 due to German “Kuya Germs” her loan’s excessive Moreno. interest rate. AIMING HIGH. After dodging bullets and surviving wrong career moves, domestic worker Maria Theresa Estabillo takes a shot at fulfilling her The No.1 Filipino Newspaper Vol.VI No.339 January 15, 2016 long-held dreams. ‘Ban her totally’ Nearly 100 FDHs accuse agency of overcharging By Philip C. Tubeza THE Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) has suspended an employment agency after nearly 100 Filipino domestic helpers accused it of overcharging. Acting POLO chief Ma. Nena German said they stopped the agency, which is located in New Kowloon, from recruiting Filipinos after at least 76 domestic workers accused it of overcharging. She asked that the name of the agenc be withheld pending the filing of a formal complaint before the Labour Department. “We will file the complaint before the end of the month. At first, there were more than 50 complainants but now their number has grown to 76,” German told Hong Kong News. “Following our rules, we have suspended the agency,” she added. German also said that the POLO would forward the case to the Philippine Over- seas Employment Administration (POEA) so that its “partner agency” back in the Philippines would be investigated for allegedly collecting a placement fee of P23,000 and P9,000 in training fees from the complainants. The workers wrote a letter to Consul General Bernardita Catalla on January 11 REJECTED. The High Court has dismissed the petitions of three foreign domestic helpers who asked that they be allowed to permanently stay in Turn to page 11 Hong Kong to take care of their children or their grandchildren who were born here. This file photo shows Filipino domestic workers in Central. High Court denies right of abode to three domestic workers By Cheryl M. Arcibal Au of the Court of First Instance rejected tion)… The Director (of Immigration) has He said the applicants also could not and covenant of aspiration, which has not the Filipino women’s claim that denying no obligation to take it into account as a invoke the International Covenant on been domesticated in Hong Kong by leg- THE High Court has denied the bid of them the right of abode would violate the relevant consideration in making the rele- Economics, Social and Cultural Rights islation,” the justice said. three domestic workers to be allowed to fundamental rights of the children, who vant decisions,” Justice Au said. (ICESCR) and of the Convention of the “It (ICESCR) therefore does not confer permanently stay in Hong Kong to take are Hong Kong permanent residents. The judgment consolidated the bids for Rights of Children (CRC) because Hong any direct rights on individual citizens or care of their children or their grandchil- “I conclude that there is no ‘family judicial review of domestic workers Vic- Kong had yet to pass an enabling law for obligations upon public authorities under dren. right’ as contended for under (Artcile 39 torina Pagtama, Milagros Comilang, and these treaties. In a 105-page decision, Justice Thomas of Hong Kong’s Basic Law or constitu- Desiree Luis. “The ICESCR is an international treaty Turn to page 12 PUBLISHED BY HK PUBLICATIONS LTD. TEL: 2851 1766 WEBSITE : WWW.HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK 2 NEWS January 15, 2016 HONG KONG NEWS Around 2k HK Pinoys living in poverty By Philip C. Tubeza Of the estimated 2,000 poor Filipinos since the end of 2013 to assist EMs in (around 400 households) in Hong Kong, finding employment, and has strengthened COMPARED with other ethnic groups in the report said that 700 were male; 1,300 the communication and collaboration with Hong Kong, Filipinos (excluding foreign were female; 500 were aged under 18; and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) domestic helpers) are not at high risk of 200 were aged 65 and above. that are serving EMs,” it added. falling into poverty, but there are those Their median household income was Besides giving a profile of poor Filipi- who do, a government study said. only $6,800 although half were living in nos in Hong Kong, the report showed the The Hong Kong Poverty Situation Re- households with children. circumstances of the other members of the port on Ethnic Minorities 2014 said that Also, around 700 of these Filipinos liv- Filipino community. there were 15,200 Filipinos residents of ing in poverty were born in Hong Kong The report said the median income of the city and their median household in- while 1,400 of them had been in the city employed Filipino male residents was come was $19,500 (based on the 2011 for more than 10 years. $13,000 while that of women was $9,000. census). These poor Filipinos can be found in the More than half of the 15,200 permanent However, it said a “crude estimation” outlying islands (500 persons), Yuen Long residents had college education (6,500 showed that that there were around 2,000 (300), Kwun Tong (300), the Mong Kong persons) while 4,500 reached high school, Filipinos living below the poverty line in to Tsim Sha Tsui area (200), and Central and 400 were able to finish only elementa- Asia’s World City. and Western (200). ry education, the report said. “Filipinos saw less prominent poverty Commission on Poverty chair Carrie Lam promises help for HK poor The report said the government was It added that a majority were wom- risk given their generally better education working hard to help members of ethnic en (9,300) while 3,400 were children. and higher incomes…Thais and Indone- for one-person households in Hong members of ethnic minority groups were minority (EM) groups find jobs. Around 3,300 were born in Hong Kong sians were at higher poverty risk due to Kong; $8,500 for two-person households; living below the poverty line despite gov- “Special counters are set up in all job while more than two-thirds (8,300) had their lower educational attainment and $13,000 for three-person households; ernment financial assistance, and these in- centres to serve EM job seekers, and in- been living in the city for more than 10 lacklustre salaries, notwithstanding their $16,400 for four-person households, cluded an estimated 2,000 Filipinos. terpretation services are arranged for job years. smaller family sizes and smaller number $17,000 for five-person households, and The others who did not make the cut in- seekers who do not speak Chinese and The report also said that Filipinos were of children,” said the report, released on $18,800 for households with six persons cluded 9,000 Pakistanis; 4,900 people of English,” the report said. mostly found in the outlying islands (800 December 31. or more. mixed races; 2,500 Indians; 2,500 Whites; “Besides, (the Labour Department) has households), Wan Chai (600), and Central It said the poverty line stood at $3,500 The report said an estimated 28,600 and 2,200 Nepalese, the report said. organised more than 20 inclusive job fairs and Western (500). Pinoy convicted of watching women change clothes at the beach By Philip C. Tubeza “You are a repeat offender and the pres- Kong resident. The wintesses included ent offense is a bad one,” Judge Hui told four teenage girls, one police officer, and FOR the third time, a Filipino bar tender the defendant on Dec. 31. one taxi driver. was convicted of peeping into a women’s “You were seen roaming inside a fe- The incident allegedly happened at changing room in Repulse Bay. male changing room that is a private place around 6 p.m. on July 6 at the female Eastern Magistrate Peter Hui convicted for females…They were walking around changing room at the beach. E. Pakit of “loitering causing concern” naked…They didn’t expect a male to be Two teenage girls allegedly saw the de- after two teenage girls allegedly saw him there,” he added. fendant peeping into a cubicle by lifting peeping into the women’s changing room The government had presented six its shower curtain while two other teenage at the popular beach. witnesses against the defendant, a Hong girls were changing their clothes. During their separate testimonies, the girls said they saw parts of the face of the man who was peeping, and described the person as “bald,” not Chinese, and wear- Repulse Bay beach ing a black shirt and black trousers/shorts. The taxi driver saw Pakit as he was go- but the latter ignored him. When policemen arrived, Pakit report- ing out of the female toilet and stopped The driver said he also shouted for help edly told them that he came from the him from escaping. He told the court that from other people at the beach when Pakit women’s toilet because he was looking for he asked Pakit a question in Cantonese, struggled and tried to flee. his wife and daughter. Pakit’s lawyer asked for leniency, add- ing that the Filipino had a drinking problem and had already been jailed. “Alcohol is a problem given his job as a bar tender in the same restaurant for the last five years…Being locked up seems to have given him a lesson. He understands that he has broken the law,” the barrister said. “I will urge the court to give him one last chance. His brother, wife, and daughter are here to give him support,” he added, noting that Pakit’s last conviction was five years ago.

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