Page 2 Page 6 Page 12 JUDGMENT DAY. FAKE. The POLO looks Labor Sec. Rosalinda into the case of an Baldoz is set to decide FDH threatened with on the fate of former a bogus court order Labor Attache to HK to force her to pay a Manuel Roldan. P160,000 agency loan. OUT OF ARABIA. Newly-arrived Vice Consul Alex Vallespin is eager to serve his fellow The No.1 Filipino Newspaper Vol.VI No.328 July 1, 2015 Filipinos in HK. P8 billion Case vs ‘live- e-passport printing deal questioned in’ rule junked By Cheryl Arcibal and Maia Lopez WITHOUT public bidding, the Depart- ment of Foreign Affairs (DFA) awarded its P8 billion e-passport project to a pri- vate firm with no established record in printing security documents, an admin- istration ally in Congress said. Akbayan party-list Rep. Ibarra Gut- ierrez III urged the DFA to explain why it awarded the e-passport printing deal to the APO Production Unit which, ac- cording to Gutierrez, outsourced the project to another printer. He said passports were previously printed at the security plant complex of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas before the DFA entered into a 10-year contract with APO. “Why fix what ain’t broke? Why did the DFA suddenly agree to transfer the production of the country’s passports to the APO Production Unit, a private firm that has no established track record for printing security documents?” Gutier- rez said. Reached for comment, Foreign Af- fairs spokesman Charles Jose defended the contract with APO Production. “I don’t think we would have entered into it if it were not aboveboard,” Jose told Hong Kong News. But the DFA official declined to give details as to how APO was chosen. “We will reply in the proper forum. If SOARING HIGH. Members of the Knights of Rizal carry the Philippine flag and the revolutionary colors during the commemoration of the 117th Congress will call a hearing on this is- anniversary of the declaration of Philippine independence at Chater Road in Central on June 14. (Philip C. Tubeza) sue and if we are invited to it, then that is the proper forum for us to give our By Philip C. Tubeza of “conspiracy to make or cause to be made charge is dismissed,” Magistrate Ho said on “That will have to be challenged through side,” Jose added. false representations to Immigration Officer June 24. other means but not through this case,” Filipino groups in Hong Kong had A Shatin magistrate has dismissed the case for the purpose of obtaining an entry per- With the case dismissed, barrister Earl Deng said. complained against the “expensive” against a Filipino domestic worker that was mit” against Mary Rose T. Arugay after the Deng, Arugay’s lawyer, said critics of the Deng earlier said that Arugay’s camp was price tag of Philippine e-passports as going to be used to challenge the constitu- prosecution decided not to pursue the case. “live-in” rule would have to look for anoth- prepared to present NGO representatives compared to those of Indonesians. tionality of Hong Kong’s “live-in” rule for “With the prosecution offering no further er case to use as a basis to challenge the rule, and legal experts to prove that the “live-in” A Philippine-passport costs HK$480 foreign domestic workers. evidence, I find no evidence against the de- which requires foreign domestic workers to Turn to page 16 Magistrate Ho Chun-yiu junked the case fendant on the charge she is facing, so the live in the residence of their employers. Turn to page 16 PUBLISHED BY HK PUBLICATIONS LTD. TEL: 2851 1766 WEBSITE : WWW.HONGKONGNEWS.COM.HK 2 NEWS July 1, 2015 HONG KONG NEWS Baldoz set to decide on Roldan case By Cheryl Arcibal regarding the administrative cases against Once the recommendation is submitted, duct prejudicial to the best interest of ser- Roldan this week. Baldoz would review it and, depending on vice against Roldan, who ended his tour THE fate of former Labor Attache to Hong “We will submit our recommendation to her evaluation, she could either accept or of duty in Hong Kong in September 2014. Kong Manuel Roldan is now in the hands Secretary Baldoz within the week. She is reject it. The investigation was based on a com- of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. also waiting for our recommendation kasi In January, a DOLE fact-finding com- plaint filed by the Coalition of Service Romeo Montefalco Jr., DOLE-Legal may mga nagtatanong na din sa kanya,” mittee recommended that a formal inves- Providers for Ethnic Minorities in Hong Services Division chief, said they will Montefalco told Hong Kong News on tigation be undertaken on administrative Kong, alleging that Roldan breached con- submit their recommendation to Baldoz June 23. complaints of grave misconduct and con- flict of interest rules for allegedly approv- ROLDAN ing the accreditation of an employment agency owned by the daughter of a former found Roldan to have violated conflict of staff member at the Philippine Overseas interest rules. Labor Office in Hong Kong, among oth- Montefalco shot down speculations ers. that a decision had already been reached A fact-finding committee tasked by regarding Roldan’s case. He said Baldoz Consul General Bernardita Catalla had still had to review their report. HONG KONG NEWS July 1, 2015 3 4 July 1, 2015 HONG KONG NEWS HONG KONG NEWS July 1, 2015 5 6 NEWS July 1, 2015 HONG KONG NEWS Pinay threatened with ‘fake’ order By Philip C. Tubeza Court Brach 78 Judge Herbert Clemente” liable because this involves the payment Genito got a who told her to attend her “arraignment” of an illegal placement fee,” the source “court order” THE Philippine Overseas Labor Office and for her to submit her counter-affidavit. added. from a “judge” (POLO) is investigating the case of a do- “Genito is worried because she wants Genito said she was looking for work who was not mestic worker who was threatened with a to go home but she does not want to go in Hong Kong in March 2011 when she even listed in the fake court order to force her to pay a loan return to the Philippines only to attend a received a text message from Baguio Ben- roster of Filipino that she took out so that she could pay an court trial,” the source said. guet International Recruitment Agency. lawyers. illegal placement fee. POLO checked the “court order” and However, she was asked to pay P3,500 A source at the POLO said that worker noticed that it did not bear any court seal. for her photo and video; P2,500 for med- Jane Gaynor G. Genito complained that It also did not state which city or munici- ical examination; and P10,500 for three- she was being forced to pay P81,567 to pality the court was located. weeks training. Nittan Capital Finance Inc. in the Philip- The POLO checked with the Office of Genito said she was also instructed to pines although she had already paid more the Court Administrator at the Supreme get a P70,000 loan from Nittan while Ba- than P62,000. Court and discovered that there was no guio Benguet allegedly collected a total of “Many of the cases we had about place- “Herbert Clemente” in its list of judges. P90,000 from her. ment fees involved Nittan Finance. We The real Metropolitan Trial Court “Before my flight to Hong Kong, to- will look into this lending company,” the Branch 78 is located in Paranaque but its gether with 13 OFWs deployed to Hong source said. current judge is Ramsey Domingo Pichay, Kong, Baguio Benguet…gave us docu- Genito reportedly paid P154,000 in who was assigned there in 2006. ments to sign. The content of the docu- processing and placement fees before she “We also checked with the roster of law- ment was ‘we cannot file a case against could come to Hong Kong to work as do- yers in the Philippines and there is no Her- them,’” Genito said. mestic worker. bert Clemente listed there. So, there’s no “We signed the document because we When she later complained about the lawyer in the Philippines with that name,” were afraid the agency will cancel our illegal placement fee, Genito received the source said. flight and our employment in Hong Kong an “order” from one “Metropolitan Trial “We will also determine if her agency is refused,” she added. 259 FDHs arrested for overstaying By Cheryl Arcibal tivities at the same time, such as working while 556 cases involved citizens from illegally.” mainland China. IMMIGRATION agents arrested 259 for- For the first five months of the year, In April, Hong Kong authorities found eign domestic helpers during the first five the ImmD said it handled 1,331 cases of out that 53-year-old Herminia Garcia had months of the year—or almost two arrests overstaying, half of the 2,660 overstaying been overstaying in Hong Kong for 20 every day---for overstaying. cases it handled for the entire 2014. years after her 14-year-old daughter, also Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok Of the 2015 cases, 623 cases involved undocumented, with a British banker fell told the Legislative Council on June 17 citizens of countries and territories in the to her death. that the Immigration Department (ImmD) Asia-Pacific region (excluding China), Meanwhile, 12-year-old Siu Yau-wai will step up its intelligence-gathering ef- lived in Hong Kong undocumented for forts to investigate cases of overstaying nine years.