Resolution was swift for the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong who got infected with COVID-19, some of whom were terminated by their employers after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong on Tuesday said all OFWs needing emergency assistance due to the recent COVID-19 surge have been accounted for and assisted.
Consul General Raly Tejada also assured the Filipino community there that the Hong Kong labor department had sent word to the consulate that it was committed to giving proper care and treatment to the Filipino workers, mostly domestic helpers, if they test positive for COVID-19.
He said they were likewise talking to the employers of three to five OFWs who were terminated after getting infected with COVID-19 to inform them that firing workers due to their illness was illegal.
More than 200,000 Filipinos work in Hong Kong, more than 90 percent of them as domestic helpers.
The Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union (FMWU), which on Monday sought government assistance on behalf of the OFWs, agreed that the situation had improved as many of the displaced and infected workers were moved to temporary shelters or hospitals.
He said they had provided the OFWs with financial allowance for meals and RT-PCR testing.
Earlier reports claimed that foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, including Filipinos, were fired by their employers, denied admission to hospitals and forced to stay in parks amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections.
According to Tejada, the magnitude and severity of Hong Kong’s fifth wave of coronavirus infections due to the Omicron variant had taken everybody by surprise and affected all its residents, not just Filipinos.
Meanwhile, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said no Filipino from Hong Kong would be barred from coming home to the Philippines amid the surge in cases there.
The government’s policy is to allow the entry of all Filipinos who want to come home, he said.
As to whether Filipinos would be prevented from going to Hong Kong, he said it would be up to the Hong Kong government if it would ban flights from the Philippines. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2022)
