Senatorial candidate and former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista wants to know the truth on the reported plight of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who have allegedly contracted coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Right now, Bautista said there are conflicting reports about the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong, which has remained a top destination of OFWs even during the pandemic.
News broke out a couple of days ago that COVID-stricken Filipino domestic helpers are being driven out of their employers’ homes and left to fend for themselves on the streets of Hong Kong.
Some groups and officials have said there was nothing to worry about as to the situation of OFWs in the Chinese territory as the queues of OFWs seen on the streets were merely those of Filipinos lining up for COVID tests .
Other reports, however, said that Hong Kong employers have severed their ties with their Filipino househelps and have kicked them out. As a rule, foreign domestic helpers are required to stay at the homes of their employers in Hong Kong.
“The point is who really knows the real situation?” said Bautista, who is running for senator under the BBM-Sara UniTeam ticket. He appealed for authorities to launch an investigation on the matter, if only to provide the OFWs' relatives back home some peace of mind.
“The worst thing is the agony of their families back home...Hundreds of families of those working in Hong Kong are worried for sure,” said the movie actor-turned-politician.
Consul General Raly Tejada was quoted in reports as saying that the Philippine government would run after “heartless” employers who send the sick OFWs to the streets after terminating their contracts.
Tejada also said at least 10 Filipinos, who had been driven into the streets of Hong Kong, had been rescued by Philippine consulate officials. But Bautista noted that some reports narrate a different situation.
“But the important thing is to protect our countrymen whatever the situation is...The first thing to do, however, is to know the truth, what’s really happening,” the aspiring senator said.