HK lawmakers vote to scrap visa-free access to Pinoys over Manila bus hostage tragedy

 News
Nov 072013
 
HK lawmakers vote to scrap visa-free access to Pinoys over Manila bus hostage tragedy

Hong Kong lawmakers voted this week to impose economic sanctions on the Philippines and cancel the visa-free access for Filipinos due to the Manila bus hostage crisis three years ago, South China Morning Post reported. The report said lawmakers voted to pass a non-binding motion by People Power’s Albert Chan Wai-yip calling on the government to impose sanctions.  They also voted 41 to three in favor of former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee’s amendment calling for visa-free access to be scrapped, the report added. More than 100,000 Filipino domestic helpers are working in Hong Kong. Hong Kong tourists, meanwhile, are among the top ten tourist groups arriving in the Philippines with 86,396 arrivals from January to August this year. Sought for comment, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez neither confirmed nor denied the imposition of sanctions but said the government will continue to work to address the issue. “We will continue to work quietly to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion,” Hernandez said in a text message sent Friday to GMA News Online. Last Tuesday, Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying said the government may impose unspecified economic sanctions on the Philippines if Manila will not apologize and grant compensation for a hostage tragedy in 2010, Reuters reported. The Hong Kong government has been demanding for an apology–from the Philippine government and not the Manila City government– and compensation to the victims’ families.  Last month, former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, now Manila mayor, personally delivered a written apology to the People’s Republic Read More …

Manila mayor Joseph Estrada to apologize over Hong Kong deaths

 News
Oct 232013
 
Manila mayor Joseph Estrada to apologize over Hong Kong deaths

In this file photo taken on August 23, 2010, Philippine policemen take position as they start their attack on a hijacked tourist bus in Manila. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA – Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada will formally apologize over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 hostage crisis, an aide said Wednesday, despite President Aquino insisting none should be given. Estrada, a graft-tainted ex-president who was elected mayor of Manila in May, will go to Hong Kong this week to present the apology in the form of a resolution passed by the city council, a city official said. A formal apology has been one of the long-standing demands by the Hong Kong government over the deaths of the eight tourists in Manila in August 2010 after they were taken hostage by a disgruntled Filipino policeman. “There is an admission of a bungled operation. The city of Manila is being more candid now,” Luch Gempis, secretary of the Manila city council, told AFP. Philippine authorities have acknowledged that police and other authorities mishandled the hostage situation. But President Aquino has consistently refused to make a formal apology on behalf of the national government, insisting the deaths were primarily caused by the actions of the hostage taker. The lack of an apology, as well as a refusal to pay compensation, has caused deep tensions between Hong Kong and the Philippines. Aquino reiterated on Wednesday that no national government apology would be given. “The act of one individual should not be Read More …

DFA protests call to bar Filipino workers from Hong Kong

 News
Oct 122013
 
DFA protests call to bar Filipino workers from Hong Kong

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 2:07 am | Sunday, October 13th, 2013 DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez.  INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reacted sharply on Saturday to a proposal by a political party in Hong Kong to ban Filipino domestic workers from the Chinese territory until the Philippines issues an apology for the death of eight HK tourists during a bus hijack in Manila more than three years ago. The status of thousands of innocent Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong should not be leveraged with the city’s appeal for a categorical apology from the Philippines for the tragic result of the bus hijack incident at Rizal Park on Aug. 23, 2010, the DFA said in a statement. “Let us de-link the issue from the Filipino workers in Hong Kong whose dedication to their work and high skill set have contributed to the society and economy of Hong Kong,” said Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson. Hernandez cited the longstanding presence of Filipinos in the former British colony, adding that most Hong Kong residents shared a different view from lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip, who led the ban call. Eman Villanueva, spokesperson for the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body, was quoted in the South China Morning Post as saying that Chan was “barking up the wrong tree.” “Chan is just exploiting the political situation to gain popularity. What does the visa issue have to do with the Manila hostage incident? This is racist and he Read More …

Asia stocks muted on US government shutdown

 Economy
Oct 032013
 
Asia stocks muted on US government shutdown

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets Thursday withstood some of the gloom seeping into other financial markets as the partial shutdown of the U.S. government dragged on for a third day. Some nonessential public services across the U.S. ground to a halt earlier this week after Congress failed to approve short-term funding for the government after the fiscal year ended Monday. Some 800,000 federal workers have been put on unpaid leave and many agencies and programs across the U.S. have been idled. Analysts said investors in Asia were more or less expecting lawmakers from the two political parties to negotiate a solution or put the shaky U.S. economic recovery at risk. “I think people believe the Republicans and Democrats will come to their senses sooner or later, so they should stop behaving like children,” said Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Financial Group in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1 percent to 23,214.40. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to close at 14,157.25. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4 percent to 5,234.90. Benchmarks in India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand also rose. Singapore’s benchmark index fell. Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for public holidays. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 European stocks presented a mixed picture. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent to 6,451.14. Germany’s DAX was down less than 0.1 percent to 8,625.28. France’s CAC-40 lost 0.3 percent to 4,147.13. Stocks on Wall Street appeared on their way to losses, with Read More …

Yahoo, Softbank back Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in fallout over failed Hong Kong IPO

 Economy
Sep 272013
 
Yahoo, Softbank back Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in fallout over failed Hong Kong IPO

A group of men walk past the corporate logo at the headquarters compound of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.(AP Photo) HONG KONG — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s biggest shareholders, Yahoo and Japan’s Softbank Corp., on Friday backed the company’s unusual management structure that Hong Kong’s stock exchange was unwilling to accommodate, forcing it to look to the U.S. for a potentially mammoth IPO. The show of support came a day after a senior Alibaba Group executive sharply criticized the southern Chinese city’s stock exchange for being too inflexible in discussions about a share sale that had been expected to raise up to $15 billion. The company broke off talks for a Hong Kong initial public offering because the stock market wasn’t willing to make an exception to its listing rules. Instead, it’s looking to New York for an initial public offering that analysts estimate could value the company at more than $100 billion. That would dwarf the tech world’s other hotly anticipated share offering by Twitter, which is estimated to have a market value of $10 billion. In a column posted late Thursday on Alibaba’s blog, Vice Chairman Joe Tsai said “Hong Kong must consider what is needed in order to adapt to future trends and changes.” Tsai said the company had ended its discussions for a potential listing. It’s the first public acknowledgement that it has dropped its plans for an IPO in Hong Kong, which Tsai said was the company’s “first choice” because most Read More …

Meralco eyes $250-300 M bonds to finance capex

 Economy
Sep 272013
 
Meralco eyes $250-300 M bonds to finance capex

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, is eyeing to issue US dollar bonds of up to $300 million to finance its capital expenditure requirements. Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said while the company has not set a specific amount for the planned transaction, she said it would be a benchmark size of “anywhere between $250 million and $300 million.” She said proceeds would be used for Meralco’s capex needs. The final transaction date would depend on market conditions. “We continue to monitor the market for the interest while we have not priced,” Siy-Yap said. The planned dollar bond issue comes after Meralco earlier embarked on an investor roadshow in Singapore and Hong Kong. It is also distinct from the plan to issue P20 billion in long-term peso bonds, which would be used to refinance existing debts. Meralco earlier mandated Citigroup to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in Singapore and Hong Kong for the dollar bonds issue. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Officials earlier said the company has allotted P13 billion for capital expenditures this year from P10.3 billion last year. The company expects to post a consolidated core net income of P17 billion this year, higher than the P16 billion posted last year. In the first half of the year, Meralco reported a consolidated core net income of P9.2 billion, two percent higher than the P9 billion posted in the first half of last year. However, its Read More …

HK-based recruiters may lose permits

 News
Aug 302013
 
HK-based recruiters may lose permits

Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:47 am | Saturday, August 31st, 2013 POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac photo from his official Twitter account. MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (Poea) on Friday threatened to strip Hong Kong-based recruitment agencies of their accreditation for collecting placement fees from Filipino household service workers (HSWs). In a Facebook post, Poea chief Hans Cacdac said the agency has received information that some Philippine-accredited agencies in Hong Kong collect placement fees through an “imaginary loan” or an ATM deposit scheme. The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong has already issued a memorandum to all accredited Hong Kong agencies with the warning that the Philippine government will not tolerate these malpractices, Cacdac said. “Any violation committed by the Hong Kong agency will be dealt with seriously and this office (Consulate General of the Philippines) will apply the full force of Philippine laws,” said Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong. Tina G. Santos Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate:

Hong Kong warns travel to Philippines

 News
Aug 122013
 
Hong Kong warns travel to Philippines

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 2:43 pm | Monday, August 12th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – Hong Kong has updated its travel advisory against the Philippines, citing the car bomb explosion in Cotabato last week and the United States’ warning of possible kidnapping threats in Mindanao. “Serious hostage-taking incident happened in Manila on 23 August 2010. Residents should avoid all travel to the country. Those who are already there should attend to personal safety and exercise caution,” the advisory said. The Outbound Travel Alert, issued by the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), was revised on their website August 9, 2013. Last August 23, 2010, some 20 Hong Kong tourists on a bus were held hostage at gun point by Rolando Mendoza, a relieved police officer who wanted to get his job back. Mendoza and the eight hostages were killed when negotiations broke down and a gun fight ensued between him and authorities. “On early August 2013, a car bomb explosion occurred in southern city of Cotabato, resulting in serious casualties,” it said. Around nine people were killed in the incident, two of whom were siblings aged five and seven. “On 29 May 2013, the US Embassy in Manila issued a message to US citizens in the Philippines warning against a credible kidnap threat against foreigners in the Zamboanga area on the island of Mindanao,” it added. It further cited travel advisories issued by China, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom that all specified Mindanao as an area that Read More …

2 women on way to Clark seized in Hong Kong for drug smuggling

 News
Jul 292013
 
2 women on way to Clark seized in Hong Kong for drug smuggling

Agence France-Presse 4:59 pm | Monday, July 29th, 2013 INQUIRER.net file photo HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities said Monday they had arrested two women in possession of more than a dozen kilograms of crystal methamphetamine at the city’s airport. The women, sisters aged 27 and 31, were seized Sunday at Chek Lap Kok airport on their way to Clark in the Philippines. Airport authorities discovered they were carrying 14.5 kilograms (32 pounds) of “ice”, according to a customs official, who withheld their nationality. The drugs, worth HK$10.9 million ($1.4 million), were found concealed inside false compartments of three suitcases carrying men’s clothing, Customs Drug Investigation head Hui Wai-ming told reporters. “The weight of the suitcase was a bit abnormal,” Hui said, adding that the drugs could have been sold for more than two times the Hong Kong price in the Philippines. Crystal methamphetamine creates a feeling of euphoria and increased confidence but hallucinations and paranoia are potential side-effects. It has become a drug of choice for young addicts in Asia. Under Hong Kong law, manufacturing and trafficking dangerous drugs carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of five million Hong Kong dollars. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Crime , Drug Smuggling , Global Nation , Read More …

Labor Sec. Baldoz cries foul over PHL ‘slave nation’ tag

 Entertainment
Jun 172013
 

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Monday decried the “slave nation” tag given to the Philippines by Hong Kong football fans who booed the Philippine football team Azkals recently. “The remarks are derogatory,” Baldoz said. With almost half of the 300,000 domestic helpers in Hong Kong coming from the Philippines, Hong Kong remains […]

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