Philippines to prepare for repatriation of Filipinos in Hong Kong

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will prepare for the immediate repatriation of Filipino workers in Hong Kong after domestic workers were fired by their employers amid the coronavirus disease 2019  (COVID-19) outbreak.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. yesterday said he was “deeply disgusted” with Hong Kong.

“We’ll prepare for their repatriation pronto. Deeply disgusted with HK which begged us to let domestic workers return to work,” Locsin said on Twitter. “I extracted promise from Chinese ambassador that they’d be given same protection from COVID-19 as HK residents. I shoulda specified ‘from Hongkongers.’”

“Very sad to read this. We’ve done good by you, Hong Kong. We expect you to do good by our people,” Locsin tweeted,  expecting that Hong Kong would reciprocate the Philippines’ good acts.

As country coordinator for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Dialogue Relations, Locsin co-chaired the meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month in Vientiane, Laos.

All 10 foreign ministers of ASEAN attended in view of the urgency of the topic.

Expressing the Philippines’ confidence in China overcoming this public health crisis, Locsin handed a letter from President Duterte for Chinese President Xi Jinping conveying the country’s solidarity and support.

“When the West turned on China for COVID-19, I stood up for her before the vicious West at the ASEAN-COVID-19 meeting. I said that I begged my President to let Filipino domestic workers return to their jobs in HK, showing my trust in the Chinese city. This I guess is thank you,” Locsin said.

The foreign affairs chief on Monday lamented the condition of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who were fired by their employers.

He was reacting to a South China Morning Post report about dozens of domestic workers fired by their employers.

Meanwhile, no Filipino has been affected by the COVID-19 in Italy, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Citing report of the Philippine embassy in Rome and the Philippine consulate general in Milan, DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez said no one among the 161,885 Filipinos in Italy were reported infected with the virus. – With Mayen Jaymalin