Bus Hostage Won’t Impact Filipino Domestic Workers In Hong Kong

Alfredo Palmiery, president of the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines, said that although the Hong Kong government and residents denounced the Philippine government for poor handling of the hostage incident that caused the lives of eight residents, Hong Kong employers did not cancel job orders for Filipino domestics.

So far there was only one reported incident of a Hong Kong national refusing to renew the contract of a Filipino maid as a result of the hostage crisis, Palmiery said.

Philippine Consul General to Hong Kong Claro Cristobal dispelled reports that some Filipinos in the Crown Colony were attacked in the aftermath of the hostage taking. Cristobal admitted the consulate continues to get hate emails, texts and calls.

There are about 150,000 Filipino maids in the Crown Colony and they make up about one-third of all foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. The rest are mostly from Indonesia and Vietnam. Palmiery said Hong Kong employers prefer Filipinos over other nationalities because of their efficiency and better English-speaking skills.

Amid the Hong Kong warning to residents traveling to Manila, Cristobal issued a similar warning to Filipinos who want to take a vacation in Hong Kong because of the prevailing tense atmosphere in the Chinese territory arising from the bus hostage incident. Hong Kong formerly was a favorite tourist destination for middle-class and wealthy Filipinos because of its proximity to Manila and the place’s reputation as a shopping paradise.