Pinoy workers being locked up by employers at home due to nCoV scare

A migrant rights group based in Hong Kong on Thursday said a number of Filipino workers there are forcibly being kept indoors by their employers amid the 2019 novel coronavirus scare.

According to a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido, some Filipino workers in Hong Kong are not being allowed to go outdoors even though their own employers are constantly going in and out of the house.

"[It’s] discriminatory. Bakit domestic workers lang, 'di ba? E samantalang ang mga employer din naman ay lumalabas o 'di syempre carrier din sila kung sakali ng virus pabalik ng bahay,” Edwina Antonio of Mission for Migrant Workers said.

Virgie, a household service worker, said she and her fellow Filipinas have run out of food supply since they are not being allowed to go out of the house even on their days off.

“Sabi namin wala na kaming bigas, wala na kaming mga kape, wala na kaming gamit sa pang sarili namin. Dito pa rin daw kami sa bahay baka daw mag-uwi kami ng virus,” she said.

“Pati 'yung ID ko na dapat i-review sa immigration, hindi ko napuntahan dahil importanteng bagay na, hindi pa rin niya ko pinalabas.”

The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong urged Filipino household service workers to report their abusive employers, who may be fined with a 50,000-Hong Kong dollar penalty.

However, migrant rights groups said the workers are powerless against their employers since they do not have their own homes.

“Talagang forced ka to be in contact with people, kahit 'yung mga nag-travel sa China, dahil bahagi sila ng pamilya ng employers. So nandoon kasama nila sa bahay, so mas 'yun actually 'yung medyo nakakapangamba,” Bayan Hong Kong-Macau chapter member Eman Villanueva said.

Rosemarie, another Filipina worker in Hong Kong, said she became concerned about her health after her employer returned from a trip with cough and colds.

She said her employer has already undergone self-quarantine.

Malacañang has imposed a temporary travel ban on foreigners coming to the Philippines from China, Hong Kong, and Macau in a bid to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Hong Kong has 18 confirmed cases of the virus so far, according to the World Health Organization. — Julia Mari Ornedo/MDM, GMA News