Filipino community groups from Hong Kong have launched a campaign to oust the Philippine labor secretary for a litany of grievances including referring to an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) killed and stuffed in a freezer in Kuwait as “ice cream.”
In a petition recently uploaded to change.org, several Filipino rights groups from the city slammed Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for being “shamelessly pro-recruiter and anti migrant worker” and “insensitive to the plight of OFWs.”
To highlight the labor secretary’s “callousness,” the groups pointed to “shocking” remarks he made during a meet and greet with workers in Hong Kong last week on the sidelines of an unofficial visit by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the city.
The comments — overheard by several community leaders, according to The Sun HK — concerned the case of Joanna Demafelis, a Filipina domestic worker murdered and stuffed in a freezer by her employers.
“Bello told the OFWs that they should prepare well for their future, and not wait until they turned into ‘ice cream’ like Joanna Demafelis… before they became self-sufficient,” the coalition behind the so-called “Oust Bello Movement” wrote.
The petition organizers — comprising BAYAN Hong Kong & Macau, Mindanao (Hong Kong) Workers Federation, and the Global Ministers Association, among others — also alleged Bello disparaged Demafelis’ relatives by referring to them as “instant millionaires” thanks to donations from people moved by the tragedy.
They also criticized his perceived support of employers over the rights of workers, alleged he colluded with recruiters, and took aim at the decision to recall popular Filipino labor attache Jalilo dela Torre, an outspoken critic of dodgy labor brokers who illegally funneled Filipino workers to sham jobs abroad.
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