The Philippine government will step in and pay for the flights of Filipino workers in Hong Kong whose plans to return home for the Christmas holidays were thrown into disarray when a travel agency failed to pay for their pre-booked tickets, according to a Filipino official.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano made the announcement today, in news sure to be welcomed by as many as 1,000 Filipino nationals in the city who were caught in the turmoil.
“Our kababayans in Hong Kong and other parts of the world have a very special place in President Duterte’s heart and it is just right that we make their Christmas wishes come true by doing what we can to bring them home,” Cayetano said.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment will split the cost of roundtrip air travel of the affected workers, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said.
Cayetano said the country’s Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has also placed the Philippine Air Force on standby in case air assets would have to be flown to Hong Kong to ferry the workers home.
He also instructed the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong to file criminal charges against PEYA Travel, the Filipino-owned travel agency that defrauded the workers.
“We also will pursue a civil suit against PEYA Travel to compensate our kababayans for the damages they suffered,” Cayetano said.
Arriola said affected workers should go through the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong to receive a refund for the tickets bought from PEYA Travel.
Arriola said Philippine Airlines and Cathay Pacific have offered discounted airfares and will also dispatch larger aircraft to accommodate the stranded workers to ensure they will be home before Christmas.
Cebu Pacific has also offered 50 complimentary return tickets for the affected Filipinos, who are mostly household service workers, Arriola said.
Acting Consul General Roderico Atienza said approximately 160 victims have approached the Consulate to seek assistance, but he expects the number of victims seeking assistance to go up.
