Filipino News 15 January 2017

08 15- 31 JAN 2017 ISSUE 95 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.pinoynzlife.nz Facebook: Filipino Migrant News
Screengrab from YouTube / Tuko Film Productions.
L e o
Selomenio
(addresses a
crowd of Filipino
maids):
“Wag niyong
isipin katulong
lang ako binabayaran
lang ako ng amo
ko. Nandito ako dahil may
sahod akong dollar may ipapadala
ako sa Pilipinas. It's
not that. Isipin ninyo sa sarili
ninyo manager kayo!
Syempre ako nag mamanage
ng bahay ng amo ko. Bakit
kayo hindi? O? Tatawa sila.
Bakit kinahihiya mo trabaho
mo? Sabihin mo muna manager
ka. Siyempre titignan
ka niya from head to foot.
Oo may nakasabay ako sa
eroplano. Anong ginagawa
mo sa Hong Kong? Manager.
Manager? Manager ka
ng ano? Manager ako ng
amo ko. O tinapat ko nga
iPhone ko ha! Manager?
Tapos tinignan niya ko from
head to toe.”
(Don't think of yourselves
as mere helpers. You're here
just for your salary to send
back home. It's not that.
Think of yourselves as managers.
Of course I manage
my employer's household.
Don't you do the same? They
laugh at me. I met someone
on the plane and was asked
my job. Tell them you're a
manager. They look at me
from head to foot. You're a
manager? Yes, I manage the
affairs of my employer.
Then I whip out my iPhone.
Then they look me over
from head to toe.)
SUNDAY BEAUTY
QUEEN is a touching love
letter to all mothers, sisters,
aunts or anyone who has
sacrificed something to
make us who we are. When
you think about it it's for
every Filipino; for any parent
and child or family in the
world. It will make you want
to hug every woman in your
life.
Directed by Babyruth
Villarama Gutierrez, it is
the only documentary to
ever win BEST PICTURE
in the history of the Metro
Manila Film Fest Awards.
It also garnered BEST
EDITING - Chuck Gutierrez,
GATPUNO ANTO-
NIO J. VILLEGAS CUL-
TURAL AWARD and
CHILDREN'S CHOICE
along with SAVING
SALLY and VINCE &
KATH & JAMES.
It's a story we're all familiar
with regardless of race.
There's someone - a mother,
an aunt, a sister, a father, a
provider - who sacrifices
themselves so we can go to
school, have
food to eat and
have clothes on our
back. They are stories that
don't attract million-dollar
blockbuster excitement; it's
not necessarily Gal Gadot of
WONDER WOMAN or
Hugh Jackman as LOGAN
for 2017. More often than
not they are the people we
take for granted and don't
really think about.
We feel and see the sacrifice
through the experiences
of Leo Selomenio (Science
Education Graduate), Rudelie
Acosta (IT Graduate),
Mylyn Jacobo (AB English
Graduate), Hazel Perdido
(Computer Science Graduate)
and Cherrie Mae
Bretaña (Hotel Management
Graduate).
They are all Overseas
Filipino Workers who work
as domestic helpers in Hong
Kong, but have found meaningful
activity during
Sundays. Leo is an organizer
of pageants and other events
specifically for Filipina
OFWs since 2008. The rest
of the subjects are the candidates.
The pageants are held
only on Sunday as their one
free day in the week.
We go through their typical
day, hear their stories and
even hear from their employers.
As you can see from
their college degrees they're
actually overqualified for
the position of domestic
helper. That doesn't protect
them from experiencing verbal
abuse from their employers
or from being looked
down upon even by their
own countrymen. Even as
the government hails our
OFWs as modern day
heroes, other Filipinos
sometimes look down on
domestic helpers.
Just like the joke that Leo
shares above, SUNDAY
BEAUTY QUEEN isn't just
a tearjerker, but more of an
inspirational journey. We see
that they cope with loneliness
through mutual support,
performances and yes beauty
pageants.
Ju-Chen Chen, an
Anthropologist at the University
of Hong Kong, was
at first puzzled at their
efforts, time and passion for
these activities, even after an
exhausting work week. Chen
witnessed firsthand the
camaraderie during an event.
She discovered that they
literally carry the Philippine
FILM REVIEW
By JUDE BAUTISTA
judebautista.wordpress.com
flag
The Sunday
Beauty Queen(s)
in our lives.
through the performan-ces
of cultural dances, pageants
and concerts. There are elaborate
costumes and choreography.
They are proud bearers
of Filipino identity. Chen
realized that the fulfillment
they get is far greater than
their day-to-day difficulties.
Through their gatherings
and performances they find
a greater sense of self worth.
In the face of a stressful and
often discriminatory work
environment they take the
one day they have for themselves
and still find the energy
to put on a show for others.
HK Mindset
There's no doubt that
domestic helpers in Hong
Kong have a vital role. Long
time TV producer Jack Soo
was interviewed and said. “I
live alone. Mylyn is the only
one taking care of me in my
daily life … Let me tell you
something. If Hong Kong
had no foreign helpers then
Hong Kong would be in
trouble. Just imagine those
familys without a foreign
helper. How are they gonna
work; how will they take
care of their children? How
are they going to do their
daily lives? So if the
Philippine government stops
all the helpers in all the
country then the whole
world will be in big trouble
without helpers. There will
be a big problem.”
Not everyone, though, has
a glowing opinion of foreign
domestic helpers. In April of
2015 Executive Councillor
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee
made some derogatory comments
about Filipina domestic
helpers, accusing them of
seducing their employers.
The comments on her blog
and official facebook page
were particularly painful
knowing the abuse that a
majority of foreign domestic
helpers endure. Some of
them have even suffered
physical and sexual abuse.
For Filipinas who sacrifice
so much this has the potential
to damage their familial
relationships back home.
The issue came up in the
Q&A portion in one of the
pageants. Mylyn Jacobo
very ably replied: “It's a big
insult to us that most
Filipina OFWs are called
prostitutes. I will cite something
that Mrs. Regina Ip
told us. We Filipino domestic
helpers are working here
to serve a need and support
our families in the Philippines.
Whatever you say
about us you should think
twice about.”
2 Week Rule
Documentaries put important
issues to the forefront
because viewers see real
people in real situations, not
actors. In this case it's the
policies of the HK SAR concerning
domestic helpers.
This affects not just the DH
themselves, but their wards
and the elderly, not to mention
their own families back
home reliant on the money
they earn.
continues on pg 09