Consul General to Hong Kong Zenaida Angara-Collinson told The STAR yesterday the Hong Kong government has agreed to send home these prisoners so they can serve their remaining terms in the Philippines but that "lack of a legal framework" prevents the Department of Justice in Manila from acting on their cases.
"That is why we are urging our Senate to immediately ratify the agreement," she said. "Hong Kong is very much willing to repatriate these prisoners and serve the remaining years of their sentences back home but the Philippines Justice Department lacks the legal framework to accept them. These prisoners have already signified their desire to go home."
Collinson said the three murder convicts were each jailed for 10 years and that one of them, Baby Bueno, was found guilty of killing her Swiss boyfriend in a celebrated case recently.
Filipino prisoners in Hong Kong are serving time for crimes ranging from possession of fake passports to overstaying and murder, she added.
Collinson said neither has the Senate ratified an agreement between the Philippines and Hong Kong on mutual assistance on criminal matters.
Collinson said OFWs who have committed offenses in the Chinese territory are "minimal" compared to the total number of Filipino residents.
"If you have 100 cases or let’s say 300 or 500 cases, but 500 out of 180,000 is not quite significant," she said.
Collinson said the Hong Kong government provides free legal assistance to OFWs as this is required under the territory’s law, and that the Consulate helps them in filing complaints or when they are charged in court.
"Otherwise, legal suit in Hong Kong will cost you a lot of money," she said. "We help them in going to the police, file complaints and all the way in court. We also follow up because we have to inform their relatives about their condition and we also make prison visits."
Meanwhile, Collinson said she has sought the Hong Kong government’s help to acquire land where a training center and school for the 180,000 OFWs in the territory can be constructed.
"If Hong Kong was able to give lands to the Americans, Japanese, Canadians, Australians, and Singaporeans, I see no reason why Filipinos could not be provided the same opportunity," she said.
Filipinos comprise the biggest number of expatriates in Hong Kong, representing two percent of the territory’s entire population, she added.