HK paper says 'honest OFW's' story 'a big lie'

[detox]

HK paper says 'honest OFW's' story 'a big lie'
JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE with Floro Taguinod
GMANews.TV
07/15/2009


MANILA, Philippines - Did an unemployed and now-heralded overseas Filipino worker in Hong Kong really return a total of P2.1-million pesos worth of cash and checks or was her heroic act of honesty just rubbish?

When the story was first reported last May, Mildred Perez became the latest OFW lionized for her extraordinary virtue. She was showered with cash donations and praise. President Gloria Arroyo was even televised presenting her with a commendation.

But a Filipino community paper in the Chinese territory has challenged the so-called honesty of the 38-year-old domestic helper-turned-garbage scavenger who claimed to have found and returned the bag of treasure last April in exchange for a can of butter cookies.

Daisy Mandap of The Sun wrote on Wednesday that Perez’s celebrated story of returning a total of HK$350,545 was only half true as the $176,000 in cash she claimed to have found never existed.

"The more important half that caused many Filipinos to put her on a pedestal was nothing but a big lie," Mandap wrote in the report.

In the May 31 story that appeared in the Inquirer, Perez reportedly told Hong Kong-based reporter Blanche Rivera that the bag contained four checks: one for $13,000, another for $5,000, a third for $3,250, and another for HK$10,920.

Aside from the checks, the report mentioned that $176,000 in cash was also uncovered “in denomination of $1,000" bills that day. The $176,000 in cash and the four checks would amount to HK$350,545, the report said.

(Without the HK before it, the $176,000 in cash is presumably in US dollars, which would make the HK$350,545 in the Inquirer grossly inaccurate. At the current exchange rate of 1US$ = HK$7.7502, $176,000 would actually equal HK$1,364,035.20 even without factoring in the checks.) [See sidebar for additional information].

No mention of cash

But from a statement signed by Perez and submitted to Deputy Labor Attaché Nida Romulo of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Hong Kong, Mandap in her The Sun report noted that there was no mention of the $176,000 cash.

The Sun stressed that the document detailed only four checks returned on April 30. The statement was signed by Perez, a companion named David as well as two other individuals identified as the “recipients" of the lost bag. (The reporter later identified the two recipients as Yvonne Tsang and Kitty Yeung of Pioneer Electronics Company Limited, which presumably owned the bag).

A company employee interviewed by The Sun verified the denomination of the four checks and additional cash that only amounted to HK$500. The same employee said the checks couldn't have been encashed by strangers since it was issued to the company. She also didn’t say that the returned envelope was missing $176,000.

"Apparently, Perez’s lie started unraveling much earlier, though either by design or negligence," Mandap wrote, “the Filipino community was kept in the dark about what was happening."

Curiously, the cash the Inquirer reported that Perez found was the exact same amount as the total of the checks (HK$176,000) confirmed to have been returned by the OFW if the currency had been in HK$ instead of US$.

In a phone interview Tuesday night, Perez told GMANews.TV, that she was standing by her claim that she returned all the contents of the bag including the wad of money.

"Kung ano yung sinabi ko sa report ‘yun yung totoo [Whatever I said in the report is the truth]," Perez said from her hometown in Nueva Vizcaya, "I don’t give time for these people. Pressured na po ako [I’m already pressured]."

She begged off from further interviews and said she would clear things up only when she returns to Hong Kong.

Perez, a native of Bambang town in the northern Philippine province of Nueva Vizcaya, went to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper for the sake of her family.

She was fired from her work after she filed a sexual harassment case against her employer in 2007. While waiting for the resolution of the case, she turned to scrounging in garbage bins for income. Hong Kong law bars foreign workers from seeking employment while a court case in which they are involved have yet to be resolved.

Reports that the owner of the checks and cash gave Perez only biscuits as a reward gained her sympathy.

In Hong Kong, members of the Filipino community and other expatriates and locals were said to have passed the hat around for her and collected about $15,000, while the Philippine Consulate General paid for her return air fare to Manila and the cost of sending her cargo to Nueva Vizcaya.

A citation from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) praised Perez’s honesty, which moved the House of Representatives in the Philippines to raise some P100,000 for Perez’s family and commend her for her "honesty and trustworthiness."

The scavenger suddenly became a celebrity, was feted at several events and even conferred a presidential award in Hong Kong by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who thanked her for setting a fine example for all overseas Filipinos.

She was commended and given a cash reward by the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya, offered scholarships for her two grownup children, a job for her husband, and reportedly a movie deal worth P5 million.

Reactions

Sought for comment on The Sun’s report, senior Nueva Vizcaya board member Patricio Dumlao shook his head in response.

"If this is true, then the provincial board should be circumspect in handling cases of the same nature in the future to avoid posers who will take advantage of the provincial board’s generosity," he said.

But Rep. Carlos Padilla of the lone district of Nueva Vizcaya, who authored the House resolution commending Perez, said the OFW was probably being subjected to "vilification from some sectors."

Padilla, who helped raise some P100,000 financial support for Perez’s family, said he based his actions on a report by the DFA.

"A letter was sent to me by the undersecretary of the DFA Esteban Conejos dated July 6 and my office received it on July 13. I regard it as the DFA’s official position on the matter," Padilla said.

The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong said it “stands by its belief that OFW Mildred Perez Bonde committed an honorable act of honesty…"

"Ms. Bonde has consistently stated to the Consulate that among the items she recovered and returned to the owners was cash; the Consulate, which continues to provide consular assistance to Ms. Bonde on her police case, cannot disbelieve her," said the statement signed by Consul General Claro Cristobal.

It noted that Perez exerted time and effort to securing the items she recovered and locate the rightful owners, and return the checks and cash. The statement did not give specifics on the disputed cash amount.

[meewah]

And that I also affirm that it is a big lie. She thinks she can fool all the Filipinos abroad by her tears. Noh! Madam. The first time I heard about the story I absolutely doubted
her so called honesty... of course the cheque is worthless for her, because it is issued to the company and there's no way but to return them. There is no cash! She lied! And there's something fishy with the man David... what is his role in her life? She said
she don't have relatives in Hong Kong...she lied again, since she has a sister. And the
10 super boxes sent to the Philippines, Wow! She must have stayed in Hong Kong for at least 25-30 years. She said she don't have money...she lied again.
So, she is a phony

[ofw_peter]

If so this would be extremely disturbing.

The media and some politicians have already made this such a big deal so they would find it extremely difficult to admit it is a lie.

From what I have read, she got honored by OFW groups and Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, She was getting a citation from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), she was going to get a presidential award from President Arroyo, she was getting money raised by some groups and politicians, and she was getting a free ticket to fly back home. And the media even managed to find out that she came from honest tribe in Vizcaya and her husband was honest too.

She better be real, otherwise I don't know how we are going to end this if we had fooled ourselves to such an extent

[cebupacific]

Since the reporters, Philippine consulate, OFW groups and the politicians have created such a media frenzy about this honest OFW, shouldn't GMANews or Inquirer just send someone to Hong Kong to interview the company who received the lost package?

I am sure it's easy to do, and it's more convincing to us, to verify the story by ourselves instead of by a Hong Kong newspaper, or our media don't want to do it just to avoid the embarrassment?

I have to admit this story starts sounding like a fraud so for those who created this hype they have the obligation to let us know what really happened.

[mabuhay]

Here's the photo copy of the receipt. No cash was mentioned

[dodong]

Dear Mildred, we all know that God knows what really happened, as you have said, but can you just tell us what the hell really happened?

[Found in translation]

Originally Posted by mabuhay

Here's the photo copy of the receipt. No cash was mentioned

is this copy for real? the letter is nothing but flawed from the very first statement. poor poor Mildred, everything can be twisted and turned against her, susmaryosep! sino ba namang organization ang tumulong at gumawa ng sulat na yan, daig pa ng high school student ang ganyang composition!

[dodong]

Mildred says “I don’t have any witness in finding the money. Only God is my witness.”

But honestly I don't understand. Someone would have taken the cash if she returned it, and this 'someone' would be a witness, right?

The copy does look fishy, and that's why Mildred should stand out. To this stage, it's not just a personal matter of hers. The people of her country have been involved in different ways and public and other individual resources have been put on her(think about those awards and sponsorships that came along), so the public deserves a follow-up by Mildred.

I found Philippine media behaves like a bafoon/coward in this entire episode. They first created a frenzy and when public doubts were raised, they chose to escape other than go find the truth.

I can't imagine it would be that difficult to find out what exactly happened.

[MIFFY]

Any update news about this case? any new findings?
The media ??

[tollbros]

I haven't seen any follow-up stories about her. Mildred Perez, the honest OFW in Hong Kong has returned to her home town, and she appears to be disappeared after that.

She did say the statement she made about the money she found and returned was true