Regal Airport Hotel, Hong Kong
May 13, 2017

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte met with hundreds of members of the Filipino community at the Regal Airport Hotel during his working visit in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In his speech, President Duterte told our kababayans to give his administration three to four years time to eradicate graft and corruption in government because this is what he promised the people when he campaigned for president and that they can hope for this.

He stated that he want the least interventions in the life of overseas Filipino workers, “Kung sila ang mga bagong bayani ng bayan, bakit pahirapan ang mga bayani?” The government is intending to establish an OFW bank by acquiring the Philippine Postal Office.

The President reiterated that his fight against the drug menace will continue because he loves the country and would not let it go down to dogs, “I build a country. I love my country. Maski ganito lang ako I love the Philippines.”

“Be aware of your rights. Be assertive if you are confronted with graft and corruption,” he said in closing his meeting with the Filipino community.

In a media interview after the Filcom meeting, President Duterte said there would be a crackdown on illegal recruiters and he will also ask Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to conduct a study on the overseas employment certificate (OEC) requirement.

As of March 2017, there are around 16,000 residents and 193,000 are household service workers. During the 2016 presidential elections, Hong Kong garnered the highest number of votes among overseas Filipinos worldwide at 46,396 and 66.75% of them voted for President Duterte.

There is about 355 Filipino community organizations in the Territory are registered with the Philippine Consulate General. The Philippine Association of Hong Kong (PAHK) founded in 1961 is currently the organization of Filipino professionals in Hong Kong.

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