Q Is Mrs Arroyo right to stop maids working in Hong Kong? Filipinos working in Hong Kong are the people who are keeping the Philippines afloat with the huge amount of money they remit home each month. Banning Filipinos from working here in the future will have an incredible impact, especially on those who are coming to the end of their contracts. Now they have no choice but to leave because of Mrs Arroyo's decision. What job can Mrs Arroyo give them once they return home? It's so unfair. Cutting our wages hurts, but from this levy issue we have also learned that every country has its own laws and that we have to respect them. This experience has also taught us to be wise while spending our money. Juliet Grace S. Paclao, Mid-Levels I feel relieved after reading in the paper that the Philippine authorities may make an exception for maids who are renewing their contracts. I am also thankful for those people in Hong Kong who understand our position as foreign domestic helpers, and feel sorry for those who don't. Perhaps they don't know how we work, although some of us are lucky enough to have found considerate employers who treat us well. (I am one of them and earn $4,000 a month.) As a leader of a maids' group, all I can do is try to convince my members not to buy local products and to eat our own lunchboxes on our days off instead of buying or eating in fastfood or Chinese restaurants. I hope the Hong Kong government will reconsider its decision and that the Philippine government will be cautious in resolving the problem. Flaine Geronca, Tai Wai Filipino maids are the most dominant migrant workers in Hong Kong. They have enjoyed low tax and many other benefits here over the years. There is little point in the Philippine government banning the export of domestic helpers to Hong Kong. It isn't a political crisis that Hong Kong is now facing, it's a financial problem. Everyone, whether they are rich, middle or lower class, has an obligation to endure this nightmare until the financial pressure can be relieved. Hong Kong is the only country in the world that provides such a reasonable salary for maids. If the Philippine government maintains its narrow-minded attitude, it will be the Filipino maids who will lose out. Emily Lam Po-ki, Tsing Yi Q Should the small-house policy be abolished? In 1992, my wife and myself were looking for a plot or a built village house in the New Territories. The agent taking us around openly told us we could pick anywhere and, as certain sites had been allocated already, houses could be built quicker on these. We were told that the village head would certify the plot without question. Eventually we opted for an old house (30 years) refurbished it and started a trend in the village of converting old houses. The point is, many of the people who have birth rights to the land have either left the village or completely abandoned it. I know of some people who have left to study in the United Kingdom for more than three years. How can they claim the right to a plot of land? In my village right now, there are mainly non-indigenous people living in old and new flats. Surely, when the policy was implemented, it was to encourage indigenous people to stay and to contribute to the village economy. But building simply to rent the property is clearly not grounds for granting land. It is about time the issue was settled, but I hope the government can also protect the rights of those who clearly deserve it while taking away the rights from those who clearly are not contributing to the villages. Danny Gohel, Lamma Island Q Should $108 million have been spent renovating public toilets? Excessive amounts of money are regularly spent as a result of the government getting its priorities wrong on budget items. It was high time Hong Kong's public toilets made it to the top of that list and have been upgraded. Ivanka Bozinovic-Pearson, Pok Fu Lam
