On Saturday, April 25, a story swept Philippine media claiming that a Filipino caregiver in Taiwan was being threatened with deportation over social media posts, including a Facebook Live video in which she was critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his online supporters.

That afternoon, a press release from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taichung claimed it was working to deport the worker, who it named as Elanel Egot Ordidor. The release—marked as coming from Labor Attaché Fidel Macauyag—accused Ordidor of “using several social media accounts” to “discredit and malign the President and destabilize the government.”

The release accused Ordidor of breaking laws in both Taiwan and the Philippines—claims which are not supported by evidence—and went on to say the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Taichung “coordinated with her broker and employer on her deportation on the basis of the gravity of Ordidor’s offense under Philippine Law.”

A video posted by Ordidor under the pseudonym Linn Silawan had been trending online. The video was critical of Duterte and his fervent online supporters—nicknamed the “diehard Duterte supporters,” or DDS—for their actions during the coronavirus outbreak in the Philippines.

The press release said Ordidor had been asked to delete her post and to publicly apologize to Duterte and the government. Ordidor deleted the video, but did not apologize.

Ketagalan Media learned that no effort was actually made to deport Ordidor, raising the likelihood that the press release was part of an already robust pattern of actions to intimidate her at a time when Duterte’s government is facing strong criticism at home over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement, which was first reported by CNN Philippines at around 3 p.m., was published widely on outlets such as Rappler and the Philippine Inquirer. Some reports implied that the deportation was in progress after Macauyag had liaised with Ordidor’s broker and employer.

Ordidor said yesterday she was aware of the reports but was never personally notified of any plans to deport her.

As the story spread across outlets in the Philippines, Ordidor said no attempt was made to seek comment from her.

Elanel Egot Ordidor. (Photo: Supplied)

The Ministry of Labor (MOL), contacted on Saturday through their worker helpline, said it was not aware of any deportation order being made for Ordidor and reiterated that all deportations follow a strict set of guidelines.

The help desk also said it has established contact with Ordidor to advise her of her rights should any person try to force her to leave Taiwan. Ketagalan Media has requested an official statement on the matter from the MOL.

Ketagalan Media also contacted Macauyag at around 5 p.m. on Saturday seeking clarification on the press release. Macauyag initially claimed that he was not in a position to speak about the press release. “I don’t know what is going on, I cannot speak right now about this issue,” he said.

Pressed to confirm if Taiwanese authorities were involved in the case, Macauyag again said he was “not in a position to speak about it.”

When asked to confirm details of the press release, Macauyag claimed to have no knowledge of it and said he had only heard of the meeting with Ordidor from his staff.

“I do not know exactly what is happening,” Macauyag said. “In fact, I have just woken up.”

But Macauyag later admitted that he had gone to Ordidor’s home, where she is a live-in caretaker, on Friday, April 17. The press release states that the meeting took place on April 20.

Fidel Macauyag. (Credit: Facebook / Fidel Macauyag)

This appears to be the first time that a Philippine government official has sought to repatriate an Overseas Foreign Worker (OFW) for online speech. However, other attempts to silence critics have been made inside the Philippines in recent weeks. Duterte’s government has been experiencing a rampant wave of criticism for its response to the COVID-19 epidemic with some claiming that Duterte is using the epidemic as a cover for shifting the country to martial law.

In an April 24 public address, Duterte threatened to do exactly that.

Asked what law Ordidor had broken in the Philippines, Macauyag replied, “I do not know,” despite the press release stating that the law in question was cyber libel under Republic Act No. 10175.

Ordidor’s actions do not appear to be in violation of the act, a 2012 law criminalizing cybercrimes. In recent weeks, Philippine authorities have cited a coronavirus emergency act to summon and detain individuals who publish online posts critical of the government, drawing criticism from numerous rights groups.

Duterte’s office on Sunday denied any involvement in making plans to deport Ordidor from Taiwan.

But the crusade against Ordidor had been going on for at least one week. Ordidor said MECO had contacted her the day before through the official MECO POLO Facebook account and asked for a meeting about the viral video and for her full details. Ordidor agreed, and three MECO staff arrived at her workplace around 3 p.m. on April 17. Ordidor said her broker and employer were not present.

Ordidor said Macauyag often talked over her in the meeting, making it difficult for her to express her reasoning for posting the original video on April 12. POLO staff took a video of their meeting with Ordidor, she said. When she asked for a copy of the video after the meeting, they declined, saying they had deleted it.

She confirmed that Macauyag had asked her in the meeting to delete the April 12 video and issue an apology. Under the duress of three government officials at her workplace and threats of Macauyag “doing something against her,” Ordidor said she initially agreed to do so.

Ordidor (left) and Macauyag at her workplace and home in Yunlin on April 17, 2020. (Photo: Supplied)

However, once the officials had left, she had a change of heart.

Ordidor acknowledged to Ketagalan Media that she used coarse language in her six-minute video and was harsh towards Duterte supporters, describing them as fools for supporting Duterte’s COVID-19 policies. She, as others have done online, expressed the opinion that the current policies may lead to a food crisis in the Philippines. She also acknowledged that she said in the video that should Duterte give her the opportunity, she would slap him.

Ordidor said that the MECO POLO Facebook account started sending her messages around 8 p.m. on April 17, demanding that she acquiesce to their demands. However, she felt that it was unjust that she had been targeted for expressing anti-Duterte views, while vloggers that expressed similarly dismissive opinions on Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo were allowed to do so without similar demands being placed on them. (Robredo is not a political ally of Duterte.)

Ordidor said that she has no regrets about her original video. “I stand for the truth,” she said on Sunday.

In the phone interview with Ketagalan Media, Macauyag stated that he had visited Ordidor to “tell her what is the problem and to tell her I am the one who is charge of taking care of [overseas foreign workers] in the center of Taiwan, and I want to know what is her problem is with the president.”

Macauyag, a former state prosecutor in Manila, went on to elaborate: “If you ask me what law she violated in the Philippines, well we have cybercrime law in the Philippines … whoever you are when you malign a certain person … when you defame a person using a PC and social media as a medium, you can be held accountable for that.”

Asked if he believed Ordidor had maligned the president of the Philippines, Macauyag replied, “Of course. When you say you want to slap the president, and ‘I am ready to go in prison forever.’”

Asked what Ordidor’s fate would be should she return to the Philippines, Macauyag stated, “I do not know. She has to face the charges there if there is [any].”

He further claimed, without providing evidence, that maligning a person using Facebook was a criminal matter in the Philippines.

Macauyag admitted that, although the press release claimed Ordidor’s deportation was in progress, no order was officially being processed by Taiwanese authorities. “I have not talked to them; I have not talked to anyone for this petition.” He declined to comment any further.

Deporting a foreign worker from Taiwan requires the approval of the Taiwanese authorities. A foreign embassy cannot initiate and complete a deportation on its own, even if it secures the support of an employee’s labor broker and employer.

Ordidor confirmed on Sunday that MECO POLO had not contacted her since the evening of April 17.

According to Ordidor neither her employer nor her broker have been in contact with her about this matter. The last time Ordidor spoke with her broker was when she signed her contract on May 3, 2019. Ordidor describes her relationship with her employer as good and said she believes that both parties are happy with the arrangements.

Ordidor expressed appreciation for Taiwan’s 1955 labor hotline reaching out to her to advise her of her rights at a time that she was understandably concerned about her future.

A Facebook post in support of Ordidor, referring to her pen name, Linn Silawan.

Migrante International, a Manila-based NGO which focuses on the human rights of overseas Filipino workers, issued a statement late Saturday condemning the actions of MECO Taichung as harassment and suggesting that they were politically motivated.

“Migrante International denounces in the strongest terms the harassment being done against Elanel Egot Ordidor, an OFW caregiver, by DOLE and its POLO officials in Taiwan including Labor Attaché Fidel A. Macauyag,” the NGO stated.

“There are thousands upon thousands of distressed, abused, stranded and neglected OFWs needing to be rescued and assisted but these overseas POLO officials opted instead to expend all their time in the world to gang up on Ordidor on the mere basis of her critical views against President Duterte. This is definitely meant to divert people’s attention from the Duterte regime’s inutility in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and recession in the Philippines.”

Some Philippine media reports claimed that the deportation was fait accompli, with Taiwan’s complicity, and that Ordidor was facing charges in Manila.

At a time when Taiwan is receiving global attention for its democratic values, an official communication from MECO claiming that a deportation is taking place on political grounds has the potential to damage Taiwan’s international standing.

Lennon Wong 汪英達 of Taoyuan-based Serve the People Association (SPA) blasted MECO POLO for overstepping its mark.

“Any person has the rights to express his/her opinion on the politics, it is just part of the freedom of speech and international human rights,” he said. “You can have different ideas, and you can argue about it, but you can’t shut his [or] her mouth.”

Wong dismissed any idea that Ordidor had broken any laws in Taiwan. (The press release did not name a Taiwanese law that Ordidor was being accused of breaking, nor have any MECO or POLO officials named such a law.)

“It is really disturbing to see some government officials from the Philippines trying to silence a Filipino migrant worker who just expressed some of her thoughts including complaints on the Philippine government.” he said.

“Moreover, the official asked her to delete the posts and make an apology to President Duterte. China is notorious in doing so, and now the Philippines is [trying] to catch up on that?”

Ordidor received messages of support (right) but was also trolled by fake accounts using her image (left).

The press release came after Ordidor had experienced a brutal week of cyber bullying when her Facebook Live video, which was recorded in Tagalog, went viral in international Tagalog-speaking communities. Many DDS vloggers lambasted her for her views. By Friday afternoon, over 2,000 people had signed a petition calling for Ordidor’s deportation from Taiwan on Avaaz.com, a website which allows community petitions to be set up by users.

The petition, which was not addressed to anyone, claimed that Ordidor had “bullied and humiliated our president” and “spread fake sources about the coronavirus.”

After being contacted by Ketagalan Media on Friday, Avaaz took down the petition for violating community standards.

The Avaaz petition after it was blocked. The photo used showed the faces of Ordidor’s daughters, which have been obscured for privacy purposes. (Screenshot)

Screenshots provided by Ordidor suggest that another petition in a similar vein had been posted on Change.org, however it was not possible to trace this as of Friday, suggesting that it may also have been taken down.

“No one should be deported for their criticism of any government,” Wong said. “On the contrary, the Philippine officials who made this huge mistake should be ousted and deported.”

“I hope the Philippine diplomats in Taiwan can respect human rights and the both laws in the Philippines and Taiwan, and never make the same mistake again.”

As of press time, MECO’s main Taichung and Taipei offices had not responded to requests for comment.