The top-ranking representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (MECO) said Tuesday afternoon that Elanel Egot Ordidor, a Filipino caregiver in Yunlin targeted by an alleged deportation order from MECO Taichung labor attaché Fidel Macauyag, had not broken any laws and was not in danger of deportation.

“The right to deport anybody is the sovereign right of the host country,” MECO chairman Angelito Banayo told Ketagalan Media in a phone interview.

“We recognize the fact that our labor attaché in Taichung, who is in charge of the Yunlin area, was wrong in saying that he will work for, or ask for the deportation of the Filipina caregiver.”

Ordidor “has not broken any laws, whether Taiwanese or Philippine,” Banayo said.

However, in a separate interview, Ordidor told Ketagalan Media she would fear for her life should she be forced to return to the Philippines.

“If I have to go home, I would be sad, because I know my life would be in danger,” she said. “Also, I know losing my job would be a big blow to my family financially.”

Ordidor’s worries seem far from over. Several contradictory statements have come from the Philippines presidential office throughout the week. One suggested a criminal investigation of Ordidor by Philippine authorities is in progress, raising the specter of an official extradition attempt down the line.

Ordidor’s saga gained broad attention when, on Saturday, Macauyag’s office released a statement saying his office was working with Ordidor’s broker and employer to have her deported after she criticized Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and his supporters in a Facebook Live video.

The press release, which appeared on the website of the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), falsely claimed Ordidor had violated laws in both Taiwan and the Philippines.

Ordidor allegedly posted content to Facebook under several aliases, including “Linn Silawan.” The press release claimed, without evidence, that Ordidor was in violation of Republic Act No. 10175, a law governing cyber crimes.

Domestic critics of Duterte have been accused in recent weeks of violating a COVID-19 emergency act criminalizing “fake news,” drawing the ire of domestic and international watchdogs.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Monday Ordidor had a right to free speech and had not broken the country’s laws.

MOFA said that, should a Philippine national have violated any Philippine laws, a request must be made through the diplomatic channels of the mutual legal assistance agreement between the countries.

The next day, Banayo described Macauyag’s Saturday press release as breaking with protocol and said it had not been authorized by his office in Taipei.

“The actions of the labor attaché were not cleared by my office,” he said.

Banayo clarified that labor attachés for MECO do not report to the diplomatic side—which reports to the office of the president—but rather fall under the remit of DOLE as Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO).

Macauyag “knows already the gravity of what he has committed,” Banayo said.

Fidel Macauyag. (Photo: Fidel Macauyag / Facebook)

On Wednesday morning, Philippine Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon described Macauyag as “unfit, incompetent, and totally unqualified” and called for the DOLE secretary to recall him.

The previous day, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said in a press release it is “a cause of concern when a labor attaché works towards the deportation of a Filipina caregiver … over what appears to be an exercise of her right to express concerns on the plight of fellow Filipinos in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

CHR noted that, while DOLE secretary Silvestre Bello III had made assurances on Sunday that due process would be observed, “our Bill of Rights, enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, also guarantees the citizens’ freedom of speech, of expression, or the right of the people to petition the government for redress of grievance.”

Ordidor told Ketagalan Media on Tuesday she was grateful for the support she has received.

“Since the beginning I have felt comfortable in my knowledge that I have not committed a crime,” she said. “I have just been saying what I believe.”

Philippine media was awash with reports over the weekend claiming that Ordidor was being threatened with deportation over her critical social media posts.

Asked how she felt about the Taiwan MOFA statement released on Monday, Ordidor said, “I’m happy and I am very grateful for what the Taiwanese government said about upholding my rights.”

“I felt that they listened to what I was trying to say, and it shows that they do value democracy here in Taiwan,” she said. “Not only because of how the government is set up, but because Taiwan has also demonstrated its independence and that it will not just cower to anyone. And I have seen how protective they are of residents.”

For his part, Banayo stressed the he was ideologically opposed to the move by Macauyag.

“I would not have condoned such [an] action if I had known beforehand,” said Banayo, explaining that as a “part-time journalist” who writes regular columns for Manila papers, in 2008 he had been subject to six charges of libel brought by the husband of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over columns he had published.

“I would be the last person in the world to want to have anything to do with curtailing freedom of expression,” he said.

Taiwan and the Philippines have a mutual legal assistance agreement, to which the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) is a signatory. The NBI falls under the remit of the DOJ.

Under the agreement it is possible for a request to made to extradite a person who has broken the laws of either Taiwan or the Philippines.

There is a process, Banayo said, where the DOJ would submit a request to for deportation to him. He, in turn, would submit it to Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB).

“But it is not like a labor attaché [in any bureau] in Taiwan can unilaterally request for the deportation of anybody,” Banayo said.

“For that process to even prosper, there must be a case filed in the Philippines against her, and under our libel laws, whether it is media libel or cyberlibel, the aggrieved party must be the one to file a case,” he said.  “And in this case the aggrieved party is the President of the Philippines, so it doesn’t make any sense for any investigation to prosper. Because the president already said he has nothing to do with it.”

The public denial of involvement was made by presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Sunday. “There is no truth that we are the ones who sought for her deportation,” Roque said to radio station DZBB, “because we do not interfere with the millions of [overseas Filipino workers] and what they say because here in our country, we have freedom of expression.”

“We will assist the worker who was ordered to be deported by Taiwan but the decision of Taiwan is the decision of Taiwan,” Roque continued. “We do not interfere with that.”

Taiwan had ordered no such deportation. In fact, no one had officially requested a move in such a direction, either from the Taiwan or Philippine side, despite the erroneous remarks in the press release.

Ordidor feels confident that her social media activity did not break any laws.

The press release from Macauyag had accused Ordidor, without evidence, of “using several social media accounts” and having “a group organized to discredit and malign the President and destabilize the government.”

Ordidor acknowledges—like many Filipinos—that she has more than one account on Facebook, but dismisses the accusation regarding the group.

On Monday a spokesman for Duterte, Harry Roque, said that the case was being probed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

But Banayo, who was not aware of the statement, said he thought it unlikely that a case would be brought against Ordidor.

Ordidor said she was happy to hear Banayo’s comments but did not feel entirely reassured.

“Right now, I have doubts because they still might push through with the filing charges with regards to the cybercrime,” she said.

On April 17, Macauyag, along with two other MECO staff, visited Ordidor at her home, which doubles as her workplace, and attempted to force Ordidor to delete her social media posts and record and upload an apology to Duterte.

If she did not do so, according to Ordidor, Macauyag said he would “do something against her.”

The press statement on April 25 appears to support the fears Ordidor had expressed to Ketagalan Media the day before—that Macauyag’s intention was to have her deported.

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

Ordidor said her family is “hurt and saddened” by her ordeal, especially as Duterte’s domestic critics are summoned by authorities for their own social media posts.

“They think my life is in danger,” she said, “and, secondly, that I will lose my job.”

Ordidor has worked as a caregiver in Taiwan for three years, a job which she said she enjoys. However, like many foreign workers in Taiwan, she is still in debt—partly because she recently borrowed money to help cover expenses for a cousin who became ill.

As of yet, nobody from the diplomatic side of MECO has been in contact with Ordidor to explain the situation.

Banayo assured Ketagalan Media on Tuesday that his staff would be contacting Ordidor once they had fully clarified the situation with DOLE to assure her that she should not be “worrying about any cases or any problems.”

Ordidor said Tuesday she is trying to stay positive even as she watches her face splashed across Taiwanese and Philippine media.

“I try not to think about it,” she said. “I know, and I trust in God, that the situation will work out and that the right results and consequences will come through.”

(Cover photo via Manila Economic & Cultural Office / Facebook)