Aquino welcomes HK court ruling on Filipino maid’s residency case

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III on Monday welcomed news that Filipino domestic helper Evangeline Vallejos won a landmark case when a Hong Court ruled she can reside permanently in that Chinese territory.

“If that would provide a better situation to our people, why should we object to it,” Mr. Aquino told reporters when asked for his reaction to the Hong Kong court’s decision.

The President said he has to study the implications of the ruling because he was “not conversant with the laws of Hong Kong.”

Vallejos scored a major legal victory when the Hong Kong court ruled that an immigration provision excluding foreign maids from permanent residency was unconstitutional.

The verdict was expected to open the floodgate to about 292,000 foreign maids in Hong Kong, most of whom are from the Philippines or Indonesia, to also claim the right to permanent residency.