“I cannot express how much I yearn for my child and grandchildren to come back to my arms,” said Sheryl Balisi Cabrera in tears.
Her visit to her hometown had turned into a nightmare, as Sheryl, 52, a mother and grandmother to stranded Sarawakians in the Philippines, faced unexpected challenges.
Backstory of the case
Sheryl, a Filipino married to a Sarawakian in 1992, gave birth to four children and became a permanent resident, running a roasted chicken (ayam bakar) business.
In 2019, she heard news that her father back in the Philippines was sick, so she decided to fly back to her hometown to visit her father along with her two children.
“Unfortunately, Covid-19 hit soon after and we had to overstay in the Philippines until the lockdown was lifted,” she related.
During her period of stay there, she said that her daughter, Dewi Farisha Fazliman, had given birth to a daughter.
Due to her grandchild being born in the Philippines, Sheryl did some paperwork to declare that her grandchild is a Malaysian citizen.
“In 2021, when the lockdown was lifted, we decided to come back to Kuching, however we were stopped by the immigration at the airport.”
According to her, due to their overstay, she had to pay a fine for her children and grandchild before they could get out of the country.
She stated that at the time, she had to pay RM10,000 each for her children to come back, however, her grandchild was not allowed to fly with them as a fine was imposed on her as well even though she was just a baby.
“I was told that for my grandchild, I had to pay RM6,000 to RM7,000 for her fine.
“At that time, I only had enough to pay for my children, therefore, I only came back with my son while my daughter’s passport was being held by the immigration to date.”
Efforts to Bring Dewi Back
As a mother, she was worried sick every single day about the wellbeing of her child in the Philippines.
As a Filipino, she knew exactly how the surrounding and social life in the country was.
Moreover, throughout the time that her daughter was left behind, she had given birth to another daughter in May 2023.
Her worry grew as not only was Dewi unable to work there due to not having her passport, she also had to live in a one small room akin to a chicken coop in the slums along with her two granddaughters at Taytay, Rizal.
Sharing that her husband had passed away five years back, Sheryl said that she had to become the head of the family and support her stranded family in the Philippines.
She said to support her daughter and grandchildren, she had to work hard here and send money to her daughter once every two days.
“I would bank in RM150 (approximately 1,800 peso) to my daughter through Western Union Bank for her to pay the bills, buy food, diapers and milk for her two daughters.”
Aside from sending money, Sheryl had also flown to the Philippines last year to visit them and tried to bring them back.
She shared that she had sought help from the Embassy of Malaysia in Manila to bring them back but due to the bureaucracy and that Dewi being of age, the embassy was unable to help them.
As she had no other income, she expressed her difficulty in flying back to the Philippines to help her daughter further.
“What hurts me more is that my daughter would call me every single day crying and asking when she can go back.
“I can’t make empty promises to her, hence, all I can do is to tell her to have patience and that I will work things out to bring them back.”
Government Intervention Needed
As her daughter and two grandchildren have been stranded in the Philippines for over four years, it has been rather difficult for her to save up money and support them at the same time.
On top of that, she is rather doubtful that money could solve the case just like that.
According to her, the Philippines’ immigration told her to bring the money to the airport and they will give them their passport for them to fly back.
“To be honest, I doubt that they will let them come back just like that, especially my second grandchild.
“This is because she was not yet declared as a Malaysian citizen during her birth.”
Therefore, she had sought help from Society for Tolerance and Awareness Sarawak to get their insights on the issue.
She stated that there is no other way that she could think of to bring her family back here.
“That is why I hope that Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will help me bring them back.
“I am appealing to the Sarawak government to help us to be reunited again. As a mother and the head of the family, I request help from the relevant parties to help me in this matter also.
“I truly believe that this cannot be solved with just money alone and there is a need for the government’s intervention to bring them back here,” Sheryl pleaded.
