Nagpasalamat ang dating volleyball star at TV presenter na si Gretchen Ho sa Philippine Embassy in Norway matapos umano nitong siguraduhing hindi na mauulit ang kinaharap na isyu sa isang foreign exchange counter sa Oslo, Norway kamakailan.

Matatandaang tinanggihan ng isang foreign exchange counter ang kaniyang kaanak dahil umano sa lumalaganap na korapsyon sa bansa.

“One of our family members traveling abroad got denied at the foreign exchange counter at the Gardermoen Airport in Oslo, Norway. Lady at the counter goes — ‘You came from the Philippines? We cannot exchange your dollars because of the corruption and money laundering in the Philippines’,” ani Gretchen.

MAKI-BALITA: Kaanak ni Gretchen Ho, denied sa foreign exchange counter dahil umano sa korapsyon sa Pinas-Balita

Mababasa sa Facebook post ni Gretchen noong Sabado, Oktubre 18, ang nasabing pasasalamat sa aksyon ng embahada ng Pilipinas sa Norway.

“Thank you for this continuous effort from the Philippine Embassy in Norway to ensure that what happened to my mom and her fellow seniors won’t happen to other Filipinos. This incident is bigger than my own family, and in every instance, we take the opportunity to ask why — to clarify, to understand, to verify, and to rectify,” ani Gretchen.

“It is clear that the Philippines has already been removed from the FATF and EU grey lists, and this is a fact that we can carry with us as we travel abroad—There is no reason for ordinary Filipinos to be denied foreign exchange services (lalo na kung maliliit na halaga lang naman),” dagdag pa niya.

Siniguro din umano ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) na sila ay dagliang aaksyon kung sakaling maulit ang insidente sa ibang mga Pilipino.

“We asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) what Filipinos should do just in case it happens again, as many have shared a similar experience in the comments section. They say they are seeing this as an “isolated incident” for now — so baka hindi lang po ito narereport nang maayos sa mga kinauukulan,” aniya.

“The DFA has committed the same speedy response and prompt action to help our Kababayans, and knowing how dedicated our diplomats are, I know they will see this through. Maraming salamat po!” dagdag pa niya.

Matatandaang matapos i-report ni Gretchen ang naturang isyu, sumagot naman daw ang Philippine Embassy in Norway, at tahasang sinabi na ito raw ay hindi dapat nangyayari.

“I have already spoken with the Philippine Ambassador to Norway. He called me up last night after I emailed an official incident report on what happened to my family member at Gardermoen Airport in Oslo. The Ambassador was surprised. As far as he knows, these incidents shouldn’t be happening. He says he’ll be meeting with the Norwegian foreign ministry to address the issue,” ani Gretchen.

MAKI-BALITA: 'These incidents shouldn't be happening,' Gretchen Ho, sinagot na ng PH Ambassador sa Norway-Balita

Vincent Gutierrez/BALITA