'Filipino diplomats should set good example in treating domestic helpers'
By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS
abs-cbnNEWS.com
The civil complaints filed against former Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Lauro Baja and his family by a former domestic helper show the need for greater scrutiny of how Filipino domestic helpers are treated by members of the country’s diplomatic corps, civil society leaders told abs-cbnNEWS.com.
“This is a signal to police our ranks,” Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrant Workers said. “The members of the diplomatic corps should set the example. How can we talk about obtaining better treatment for our domestic helpers by other nationalities if a fellow-Filipino does this (abuses his domestic helper)?”
Edna Aquino, one of the officers of the Hong Kong-based Filipino Community Services and Information Network (Filcomsin) said in an email to abs-cbnNEWS.com that “the Bajas defensively divert the blame on their domestic worker by questioning and putting motives on leaving her employment after three months.”
Aquino, an advocate of Filipino domestic helpers' rights, said "it's common sense that if one is a good employer, you earn your staff or workers' 'loyalty'.”
She pointed out that although Bajas claimed they paid their helper, Marichu Suarez Baoanan $200 a month, “the minimum wage for a household domestic worker based on Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Directive of January 2007 is $400.”
“Even by Philippine standards, this [$200] is already quite exploitative,” she said.
No consultation with the POEA
Apparently, Aquino added, Baja and the office at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which arranges the relocation needs of diplomatic missions, did not consult the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
The POEA has set minimum standards for the employment of Filipina domestics, which have passed the scrutiny of the International Labor Organization (ILO). They are even being used by the Indonesian government to reform their own policies for their nationals working overseas as domestics.
Both Sana and Aquino called for more scrutiny of domestic workers under the employment of government officials, particularly diplomats.
Sana said this is imperative since the practice of bringing a domestic helper abroad is common among diplomats.
She said similar cases have been filed against Filipino diplomats in Europe regarding the recruitment of domestic helpers for work in households other than their own.
“This Baja case could help put the spotlight on the importance of the bill regarding domestic helpers,” Aquino added.
Charges
Together with his wife and daughter, Baja was accused last month by Baoanan of trafficking, forced labor, peonage and racketeering before a United States court.
Baja, the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations before his retirement in 2006, said he was “shocked” by the case as it was filed several years after the alleged incident.
Baoanan, a registered nurse, said in her complaint filed before the New York Southern District court that the Baja family paid her only $100 a month during her three-month employment.
She named as respondents in her civil suit Baja, his wife, Norma, daughter Maria Elizabeth Baja-Facundo, and the Baja-owned Labaire International Travel Inc.
"She left with barely three months in service, and I duly notified the US authorities about her departure. I was in a meeting, and when I went home that evening, she was gone already together with all her things," Baja earlier said.
He said he and his family did not know where Baoanan went, hinting that she might have found an employer who was willing to give her a higher salary. Consequently, he said, he notified the immigration authorities in New York after she left his household.
Baja was the Philippines Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2003 to 2006. He was replaced by retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
The civil complaints filed against former Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Lauro Baja and his family by a former domestic helper show the need for greater scrutiny of how Filipino domestic helpers are treated by members of the country’s diplomatic corps, civil society leaders told abs-cbnNEWS.com.
“This is a signal to police our ranks,” Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrant Workers said. “The members of the diplomatic corps should set the example. How can we talk about obtaining better treatment for our domestic helpers by other nationalities if a fellow-Filipino does this (abuses his domestic helper)?”
Edna Aquino, one of the officers of the Hong Kong-based Filipino Community Services and Information Network (Filcomsin) said in an email to abs-cbnNEWS.com that “the Bajas defensively divert the blame on their domestic worker by questioning and putting motives on leaving her employment after three months.”
Aquino, an advocate of Filipino domestic helpers' rights, said "it's common sense that if one is a good employer, you earn your staff or workers' 'loyalty'.”
She pointed out that although Bajas claimed they paid their helper, Marichu Suarez Baoanan $200 a month, “the minimum wage for a household domestic worker based on Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Directive of January 2007 is $400.”
“Even by Philippine standards, this [$200] is already quite exploitative,” she said.
No consultation with the POEA
Apparently, Aquino added, Baja and the office at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which arranges the relocation needs of diplomatic missions, did not consult the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
The POEA has set minimum standards for the employment of Filipina domestics, which have passed the scrutiny of the International Labor Organization (ILO). They are even being used by the Indonesian government to reform their own policies for their nationals working overseas as domestics.
Both Sana and Aquino called for more scrutiny of domestic workers under the employment of government officials, particularly diplomats.
Sana said this is imperative since the practice of bringing a domestic helper abroad is common among diplomats.
She said similar cases have been filed against Filipino diplomats in Europe regarding the recruitment of domestic helpers for work in households other than their own.
“This Baja case could help put the spotlight on the importance of the bill regarding domestic helpers,” Aquino added.
Charges
Together with his wife and daughter, Baja was accused last month by Baoanan of trafficking, forced labor, peonage and racketeering before a United States court.
Baja, the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations before his retirement in 2006, said he was “shocked” by the case as it was filed several years after the alleged incident.
Baoanan, a registered nurse, said in her complaint filed before the New York Southern District court that the Baja family paid her only $100 a month during her three-month employment.
She named as respondents in her civil suit Baja, his wife, Norma, daughter Maria Elizabeth Baja-Facundo, and the Baja-owned Labaire International Travel Inc.
"She left with barely three months in service, and I duly notified the US authorities about her departure. I was in a meeting, and when I went home that evening, she was gone already together with all her things," Baja earlier said.
He said he and his family did not know where Baoanan went, hinting that she might have found an employer who was willing to give her a higher salary. Consequently, he said, he notified the immigration authorities in New York after she left his household.
Baja was the Philippines Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2003 to 2006. He was replaced by retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.
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