Horrified senators seek thorough probe of ambassador to Brazil for maltreating staff

A thread ⬇️ https://josenewsph.com/horrified-senators-seek-thorough-probe-of-ambassador-to-brazil-for-maltreating-staff/
By Joseph Tan

Two senators have called on authorities to conduct a thorough investigation on the criminal and administrative liabilities of Philippine Ambassador to Brazil Marichu Mauro who was caught on camera maltreating her Filipino service staff on several occasions.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sen. Joel Villanueva, Senate labor committee chair, both condemned Mauro, the Philippine Ambassador to Brazil, after Foreign Affairs Sec. Teodoro Locsin himself exposed what Mauro did to her Filipina staff.
Zubiri said he was horrified as he watched the video taken by security cameras at the ambassador’s residence in Brazil.
"While watching the video, I was horrified to see the brazenness of our ambassador to Brazil in physically maltreating the embassy service staff. I cannot imagine how people in her position could enact such violence to the very people they are sworn to protect,” Zubiri said.
He added: “How can we demand foreign employers of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), especially domestic helpers, to respect their rights and not maltreat them, when the very people who are supposed to protect and defend them abroad are the ones abusing them?
This is such a terrible incident and a black eye on our image abroad.”
The video footage was shown on the Brazilian news channel GloboNews last Sunday (Oct. 25) and was picked up by international news organizations. Captured by a security camera, the footage revealed several instances that the unnamed victim was physically assaulted by Mauro.
"I call on our Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to conduct a thorough investigation on the matter and prosecute the official if found violating our labor laws and the Kasambahay Law. I commend, however, the swift action of Sec.
Teddy Boy Locsin in recalling Ambassador Mauro to face investigations in the Philippines," Zubiri added.

"I will see it to (its) the logical conclusion,” he said even as he urged the embassy service staff to come forward and confront her abuser.
Deplorable acts
For his part, Villaneuva said the alleged abuse and maltreatment that a Filipino domestic worker suffered at the hands of the country's ambassador to Brazil is deplorable and conduct unbecoming a diplomatic official who should be watching out for the welfare of their countrymen…
…in a foreign land instead of inflicting harm.

Villanueva asked the DFA to begin swiftly its investigation into Mauro’s liabilities. Mauro has been recalled after video footage surfaced, while the embassy service staff is now in the Philippines.
"Our embassies should be taking care of the welfare of our people overseas. How can they trust our embassies if our ambassador is involved in perpetuating the abuse?
We strongly condemn this incident, and we ask the DFA leadership to investigate our ambassador to Brazil,” Villanueva said in a statement.
"There are only about 1,200 Filipinos in Brazil, such a small group, probably closely knit. Let us make sure this incident cannot in anyway encourage maltreatment and any feeling of insecurity among Filipinos in Brazil," he added.
He said the incident should also serve as a notice to the diplomatic service that "as representatives of our country to a foreign land, one is expected to protect the well-being of our people starting with the ones (in) their own backyards.”
He also urged the DFA to examine the existing grievance mechanisms in diplomatic posts to ensure that Filipinos have immediate recourse to the capital (DFA main office in Manila) when incidents such as this happen, to prevent its recurrence and escalation.
"This incident must give focus on what kind of grievance procedure our Embassies provide our OFWs. The DFA should recheck if there is an active system that actually works in providing protection to OFWs and any case of abuse and maltreatment does not go unchecked," he said.
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