Solon: Probe maid’s abuse!

Senate Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada yesterday urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to conduct a thorough investigation of a case involving a wealthy businessman whose family allegedly abused their maid in Quezon City.

Estrada said the PNP should look into this case closely because people are watching and monitoring this issue since the Kasambahay Bill (Household Bill) is still pending in Congress.

“Dapat mag-imbestigang mabuti ang PNP dahil helpless an gating mga kasambahay. Wala silang inaasahan kundi ang ating mga awtoridad,” the senator said.

Estrada authored the Kasambahay Bill which aims to give protection to the so-called “bayani ng tahanan.”

As this developed, Estrada urged the Lower House to expedite the passage of the bill to provide a mantle of protection to the kasambahay.

It will be recalled that the parents of Mary Jane Sollano, 18, a housemaid who was recently rescued by the Commission on Human Rights from the home of her abusive employers, will allegedly file complaints against Mariano Tanenglian and family for allegedly detaining and maltreating her.

Mary Jane has been a housemaid of the Tanenglians since she was 13 years old, according to her lawyer, Atty. Anna Marie Trinidad. Tanenglian is the younger brother of business tycoon Lucio Tan.

Apart from Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile also vowed to personally monitor the Tanenglian case in a bid to give protection to the helpless victim. Like Estrada, Enrile has authored a similar Kasambahay Bill.

Source:
People’s Tonight
August 17, 2009
Page 6

Inaping kasambahay sisilipin ng Senado

Nababahala na rin ang Senado sa tumataas na bilang ng mga inaaping kasambahay sa bansa, particular na ang pinakahuling report na mahigit limang taong pagmaltrato umano ng isang maimpluwensiyang negosyante sa 18-anyos na dalaga.

Ayon kay Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, dapat tuluyan nang magkaroon ng batas na magiging sandigan ng mga pobreng kasambahay sa bansa.

Dapat din umanong malaman kung bakit may mga among nakukuhang manakit ng kanilang kasambahay na marapat lamang itinuring na bahagi ng bawat pamilya sa isang tahanan.

Mismong si Senate Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada ang nanawagan sa pamunuan ng Philippine National Police na tutukang mabuti ang kasong isasampa laban sa pamilya ng negosyanteng si Mariano Tanenglian base na rin sa sumbong ng kasambahay na si Mary Jane Sollano.

“Dapat mag-imbestigang mabuti ang PNP dahil helpless ang ating mga kasambahay. Wala silang inaasahan kundi ang ating mga awtoridad,” anang batang senador.

Muli, nanawagan si Estrada sa Kongreso na madaliin ang pag-aapruba ng Kasambahay Bill upang magkaroon na ng sandigan ang mga kasambahay sa bansa.

Si Sollano ay nailigtas ng pinagsanib na puwersa ng Commission on Human Rights, Department of Social Welfare and Development at PNP mula sa tahanan ng amo nito sa Quezon City.

Partikular na umano’y ipaghaharap ng sakdal ang asawa ng negosyanteng si Aleta at dalawang anak nito na umano’y trumato sa kanya na masahol pa sa hayop nang manilbihan siya bilang kasambahay ng mga Tanenglian.

Nabatid na nagging kasambahay ng mga Tanenglian si Sollano noong 13-anyos pa lamang siya, ayon sa abogado nitong si Atty. Anna Marie Trinidad. Si Tangelian ay nakababatang kapatid ng business tycoon na si Lucio Tan.

Source:
Police Files
Agosto 14, 2009
Page 2

Pang-aapi ng Tsinoy na amo nakaalarma

Naalarma na rin ang Senado sa tuamtaas na bilang ng mga maiimpluwensiyang negosyante sa bansa makaraang maiulat ang limang taong pagmamaltrato ng among Tsinoy sa 18 anyos na kasambahay.

Ayon kay Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, dapat tuluyan nang magkaroon ng batas na magiging sandigan ng mga pobreng kasambahay sa bansa.

Dapat din umanong malaman kung bakit may mga among nakukuhang manakit ng kanilang kasambahay na marapat lang na ituring na bahagi ng bawat pamilya sa isang tahanan.

Matatandaan na mismong si Senate Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada ang nanawagan sa pamunuan ng Philippine National Police na tutukang mabuti ang kasong isasampa laban sa pamilya ng negosyanteng si Mariano Tanenglian base na rin sa sumbong ng kasambahay na si Mary Jane Sollano.

Si Estrada ang may akda ng Kasambahay Bill na naglalayong bigyan ng sapat na proteksiyon ang mga tinaguriang ‘bayani ng tahanan.’

Source:
Remate
Agosto 14, 2009
Page 5

Inaaping kasambahay dumarami

Nangangamba ngayon ang Senado sa patuloy na pagtaas ng bilang ng mga inaaping kasambahay sa bansa, particular na ang ginawang pagmamaltrato sa isang 18-anyos na dalaga ng among negosyante ditto.

Ayon kay Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, kinakailangan na magkaroon ng batas na masasandalan ang mga kasambahay na inaapi ng kanilang mga amo. Dapat din aniyang alamin kung ano ang dahilan bakit nakakapanakit ang mga ito gayung marapat lang na ituring na bahagi ng pamilya ang mga kasambahay.

Magugunita na nanawagan na rin si Senate Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada sa Philippine National Police na bantayan ang kasong isasampa laban sa pamilya ni Mariano Tanenglian dahil sa sumbong ng kasambahay ng mga ito na si Mary Jane Sollano.

Si Estrada ang pangunahing author ng Kasambahay Bill na naglalayong bigyan ng sapat na proteksyon ang mga tinaguriang ‘bayani ng tahanan, kaya naman nanawagan ito sa Kongreso na agad aprubahan ang naturang batas.

Una ng nasagip si Sollano ng Commission on Human Rights, Department of Social Welfare and Development at PNP mula sa tahanan ng amo nito sa Quezon City kung saan inireklamo ang asawa ni Tanenglian na si Aleta at dalawang anak dahil sa umano’y matinding pagmamaltrato ng mga ito. Si Sollano ay 13-anyos lang ng maging kasambahay ng nasabing pamilya.

Source:
Bansa Ngayon
Pilipino Star Ngayon
Agosto 14, 2009
Page2

‘Battered Maid’ Lumolobo

Maging ang Senado ay nababahala sa paglobo ng bilang ng mga minamaltratong kasambahay sa bansa kasama na dito ang liamng taong pagmaltrato sa isang 18-anyos na dalaga ng isang maimpluwensiyang pamilya kamakailan.

Kaya’t sinabi ni Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ay dapat tuluyan nang magkaroon ng batas na magiging sandigan ng mga kasambahay sa bansa.

Magugunita na mismong si Senate Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada ang nanawagan sa pamunuan ng Philippine National Police na tutukang mabuti ang kasong isasampa laban sa pamilya ng negosyanteng si Mariano Tanenglian base na rin sa sumbong ng kasambahay na si Mary Jane Sollano. Si Sollano ay nailigtas ng pinagsanib na puwersa ng Commission on Human Rights, Department of Social Welfare and Development at PNP mula sa tahanan ng amo nito sa Quezon City.

Partikular na umano’y ipaghaharap ng sakdal ang asawa ng negosyanteng si Aleta at dalawng anak nito na umano’y trumato sa kanya na masahol pa sa hayop nang manilbihan siya bilang kasambahay ng mga Tanenglian.

Source:
Police-Metro
Agosto 14, 2009
Page 2

Jinggoy asks police to conduct thorough investigation into maid’s maltreatment

The Philippine National Police (PNP) should keep a tight watch on the developments of the alleged maltreatment of the househelp of the brother of business tycoon Lucio Tan.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada made the call yesterday even as he urged the police to conduct a thorough probe into the alleged maltreatment of the househelp rescued last Monday by elements of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) supposedly committed by businessman Mariano Tanenglian.

“They should handle the case well because these househelps are helpless, they have nowhere to go to, they can only rely on the authorities in performing their mandate,” he said.

The senator, who happens to be the author of the Kasambahay Bill, took the opportunity to call on counterparts from the lower house to act on the pending measure in order to help address similar cases in the future.

The Kasambahay Bill aims to give protection to the so-called “bayani ng tahanan” (heroes of the home).

Estrada urged the lower house to expedite the passage of the bill to provide a mantle of protection to the househelp.

The parents of victim Mary Jane Sollano, 18, who was recently rescued by authorities from the residence of her supposed abusive employer, are now set to file complaints against Tanenglian and family for allegedly detaining and maltreating her.

Reports said Sollano has been a house maid for the Tanenglians since she was 13 years old.

Apart from Senator Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile also vowed to personally monitor the Tanenglian case in a bid to give protection to the hapless victim. Like Estrada, Enrile has authored a similar Kasambahay Bill.

Source:
Angie M. Rosales
The Daily Tribune
August 13, 2009

Negosyanteng inireklamo sa pagmamaltrato ng kasambahay pinatututukan sa PNP

Pinatutukan ni Sen. Jinggoy Estrada sa liderato ng Philippine National Police (PNP) ang kasong isinampa laban sa maimpluwensiyang nagmaltrato ng katulong o kasambahay sa Quezon City.

Ayon kay Estrada, chairnan ng Senate committee on labor and employment, dapat imbestigahang mabuti ng PNP ang reklamong pangmamaltrato ng negosyanteng si Mariano Tanenglian.

Si Mary Jane Sollano ay nailigtas sa kamay ng pamilya Tanenglian sa joint operation ng PNP, Commission on Human Rights, at Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Nagbantang kakasuhan ni Sollano ang pamilya ni Tanenglian, kabilang ang reklamong pinagmalupitan at minaltrato ito ng kanyang amo sa mahigit limang taong paninilbihan.

Sa report, naging kasambahay ng pamilya Tanenglian si Sollano noong 13-anyos pa lamang ito, ayon kay Atty. Anna Marie Trinidad, abogado ng katulong.

Ayon kay Estrada, nakatutok ang taong bayan sa umano’y pagmamaltrato ng negosyante lalo pa’t nakabinbin sa Dalawang Kapulungan ng Kongreso ang Kasambahay Bill na magbibigay-proteksyon sa mga kasambahay o domestic helpers.

“Dapat mag-imbestigang mabuti ang PNP dahil helpless an gating mga kasambahay. Wala silang inaasahan kundi ang ating mga awtoridad,” ani Estrada, principal sponsor ng Kasambahay Bill.

Kinalampag ni Estrada ang mga alipores ni House Speaker Prospero Nograles, Jr., na madaliin ang pag-aapruba sa Kasambahay Bill upang magkaroon ng sandigan ang mga kasambahay o domestic helpers.

Maging si Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ay nangakong personal na tutukan ang kaso ng katulong dahil malinaw anyang paglabag ito sa inisponsorang Kasambahay Bill.

Source:
Abante Tonite
Agosto 13, 2009
Page 3

Taipan keeps hands off brother’s woes with maid

The camp of billionaire Lucio Tan yesterday issued a statement distancing the taipan from a recent scandal involving the alleged detention and maltreatment of a housemaid by the younger brother’s family.

Tan and his brother, Mariano Tanenglian, have houses in the same compound in Quezon City but are reportedly feuding.

Lucio Tan Group spokesperson, retired Lt. Gen. Salvador M. Mison issued the clarification after reports came out about the rescue of an 18-year-old maid from Tanenglian’s residences on Monday by combined elements of the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Quezon City Police.

“While it is true that Lucio Tanand Mariano Tanenglian live in the same compound in Quezon City, they maintain separate and independent households. They also have different sets of house helpers,” Mison explained.

“We are saddened by this unfortunate turn of events. We hope Tanenglian’s family would be able to explain their side in the proper forum,” he added.

Mison, who is also president of Tan’s holding firm Basic Holdings Corp., stressed that the taipan was out of the country when the incident occurred. He learned about it from family members and media reports.

Lawyer Anna Marie Trinidad said the housemaid, Mary Jane Sollano, 18, was employed when she was only 13 and was not allowed to go out of the house or communicate with relatives during her stay at Tanenglian house. Her relatives were worried about her and complained to authorities.

Chief Insp. Felicissima Buco, head of the Quezon City Police District Women’s Section, said a lawyer representing Tanenglian family faced the girl’s father. Tan’s brother never showed up.

Buco said “the girl was released after she was forced to sign a document saying she and her father would no longer file a case against the employer.”

The father of the girl was fiven P150,000 representing her salary and bonus,” Buco said, adding: “We were told the employer also offered to pay for their plane fare.”

The agreement, worded in Filipino, was also signed by the girl’s father and the chair of the Sto. Domingo barangay, Richard N. Yu, who accompanied the rescue team, Buco said.

“It was signed by the victim under duress, so she could leave the house,” added Buco.

Source:
Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 13, 2009
Page A4

CHR pushes probe on battered maid’s plight

The Commission on Human Rights has widened its investigation into the plight of an 18-year-old from Zamboanga del Sur who was rescued from the residence of the estranged brother of business tycoon Lucio Tan, along Biak-na-bato, Sto. Domingo, Quezon City Monday afternoon.

Lawyer Carmelita Rosete, chief of the CHR protection and monitoring division for the National Capital Region told The STAR that they are looking into the possible violation of child abuse and child trafficking on the case of Mary Jane Sollano who was rescued from the residence of Mariano Tan by a composite team of CHR, DSWD and the Quezon City Police District.

“ She was still a minor when she was recruited five years ago,” she said.
Rosete said Sollano want to help her sick father but she went missing in the last five years until Aljane Bacanto, a fellow housemaid escaped and revealed the location of the missing girl. The parents and relatives of the girl has filed complaint with the CHR which in turn coordinated with the DSWD and police to secure the release of the girl from Tan’s household.

The CHR is coordinating with the lawyer of the victim for the possible filing of criminal cases against people responsible for the plight of Sollano. Sto. Domingo barangay captain Richard Yu held several house negotiations with the lawyers of Tan for the release of the housemaid.

Tony Abbago, CHR investigator said the victim is now undergoing physical, emotional and physiological test.Roland Sollano, native of Tigbao Surigao del Sur, father of the victim, has filed a complaint before the CHR over the alleged illegal detention of his daughter for the last five years inside Tan’s residence. He said his daughter was recruited from their town five years ago and since then they lost contact with her until a mother of another victim who was also rescued in the same household wrote her the plight of his daughter.

“I have not seen my daughter for the last five years, she is now 18 years old”, Sollano told The STAR in the Visayan dialect. Reports said that aside from being locked up, the girl was also allegedly maltreated and her salaries were not paid.

Jonathan Agustin, DSWD rescue officer said the victim will undergo medical and psychological examination to assess her medical and mental condition. Yu held several hours of negotiation before they were able to secure the release of the girl.

Barangay tanods interviewed by The STAR said that the girl was locked up in one of the rooms of the apartment after finishing her chores. The barangay tanods said the girl often display a cardboard seeking help from passersby.

‘Nothing to do with scandal’
The camp of businessman Lucio Tan yesterday said the taipan has no involvement whatsoever with the recent scandal involving his younger brother’s family over the alleged detention and maltreatment of the latter’s housemaid.

Lucio Tan Group spokesperson Lt. Gen. Salvador Mison (retired) issued the clarification following published reports about the alleged rescue of an 18-year-old househelp from Tanenglian’s residence Monday.

“While it is true that Mr. Lucio Tan and Mr. Mariano Tanenglian live in the same compound in Quezon City, they maintain separate and independent households. They also have different sets of house helpers,” Mison said.
“We are saddened by this unfortunate turn of events. We hope Mr. Tanenglian’s family would be able to explain their side in the proper forum,” he added.

Mison, who is also president of Tan’s holding firm Basic Holdings Corp., said the taipan was out of the country when the incident occurred. He only learned about the incident by family members and media reports.

Source:
The Philippine Star
August 13, 2009
Page 14

Housemaid charges Lucio Tan’s brother with illegal detention

The younger brother of business tycoon Lucio Tan, businessman Mariano Tanenglian, is facing charges for alleged illegal detention and maltreatment of Mary Jane Sollano, 18, housemaid.

Sollano, a native of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, was rescued Monday by combined elements of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Quezon City police from the Tanenglian residence at No. 30 Biak na Bato Street, Santo Domingo, Quezon City.

In a statement, lawyer Melanie Trinidad, private counsel of the maid’s father, said Sollano would execute her sworn statement and complaint before police authorities after undergoing a battery of physical, emotional and psychological tests.

The lawyer said that even if Sollano, her father and brothers were made to sign a waiver by Tanenglian’s lawyer as a condition for her release, the Sollano family are still bent on filing charges to seek justice for the illegal detention and maltreatment the maid suffered.

Sollano, who was employed while still in her early teens at the Tanenglian household, allegedly suffered five years of physical, emotional and psychological abuse in the hands of Tanenglian’s wife, Aleta, and their two children.

According to the lawyer, Solano was not allowed to leave the residence nor communicate with relatives and was often left with nothing to eat.
“She didn’t even know what date it was,” the lawyer claimed.

Sollano’s parents—fearing she was dead—only learned of their daughter’s whereabouts from a fellow maid, Aljane Bacanto, who escaped the Tanenglian house recently.

The father then sought the help of province mates and private lawyers who then brought them to the CHR to seek assistance from authorities. The Tanenglians could not be reached for comment.

Source:
The Manila Times
August 13, 2009
Page A7