Human Rights Begin in the Home

Statement of DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association on United Nations Day
October 24, 2008

October 24, 2008 marks the 63rd year since the formal establishment of the United Nations, and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this day, domestic workers from New York City and nationwide are marching to the UN to tell the world their human rights are under attack in the homes of UN diplomats.

A stark contradiction: diplomatic immunity
Like Marichu Baoanan, a Filipina nursing school graduate and caregiver who filed 15 counts of trafficking, forced labor and racketeering against former Philippine Ambassador Lauro Baja, domestic workers from around the world who are employed by UN representatives have first-hand experience of abuse, dehumanization, trafficking and enslavement.

An international organization that includes diplomats from 192 countries, the UN claims to promote peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and respect for human rights. But as more domestic workers come forward to tell their stories, a vastly different image of the United Nations has emerged.

Many UN diplomats have violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They have violated UN General Assembly resolutions on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. They have violated UN resolutions on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. They have violated the UN General Resolution to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

The UN has done nothing to hold its own representatives accountable. Instead, it has given human rights violators protection and security through diplomatic immunity.

Diplomatic immunity gives blanket protection to these violators and inhibits domestic workers from obtaining legal rights from the abuses they suffered. It also sends a message to the governments ultimately responsible for these diplomats—such as the US-backed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime in the Philippines—that human rights violations, trafficking and profiting from the people are tolerated.

The Philippines: Marichu Baoanan vs. Lauro Baja
It is time to speak up. Domestic workers are fighting and reclaiming their dignity and human rights, exposing the abuses and modern-day slavery they experienced in the homes of diplomats. Last August 1, Marichu formally submitted a letter to the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations requesting assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs, via the Philippine Mission. In addition, Marichu demanded a meeting with top Philippine officials who were in New York City for the UN 63rd General Assembly to deliver a message to waive Baja's diplomatic immunity so that the legal case can proceed. Baja is attempting to appeal to diplomatic immunity to dismiss the charges against him, his family and his business.

"Pakiramdam ko walang silbi ang Philippine Mission at Philippine Consulate," says Marichu. "Wala silang ginagawa." (I feel that the Philippines Mission and Philippine Consulate are useless. They are not doing anything.)

The case and campaign, led by DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, has drawn international news and front-page headlines, as well as international outrage. More than 30 organizations from across North America have endorsed the campaign and are supporting the call to waive Baja's diplomatic immunity.

Most recently, over 500 letters, faxes and emails were sent to consular offices, UN Permanent Missions, and the Philippine government demanding a waiver.

"The Bajas' receipt of 250,000 pesos from Marichu and use of the Labaire travel agency to traffic Marichu to the United States clearly lies outside his diplomatic responsibilities," explains DAMAYAN organizer Ana Liza Caballes. "The Philippine government must act to hold Baja accountable for violating the human rights of Marichu."

DAMAYAN stresses that the abuse and violation of human rights of Filipino domestic workers by diplomats is a commonly-known problem among DAMAYAN's 500-plus membership and affirmed by the Government Accountability Office's report on diplomatic abuse.

Marichu concludes, "Pag nabalewala ang kaso ko, mas lalong aabuso sila Baja. Kailangang magkaroon ng hustisya para magkaroon ng pag-asa ang mga ibang inaabuso." (If the case is dismissed, the Bajas will continue to take advantage. There needs to be justice so that there can be hope for others who are also abused.)

Human rights and the global economic crisis
As the United Nations celebrates its 63rd year, the world faces a global economic crisis. Human rights and today's global crisis are closely related. The collapse of the banking sector and the massive job losses announced this week are just a few signs. This crisis may be new to the US, but it has long been a reality for impoverished countries like the Philippines. The working class and immigrant workers from the Third World have always been in crisis. They have constantly received the short end of the capitalist promise of prosperity in education, health, housing, and social welfare.

Undocumented immigrants in particular felt the looming economic crisis well in advance of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as the US government desperately tried to find blame and ease the economic bust with deportations, detentions and attacks on the human rights of immigrant communities.

The labor of women im/migrant domestic workers frees bankers and other professionals from the "household" and devalued women's work of raising children, cleaning homes and caring for the elderly. Just as early capitalism in America was built on the backs of Black slaves in the 1600's, so it has advanced on the backs of women migrant workers today.

It is up to the people, especially women workers, to take up the fight against modern-day slavery, trafficking and abuse. It is up to the people to promote human rights and human dignity, fight for just wages and living conditions, and build a more humane society.

Justice for Marichu! Waive diplomatic immunity for human rights violators!
End the human trafficking of Filipino women workers and all women workers!
Pass the NY Domestic Workers Bill of Rights! End Modern-day Slavery!

For campaign updates: http://endtrafficking.blogspot.com

This event is organized by: DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, Domestic Workers United, Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers, Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, Unity Housecleaners, CASA de Maryland, Domestic Workers from around the world, and our allies from across the country!

Campaign endorsers: Alliance of Filipino Workers, British Columbia Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Coalition for Defense of Immigrant Rights, Ecumenical Fellowship for Justice and Peace, Filipino Americans for Immigrant Reforms, Filipino Nurses Support Group (Canada), First Quarter Storm Network USA, Gabriela Network USA, International ANSWER Coalition, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jews United for Justice, Kabataan maka-Bayan USA (Pro-People Youth), Philippine Peasants Support Network, Philippine Women Centre of British Columbia, Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan/Linking the Children of the Motherland, Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance in Canada, and the Urban Justice Center's Human Rights Project.

Human Rights Begin in the Home

DOMESTIC WORKERS STAND UP!
Human Rights Begin in the Home

Friday, October 24th, 2008
4:30pm Press Conference and Rally
6:00pm March from the Philippine Consulate
7:00pm Rally/Vigil at the United Nations

PRESS CONFERENCE & MARCH KICK-OFF
Philippine Consulate
556 5th Ave, Manhattan, New York
between 45th and 46th Streets

CLOSING RALLY & VIGIL
United Nations at Dag Hammarskjold Park
entrance between 46th & 47th Streets at 2nd Avenue

Working women of color have long suffered the brunt of the global economic crisis and human rights violations perpetrated by bad employers, diplomats, and institutions. Join us as we march to demand that domestic workers rights be recognized and respected, and help us put an end to the diplomatic immunity that allows employers to abuse us with impunity! March for justice for Marichu Baoanan, a domestic worker who was trafficked to the United States by her employer, a UN Diplomat – and help us demand rights and respect for all domestic workers!

October 24th is United Nations Day -- On this day, domestic workers from across New York City and across the globe will march on the United Nations to teach diplomats and the world the meaning of Universal Human Rights!

This event is organized by: DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, Domestic Workers United, Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers, Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, CAAAV, Unity Housecleaners, CASA de Maryland, Domestic Workers from around the world, and our allies from across the country!

To participate, volunteer, endorse or get more information, contact:
Ana Liza Caballes at (347) 261—3042 contact@damayanmigrants.org
Alexis de Simone at (301) 431—4185 x 252 adesimone@casamd.org

ACTION ALERT: 7 DAYS OF ACTION TO WAIVE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY

*91 days after Filipina domestic worker Marichu Baoanan filed a case of trafficking, forced labor and peonage against the former UN Ambassador to the Philippines Lauro Baja and his family.
*79 days of international press and media attention on the Baoanan case and the issue of trafficking and modern-day slavery of Filipina domestic workers.
*70 days after Baja filed a motion to dismiss the case based on diplomatic immunity.
*57 days after the Government Accountability Office uncovered 42 similar cases of abuse of domestic workers by foreign diplomats with immunity.

STILL NO ACTION BY THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF MARICHU OR TO ENSURE JUSTICE.

SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 1: 7 DAYS OF ACTION TO WAIVE THE BAJAS' DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY


Justice for Marichu! End Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery of all Domestic Workers!

On September 23, Philippine President Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo and Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo will be in New York City to deliver statements at the 63th United Nations General Assembly.

They need to hear the people's call: Waive the Bajas' diplomatic immunity! Accountability, not immunity!

From September 23 to October 1--the duration of the UN General Assembly debates--barrage the Philippine consular offices, the Philippine Mission to the UN, and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs by fax and email with the attached sample letter, demanding a waiver of Baja's diplomatic immunity. Justice must be pursued!

Since filing a civil lawsuit on June 24th, Marichu S. Baoanan has made public her experience of trafficking, forced labor, peonage and slavery in the New York City home of former Philippine Ambassador to the UN Lauro Baja (2003-2006), his wife Norma Baja, and their daughter Maria Elizabeth Facundo Baja, and the Baja-owned Labaire International Travel Inc. Marichu has led the way, along with DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association and allies, in a campaign demanding an End to Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery of Domestic Workers.

Marichu has highlighted the rampant abuse that domestic workers endure as employees of diplomats -- and as supported by a July 29th Government Accountability Office report. Women and workers who are contracted by diplomats around the world are survivors of severe forms of trafficking, abuse, enslavement and dehumanization, and most are afraid to come forward. Marichu's case is not an isolated incident. Marichu courageously speaks out about her case and joins the ranks of women im/migrant workers who are demanding accountability, justice, dignity and liberation.

TAKE ACTION

STEP 1. Write a letter (see sample below)

[Insert date]

To whom it may concern:

I am deeply concerned about the charges of human trafficking, forced labor, peonage, and racketeering of Marichu Suarez Baoanan by former UN Ambassador to the Philippines Lauro Baja, his wife Norma Baja, adult daughter Elizabeth Baja Facundo, and the Baja-owned Labaire Travel Agency.

I support the call to waive the Bajas' diplomatic immunity. I stand with Marichu in demanding that justice be pursued and given its due course. The Bajas should not be allowed to cloak themselves with diplomatic immunity while abusing their power and position as supposed defenders and servants of the people.

This is not a request; it is a mandate. If the Department of Foreign Affairs is to remain true to its stated vision of social justice, human rights and fundamental freedoms, then it must waive the Bajas' immunity. Those ideals cannot be realized without taking a stand on this issue.

Marichu is not alone, and her case is by no means isolated. There are unnumbered voices still unheard in this rampant abuse, human trafficking and slavery of Filipino workers around the globe. Because of Marichu's courage, they are beginning to come forward, and the Philippines more in the spotlight for its export of Filipino women workers, by the recent release of the Government Accountability Office Report on abuse of domestic workers by foreign diplomats and by other news reports internationally in the wake of Marichu's case.

The Department of Foreign Affairs must act.

I echo the demand for accountability NOT immunity! Waive the Bajas' diplomatic immunity!

Sincerely,

[name]
[city, state, country]


STEP 2. Email, fax and/or send by mail between September 23-October 1 to the following (For a list of Philippine consulates:
http://www.dfa.gov.ph/posts/philcon.htm
For a list of Philippine missions to the United Nations:
http://www.dfa.gov.ph/posts/mission.htm)

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President, Republic of the Philippines
Office of the Executive Secretary
Malacañang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel, Manila NCR 1005
(632) 735-5334
Fax No. (632) 736-1076
Email Address: erermita@op.gov.ph

SECRETARY ALBERTO GATMAITAN ROMULO
Department of Foreign Affairs
2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City
(632) 834-4000 / 834-3000
Fax No. (632) 832-0683
Email Address: osec@dfa.gov.ph

In New York:
HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations
Philippine Center Building
556 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Tel:(212)764-1300
Fax:(212)840-8602
Email: misunphil@aol.com

Cecilia B. Rebong
Philippine Consulate General in New York
556 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036 US
Tel: (212) 764-1330
Fax: (212) 382-1146
Email: newyork@pcgny.net

STEP 3. Send a copy of your letter to DAMAYAN (contact@damayanmigrants.org) or email us to let us know you have taken action. You can also send hard copies of your letter to our office mailing address: Justice for Marichu Campaign, DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, 410 West 40th, New York City, NY, USA, 10018.

STEP 4. Get more involved in the campaign and forward this action alert, all around the world, to your family, friends, classmates, co-workers and everyone you know who stand with Marichu and oppressed im/migrant domestic workers all around the world. Please visit our Justice for Marichu! End Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery of all Domestic Workers website (www.endtrafficking.blogspot.com).

ABS-CBN Global Coverage of August 1 Speak-out at the Philippine Consulate

WATCH THE JUSTICE FOR MARICHU CAMPAIGN SHORT VIDEO

Baoanan and Damayan Generate Media Hype!

Marichu Baoanan, the abused Filipina nurse of ex ambassador Baja, has caused media hype these past few weeks. And of course Damayan was also responsible to answer all the questions and promote the bomb that Marichu had dropped that made the Philippine government shudder.

Lately, the Bajas have been working so hard to defend themselves by trying to get certification from the Phil. mission and Phil. embassy that Baja was actually an ambassador. This certification would effect the immunity that would exonerate the Bajas from the crime they committed. They are busy covering up all their stinky mess in the Philippines and now here in the US.
As the US and its Phil. puppet pretend that they are against human trafficking, their laws have contradictions: diplomatic immunity paralyzes these governments from carrying out their own laws. Diplomats are not afraid to commit any atrocities, for they all know they can get away with it. This is ridiculous and unacceptable. The people should do something about this hole in this half-baked justice system.

How on earth does the Phil. mission in New York have the guts to say repeatedly in the media that Marichu Baoanan's case is an isolated one? This is absolutely a big tarradiddle! I know a lot of abused workers by diplomats here in NYC. If I would write their stories, one book is not enough to write down all the miserable experiences at the hands of their diplomat employers. Hello Elmer Cato of Phil. mission, are you ok?

Have you heard about an ambassador to Korea who stole some stuff in a department store in Korea? This sucker was also protected by immunity as an ambassador to the Phil. mission, and was also covered up by the Philippine government for the sake of their credibility and ignominies. And one more thing, this kleptomaniac also abused a house helper who is his distant relative. Working 24/7 for a bedridden elder, this domestic worker did all the house work, and took care of 2 children and received nothing but denigration from their family members. For more than 6 years she was a "slave". Abused domestic workers should learn their rights and gain the determination to escape or file an abuse case. And now Damayan is promoting the rights of Filipino migrant workers to raise their awareness to avoid such incidences.

Marichu's case now is a partial victory. For if not for her heroic revelation this will happen ceaselessly. Damayan demands revoke immunity, we insist accountability!

Justice for Marichu Baoanan!!

Monsi Ledesma
Damayan member
August 18, 2008

FILIPINO COMMUNITY DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY NOT IMMUNITY

For immediate release
August 6, 2008

New York—Hundreds of people passing by the Philippine consulate during last Friday’s rush-hour heard the voice of Marichu Baoanan projected up and down Fifth Avenue, as she recounted her story of being deceived into modern-slavery in the household of former UN Ambassador Lauro Baja.

“What I want to say to people like me who were oppressed or will be oppressed: don’t be afraid to speak out or to come out in the open,” said Marichu. “Let us fight for our rights. We are not alone. We need to face people who abuse us and our weaknesses because if we do not speak up, they will continue to abuse us.”

Last July 15, Baja filed a motion to dismiss all 15 civil charges, including trafficking, forced labor and racketeering, brought against him, his wife Norma Baja, their adult daughter Maria “Beth” Facundo and the Baja-owned Labaire Travel Agency. Baja has invoked the Vienna Convention and is seeking the shelter of diplomatic immunity.

In front of the consulate, over sixty community members and allies held hand-painted banners and placards demanding accountability not immunity, and an end to modern-day slavery. They also distributed flyers and newsletters, and gathered signatures for a petition demanding that Baja be held accountable by RP’s Department of Foreign Affairs, the body ultimately responsible for Baja.

Though public cries have been made to waive Baja’s diplomatic immunity from within Philippine Congress, by Congresswoman Liza Maza, neither the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Consulate Mission in New York, nor the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York—Baja’s former post—has taken action on Marichu’s case, though they have publicly claimed that they do not tolerate trafficking and abuse.

Before the action last Friday, Marichu and DAMAYAN met with officials of the Philippine consulate and submitted a letter to the DFA, the Philippine Mission to the UN, and the Philippine Consulate General to formally request for assistance as a Filipina overseas national.

“I am appealing to all of you to waive the diplomatic immunity that is being sought…” Marichu states in her letter. “I am an ordinary Filipino citizen, a struggling mother with three children but I had to file the civil suit against former Ambassador Baja to get justice for the abuses and sufferings that I endured… If Ambassador Baja believes that he did nothing wrong, he should have the opportunity to present his case in a court of law.”

DAMAYAN has stated that a lack of action by agencies responsible for the welfare of overseas Filipinos signals approval and complicity.

“The shelter of diplomatic immunity in this case must be waived in order to allow the pursuit of justice to continue,” said one worker who delivered a statement at the speak-out on behalf of DAMAYAN. “Many predatory employers, especially diplomats who are supposed to protect overseas compatriots, are allowed to exploit their vulnerabilities and walk away without facing consequences.”

“This happened here, in the US?” asked one passerby in disbelief. Two other tourists remarked that they had heard the story in Spain. Seven weeks after the civil case was filed by Marichu and her lawyers, Ivy Suriyopas of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and Aaron Mendolsohn of Troutman Sanders, the campaign has made international news and gained international support.

The speak-out came on the heels of a report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last July 29, 2008, which revealed a larger pattern of the abuse of domestic workers by diplomats with immunity.

One domestic worker, of Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers, testified at the speak-out about her two years of work for a former diplomat, who paid her $40 per month. According to the worker, that entire amount was sent directly to her family abroad, and she never laid eyes on American money for two years.

According to the DAMAYAN statement at the speak-out, the Arroyo regime in the Philippines remains silent on reports of abuses of Filipino women migrant workers from all over the world. A corrupt government bureaucracy with no accountability—of which Baja is part—remains a legacy of the Philippines that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo preserves.

Vowing to support the Justice for Marichu campaign, the following organizations attended and/or gave statements of solidarity: Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Linking the Children of the Motherland), Gabriela Network, the Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines, the ANSWER Coalition, CAAAV's Women Workers Project, Domestic Workers United, Andolan Organizing South Asian Communities, Adhikaar for Human Rights, and the Socialist Part of USA-NY.

DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association will continue the campaign to demand justice for Marichu and all domestic workers in the fight against trafficking, forced labor and exploitation. DAMAYAN has released a campaign video, which is available for viewing at: http://www.youtube.com/user/damayanmigrantworker. For campaign updates, please visit: http://endtrafficking.blogspot.com. To sign the petition demanding that Baja be held accountable by the Philippine government, please visit: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/justice-for-marichu-end-trafficking/sign.html.

Stand with Marichu Baoanan and DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association to demand justice and an end to trafficking and modern-day slavery!

What: Justice for Marichu Community Speak-out
When: Friday, August 1, 2008
Time: 5:00 – 8:00 pm
Where: In front of the Philippine Consulate, 556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Directions: 7 train to 5th Avenue-Bryant Park, F/V/D/B to 47-50 Rockefeller Center. Walk to 5th Avenue between 45th & 46th Street

Last June 24, Marichu Baoanan filed a civil lawsuit of 15 counts (including trafficking, forced labor, peonage and slavery) against her former employers, UN Ambassador to the Philippines Lauro Baja, his wife Norma Baja, and their daughter Maria "Beth" Facundo.

According to the lawsuit, Marichu was trafficked to the US by the Bajas and worked as a domestic worker in the Baja household for approximately three months, where she was forced to work at least 18 hours a day, seven days a week, with no days off, for merely $100—approximately 6 cents per hour. Labaire International Travel, Inc, owned by the Bajas, is also a defendant in the case for allegedly facilitating Marichu's travel from Manila to New York.

Invoking diplomatic immunity, the Bajas have asked the court to dismiss the charges.

Filipina domestic workers, allies and supporters will speak out on Friday, August 1 against the Bajas' use of diplomatic immunity and to demand that they be held accountable for their actions. The speak-out will also call for Phil. Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to conduct a full investigation of the Bajas, and will support the demand of Marichu for her unpaid wages and a public apology from the Bajas for violating her human dignity and subjecting her to involuntary servitude.

Sign the online petition to support Marichu and help end human trafficking and modern-day slavery: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/justice-for-marichu-end-trafficking.html
For campaign updates: http://endtrafficking.blogspot.com

Justice for Marichu!
End trafficking of Filipino women workers!
End modern-day slavery!
Down with graft and corruption!

Study Reveals UN Diplomats Who Abuse Their Power

Watch Marichu and DAMAYAN on Eyewitness News:

http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=115414@wcbs.dayport.com

Letter to the editor, The Filipino Express

July 25, 2008

Dear Editor:

As a staff member of Damayan Migrant Workers Association, I wish to respond to the editorial entitled "The Motive" about the case of Marichu Suarez Baoanan and charges of human trafficking and forced labor against former UN Ambassador Lauro Baja, Jr and his family. The editorial appeared in the July 7 - July 13, 2008 issue.

The editorial asks, what was Marichu's motive? The answer is simple: justice. It is also Damayan's motive in supporting Marichu in this case.

I believe it's important for the readers to know Marichu's motives, but the Bajas's motives should also be scrutinized. According to the legal case, Baja and his family were paid P250,000 by Marichu in exchange for the so-called "package deal" that ultimately led to her trafficking and 3-month enslavement in the Baja household. This means that the Bajas profited from Marichu not just from her money, but also from her labor.

Is it so unbelievable that a Philippine government official is capable of greed, corruption and abuse? Or is so unbelievable that a women migrant worker would have the courage to stand up for her rights?

At the press conference organized by Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) on July 9, a reporter asked the same question about Marichu's motives and whether they were connected to her trafficking visa. Marichu answered very clearly. When she courageously escaped the Baja household, she knew she was out of status. She had been in the country just three months. She knew nothing of legal recourse or trafficking visas. Marichu's immediate concern, and the concern of any out-of-status immigrant mother, was for her family. This is her primary concern over and above her status, revenge or any other motive of which she is covertly accused by a few local media.

At the press conference, Attorney Ivy Suriyopas followed up with a logical and obvious, and yet completely neglected point. Marichu and her family already have the trafficking visa and visa derivatives. She does not need to pursue a legal case, except to win justice and affirm her human dignity.

The editorial's point about receiving a lead about this case many months ago was also addressed at the same July 9 press conference. Marichu could not go public until the case had been filed. Her concern was also for her family. Knowing that the Bajas are powerful people in the Philippines, she needed to ensure that her children were in the US safely before pursuing the case.

Damayan’s primary interest is to support Marichu and her family, and to empower other Filipina domestic workers to gain courage to confront abusive employers, including those who wield their power and position to abuse and profit from the vulnerability of women workers. With that said, Damayan could not go public with this case before Marichu and her family were ready. This would be a violation of the organization's principles of building the leadership of its members.

As sensational as this case has become, it is not only about Marichu and the Bajas but, more so, about the rampant graft and corruption in the Philippines. The inutile Philippine government is responsible for the widespread poverty that drives 1.24 million Filipinos like Marichu to go abroad yearly. Filipinos pay an estimated 13 billion in Philippine pesos to various government fees in order to go abroad. This year alone, Filipino im/migrant workers will send more than $16 billion in remittances to the Philippines through formal channels, and more than $20 billion including informal channels. Migrant workers support the Philippine economy and should demand their rights and protection from the Philippine government.

Once abroad, im/migrant workers are susceptible to abuses and violations of their human rights. According to the preliminary results of the Damayan survey of 210 Filipino domestic workers in New York City, 63 percent reported wage and hour violations, and 34 percent of survey respondents reported being abused.

For too long, our community has been silenced by the overwhelming odds against them. Marichu, along with the voices of other Filipina domestic workers, is now seeking justice, and her struggle is the same as millions of Filipina domestic workers in the US and around the world. Damayan stands with Marichu and all domestic workers fighting for justice, dignity and liberation from modern-day slavery.

Sincerely,
Leah Obias
Staff Member
DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association

AJLLP SOLIDLY STANDS WITH MARICHU BAOANAN AND DAMAYAN ON HER CASE VS LAURO BAJA Jr. ET AL

The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) expresses militant solidarity and support to compatriot Marichu S. Baonan and the Damayan Migrant Workers Association based in New York on the case filed by Ms. Baonan against former United Nations Ambassador Lauro Baja, Jr., Norma Castro Baja, his daughter Maria Elizabeth Baja Facundo and the Baja-owned Labaire International Travel Inc;

The case filed last June 24 exposes the hypocrisy of the US-Arroyo regime and its policies and its bureaucracy in its failure to protect Filipino workers abroad and the sad fact that its instrumentalities who are supposed to safeguard their rights are the ones who oppresses them and take advantage of them like in the case of Marichu Baoanan from New York..
It is also a hard fact to note that Baja Jr, a holdover from the US-Marcos regime owned the travel agency and like other DFA and Philippine government officials and oppresses and exploit their country mates with impunity.

The AJLPP expresses contempt over the highhandedness of Baja who said that “in this case, he is the victim, not Marichu Baoanan”

How can Baja say that he is the victim when Baoanan who was recruited as a nurse was made to work as a maid. Baonan also said she was made to work 18 hours daily, seven days a week, in the Baja household and was paid only a total of $100 for three months of work and suffered abuse from the Baja family.

The AJLPP is aware that the Baonan case is not isolated like what Baja or the US –Arroyo regime potrays. There are still many cases out there here in the United States and all over the world.

As the US-based Mariposa Alliance and GABRIELA Network USA, pointed out :"There have been innumerable stories of Filipinas seeking sanctuary from their brutal employers at consulates and embassies only to be returned to the same employers; of Filipinas funneled into the sex trade by embassy and consular personnel; of Filipinas traded as domestic workers by embassy and consular personnel to their relatives and friends as favors; of Filipinas coerced into paid-for marriages and sex work to enable embassy and consular personnel to make enormous profits".

The AJLPP and all its organizations expresses wholehearted support and will extend all necessary means and resources to help Marichu Baoanan and all compatriots to seek justice and equality in the United Sates and will fight systemic racism everywhere it rears its ugly head.

Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP)

July 10, 2008

GABNet/Mariposa Alliance Statement

Not Just One Ambassador, Just One Consul
DFA of Philippines is a Haven for Traffickers

Had Marichu Baoanan not filed a civil complaint against former Philippine ambassador to the UN Lauro Baja, his wife, his daughter and their travel agency, people of Philippine ancestry would have shrugged off her story for its ordinariness.

In the more than ten years that GABNet of the Mariposa Alliance has worked on the issue of trafficking, countless such stories have come our way: of embassy and consulate personnel and their relatives lugging, like so many suitcases, women from the Philippines, extracting enormous amounts for a US visa, or a Saudi visa, or a British visa or French or Italian – in other words, wherever the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has diplomatic representation.

There have been innumerable stories of Filipinas seeking sanctuary from their brutal employers at consulates and embassies only to be returned to the same employers; of Filipinas funneled into the sex trade by embassy and consular personnel; of Filipinas traded as domestic workers by embassy and consular personnel to their relatives and friends as favors; of Filipinas coerced into paid-for marriages and sex work to enable embassy and consular personnel to make enormous profits.

It is a vast narrative of corruption and greed – the hallmarks of bureaucrat capitalism – and of feudal/patriarchal anti-woman values which underlie the sustained violence against women that is the hallmark of the Philippines' Labor Export Policy.

Every Filipino is familiar with this narrative. Every Filipino has at least one tale of this miserable narrative, whether directly experienced or indirectly experienced through family and/or friends.

When the first DFA personnel and/or the relative(s) thereof was convicted of forced labor, peonage and/or trafficking, the Department of Foreign Affairs should have immediately launched an investigation to weed out the traffickers in its midst.

When the first diplomatic corps staff was shown to have been connected, even remotely, to even one incident of trafficking and coerced labor, the proper thing for the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to have done was launch an immediate crack-down on the traffickers in its midst.

Instead both Macapagal-Arroyo and the DFA bosses chose to ignore such incidents.

Now we know why; the DFA has been transformed into a sanctuary, not for overseas Filipinos, but for traffickers. Trafficking profits fulfill the lust for wealth of the bosses of bosses.

The overseas face of Macapagal-Arroyo's government accurately reflects its character at home: corrupt, greedy, exploitative, a parasite living off the wounds of the Filipino people, exacerbating injuries to the body politic by blaming its victim. Marichu is poor and just "a maid" and therefore should not speak truth to power.

One very simple question -- how many diplomatic "red" passports for alleged "domestic employees" does the DFA issue per year? – would have immediately given anyone an understanding of the extent of this corruption.

As for those who decry what they perceive to be attempts to sully the reputation of "a citizen above suspicion" by a simple "maid," bear in mind that whitewashed tombs are beautiful outward but full of corruption and "uncleanliness within."

Marichu Baoanon's story is common. GABNet of the Mariposa Alliance has heard it over and over and over again. To fence-sit and do nothing about it now is to be an accomplice in the exploitation, commoditization and disempowerment of the Filipina. Do nothing, say nothing and you conspire with the Macapagal-Arroyo government's policy of implementing globalization through sustained violence against women.

Therefore, GABNet of the Mariposa Alliance calls for a thorough investigation, not only of the defendants in the civil complaint filed by Marichu Baoanon but of the entire Department of Foreign Affairs and of its embassies and consulates.

We demand that the DFA issue and implement a policy of zero tolerance towards trafficking, forced and exploitative labor among its ranks.

Zero tolerance toward trafficking and peonage should be the minimum policy of a government that survives on remittances from overseas Filipino workers.

We demand of the United Nations as well a policy of zero tolerance toward trafficking, slavery and peonage among its ranks. Nations cannot be united if trafficking, slavery and peonage are allowed to be visited upon more than half of the world's population.

We demand that these "whitened sepulchers" stop vilifying Marichu Baoanon for being just "a maid" and for speaking out. This is public verbal abuse and extremely disrespectful of the Filipina domestic worker.

We call for the affirmation and assertion of labor rights and women's rights for Filipinos at home and overseas.

We call for JUSTICE FOR MARICHU and all "maids" like her victimized by the sustained violence of the Labor Export Policy.

We ask all friends of the Filipino people to stand with Marichu, to stand with GABNet of the Mariposa Alliance, in opposition to the continuing violence against women embedded in the Labor Export component of imperialist globalization.

JUSTICE FOR MARICHU! JUSTICE FOR OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS! JUSTICE FOR THE FILIPINA! JUSTICE FOR THE FILIPINO PEOPLE!
END TRAFFICKING AND PEONAGE NOW! ONWARD TO WOMEN'S LIBERATION AND THE LIBERATION OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE!

GABRIELA WOMEN'S PARTY FILES RESOLUTION

GABRIELA WOMEN'S PARTY FILES RESOLUTION ON THE CASES OF TRAFFICKING SUCH AS THE MARICHU BAOANAN CASE

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session
House Resolution 649

Introduced by
Gabriela Women's Party Representatives LIZA LARGOZA-MAZA and LUZVIMINDA ILAGAN

RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THROUGH THE
COMMITTEES ON WOMEN, FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND OVERSEAS FILIPINOS TO LOOK
INTO THE ALLEGATIONS OF TRAFFICKING USING CONSULAR PRIVILEGES AS SHOWN
IN THE CASES OF MARICHU BAOANAN AND ARLENE GADO AND RECOMMEND MEASURES
THEREOF

WHEREAS, the recognition of human rights is a valuable tenet in the
1987 Philippine Constitution which states: "the State values the
dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human
rights" (Article II, Section II);

WHEREAS, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 penalizes
trafficking of persons especially women and minors for forced labor,
sex and prostitution, institutes policies and establishes mechanisms
to prevent the proliferation of trafficking;

WHEREAS, the Philippine government is a signatory to the Convention on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women which guarantees the
rights and welfare of women;

WHEREAS, On June 24, 2008, Marichu Suarez Baoanan filed charges of
trafficking, forced labor, peonage and racketeering against former
United Nations Ambassador Lauro Baja, Jr., Norma Castro Baja, his
daughter Maria Elizabeth Baja Facundo and the Baja-owned Labaire
International Travel Inc;

WHEREAS, in her complaint Baoanan claims she was told by Norma Baja
that she would arrange for Baoanan to come to the US and work as a
nurse and that for Php 500,000.00 she would get a plane tickets, a US
visa, work authorization and assistance in getting employment in the
US;

WHEREAS, on December 2005, Norma Baja took her regular passport and
accompanied her and a certain "Dorie" to the Department of Foreign
Affairs to apply for a new diplomatic passport as Ambassador Baja's
personal employees;

WHEREAS, Baoanan was able to produce Php 250,000.00, issued a
diplomatic passport and upon arrival in the US on January 2006 was
told that she had to work for the Bajas as domestic helper for six
months to pay off the remaining Php 250,000.00;

WHEREAS, from January to April 2006, Baoanan claims she was made to
work 16 hours daily, seven days a week, in the Baja household and was
paid only a total of $100 for three months of work, and another $100
for taking care of Facundo's son who, she said, was allowed to hit
her;

WHEREAS, in a similar case, Arlene Gado, a Filipina domestic helper
arrived in the US in 2005 after signing a contract in the Philippines
to work for Anthony Mandap, then vice consul in the Consulate General
of the Philippines in San Francisco;

WHEREAS, shortly after arriving in the US she was transferred to the
household of Angelita Reyes, Mandap's mother in law where she served
as the Reyes' domestic helper and caretaker for two years, getting a
meager $250 to $325 a month for her services;

WHEREAS, in May 2007, Angelita Reyes, pleaded guilty to charges of
third degree criminal restraint and was ordered by the courts to pay
$78,000 in back wages to Arlene Gado;

WHEREAS, the Mariposa Alliance and GABRIELA Network USA in their
statement allege the Department of Foreign Affairs is a haven for
traffickers;

WHEREAS, according to the Mariposa Alliance and GABRIELA Network USA,
"There have been innumerable stories of Filipinas seeking sanctuary
from their brutal employers at consulates and embassies only to be
returned to the same employers; of Filipinas funneled into the sex
trade by embassy and consular personnel; of Filipinas traded as
domestic workers by embassy and consular personnel to their relatives
and friends as favors; of Filipinas coerced into paid-for marriages
and sex work to enable embassy and consular personnel to make enormous
profits";

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives through the
Committees on Women, Foreign Affairs and Overseas Filipinos to look
into the allegations of trafficking using consular privileges as shown
in the cases of Marichu Baoanan and Arlene Gado and recommend measures
thereof.

Adopted,

HON. LIZA LARGOZA-MAZA HON. LUZVIMINDA ILAGAN

Progressive Filipinos in Canada support the complaint of Marichu Suarez Baoanan against Baja family

Progressive Filipinos in Canada support the complaint of Marichu Suarez Baoanan against Baja family

As progressive Filipinos in Canada, we support the civil complaint of Marichu Suarez Baoanan alleging trafficking, forced labour, peonage and racketeering against her former employer, Lauro Liboon Baja Jr. and his family. Baja is a 71-year old retired former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations and current foreign affairs consultant of Philippine Senate President Manuel Villar.

According to reports, Baoanan, a 39-year old nursing graduate from the Philippines, arrived in the United States in January 2006 with a diplomatic “red” passport and visa, as a “personal employee” of Ambassador Baja. She says she paid P250,000 to Baja’s wife, Norma Baja in agreement for exchange of transportation to the U.S, a visa, work authorization and help in finding a nursing job. Instead, she says she was forced to work in the five-story Philippine consular residence 16 hours a day, seven days a week and only received $200 for three months of work. She says she also received abuse from Baja’s grandson who was allowed to hit her.

It enrages us that many Philippine government officials continue to live in over-indulgence and splendor, exploiting and oppressing women workers who are forced to leave the Philippines in order to support their families back home.

The chronic economic crisis under the government of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo continues to force over 3,000 Filipino workers abroad every day. Her anti-people policies and the continuing plunder of the country’s wealth and resources by the elite few and foreigners push us abroad in droves.

The case of Baoanan is similar to countless other cases of Filipina live-in caregivers in Canada. We recall the case of “Precious” a live-in caregiver in Canada who was forced to work for her Taiwanese employer in 2004 for 17 hours a day at 59 cents per hour for two months with no overtime or holiday pay. She was also only given one day off in two months of work. Reports of her case sparked a resolution in the Philippine House of Representatives by progressive party-list representatives of Anakpawis, Bayan Muna and Gabriela party-list groups to call on the Department of Foreign Affairs to investigate and protect women workers in Canada under the LCP.

Since the early 1908’s, nearly 100,000 Filipino women have come to Canada under the Canadian government’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The LCP sentences these women to a lifetime of deskilling and low-wage work, strips them of their dignity and leaves them vulnerable to all forms of abuse at the hands of their employer.

Organizations across Canada, namely under the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, SIKLAB (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers) and Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance have been calling for the scrapping of the racist and anti-woman LCP because of the negative short and long-term impacts we have seen on our women and community over the last three decades.

The recent deaths of live-in caregivers like Editha Mangaoang, Jocelyn Dulnuan and Arcelie Laoagan, and the children of former live-in caregivers: Jomar Lanot, Deeward Ponte, and Charle Dalde point to the harshest impacts of the LCP.

It is only from the collective empowerment of the women themselves that they are able to learn and assert their rights against abusive employers. Over the past few years, several SIKLAB members in BC including “Precious” have been able to win back pay and compensation from their former employees by filing complaints with the labour board.

We salute the bravery of Marichu Baoanan to stand up against the abuse and exploitation she faced from the Baja family! We support her demands for unpaid wages and other compensations, a public apology from the Baja family and that the DFA conduct a full investigation of Baja and other diplomats with domestic workers and hold them accountable for any abuse.

Makibaka! Huwag matakot!

Scrap the racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Progam!

End forced migration from the Philippines!

Justice for Marichu Baoanan and all Overseas Filipino Workers!

Statement issued: July 8, 2008 by the following organizations:

National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada

SIKLAB – Canada (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers)

Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Canada

Member organizations:

Vancouver: Kalayaan Centre

Philippine Women Centre of BC

SIKLAB-BC

Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance –BC

Filipino Nurses Support Group - BC

BC Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines

Montreal: Kabit-Bisig Centre

Philippine Women Centre of Quebec

Kabataang Montreal

SIKLAB – Quebec

Filipino Nurses Support Group – Quebec

Toronto: Magkaisa Centre

Philippine Women Centre of Ontario

SIKLAB – Ontario

Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Ontario

Winnipeg:

Philippine Women Centre of Manitob

TAKE ACTION TO HELP END HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MODERN-DAY SLAVERY

SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION TO SUPPORT MARICHU AT:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/justice-for-marichu-end-trafficking.html

Date: July 9, 2008
To: Philippine President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo
United Nations Human Rights Council Vice President Erlinda Basilio
Care of: Consul General Cecilia Rebong

Filipino domestic workers in New York and New Jersey, and our families, allies and supporters are demanding the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to conduct a full investigation of former United Nations Ambassador Lauro Baja, wife Norma Baja, daughter Elizabeth Baja Facundo and their travel agency, the Labaire International Travel Inc. on charges of human trafficking, involuntary servitude, racketeering and US wage and hours violations filed by our fellow domestic worker Marichu Baoanan on June 24, 2008 at the US District Court Southern District of New York.

We call on the United Nations Human Rights Council Vice President Erlinda Basilio to head the DFA investigation on the charges against the former Ambassador who was also the former UN Security Council President.

We also support the demand of Marichu Baoanan for a public apology from the Bajas for violating her human dignity and subjecting her to involuntary servitude.Like Marichu, about 30,000 Filipino domestic workers in New York work for very long hours and low wages, for less than the US minimum wage, and no overtime pay. In the private homes of our employers, we have no protection against abuse, maltreatment and slavery. We suffer from exclusion from major federal and state labor laws. We are also subjected to discrimination and harassment due to immigration status.

According to the preliminary results of a DAMAYAN survey of 210 Filipino domestic workers in the New York metropolitan area, 63 percent reported experiencing one or more wage and hour violations, and 34 percent of survey respondents reported being abused.We are outraged by the thought that the Department of Foreign Affairs is not our haven, and that even top ranking Philippine officials could be traffickers instead of our protectors.

We are the lifeline of the Philippine economy. We will remit about $16 billion dollars, and more than $20 billion including informal channels to the Philippines this year. We were forced to leave our homeland due to the poverty and lack of opportunities in the Philippines. For these reasons, we demand respect and dignity.

Together with all the low wage Filipino workers and professionals, we are appalled at the abuse, exploitation, inhumane treatment and suffering that Marichu and her family have undergone. We call on all Filipino and non-Filipino domestic and low-wageworkers, women, immigrants, racial and social justice advocates, allies and supporters in New York, the US and internationally to show and build solidarity and power for Marichu and all Filipino domestic workers. Justice for Marichu! Justice for all Filipino domestic workers!
Posted by DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association at 10:00 PM 0 comments

Statement of DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association

DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association stands with Filipino domestic worker Marichu Baoanan in her fight to seek justice against her previous employers Lauro Baja, former Philippine Ambassador to the UN, his wife Norma Baja, his daughter Elizabeth Facundo and the Baja-owned Labaire International Travel agency. We support Marichu’s following demands:

• The Bajas should pay for her unpaid wages and other compensation;
• The Bajas should issue a public apology;
• The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) should conduct a full investigation and hold accountable the former UN Ambassador.

We condemn human trafficking, modern-day slavery and racketeering that Filipino workers, especially women, suffer from corrupt Philippine officials and predatory Filipino employment agencies. We oppose abusive employers, particularly the Philippine diplomats and their families, who are more vicious in exploiting their fellow Filipino domestic workers.

The civil case filed by Marichu further exposes the greed and corruption in Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s government. The Philippine President herself and her family have been at the centers of huge corruption exposés in the Philippines. Indeed, graft and corruption in Gloria’s administration is not new in the United States, nor unique to New York. Last year, the mother of a consul in the San Francisco Philippine Consulate was made to pay $78,000 for exploiting the Filipina domestic worker who worked for her.

As bad as it is, graft and corruption in the Philippine government is not the primary reason why ten percent of the 86 million Filipinos are forced to leave the country. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not only is running a corrupt bureaucracy—she also maintains and worsens the plaguing poverty and unemployment in the country by not developing basic industrialization and not implementing genuine land reform. She maintains the role of the Philippines in the global economy as a market for surplus goods and surplus capital and a source of cheap skilled labor and raw materials for imperialist countries like the US.

As a result of the chronic economic problems, even educated middle class Filipinos, mostly women like Marichu, are forced to leave the country to work abroad. They do whatever they can to work overseas— borrowing money, even mortgaging their homes like Marichu did. Filipino workers pay an estimated P13 billion in Philippine pesos in various government fees in order to go abroad.

This year alone, migrant Filipino workers will send an estimated US$16 billion in remittances to the Philippines through formal channels, and more than $20 billion including informal channels. Their yearly contribution easily surpasses the loans and direct investments that Gloria begs from the US government and investors. But despite their huge contribution, this workforce remains unprotected and vulnerable to abuse and exploitation not only by white employers but also by wealthy and Filipino employers—including the very people from their own government who should set standards and protect the overseas Filipino workers.

Upon coming to the US, Marichu found herself in work conditions that she never imagined—18 hours a day, 7 times a week of forced labor for the inhumane low wages of six cents per hour. This is neglect and abuse, and an atrocious violation of her human dignity. And yet her story is not isolated—it reflects the experiences of a significant portion of the Filipino domestic workers.

According to the preliminary results of the DAMAYAN survey of 210 Filipino domestic workers in the New York metropolitan area, 63 percent reported wage and hour violations, and 34 percent of survey respondents reported being abused.

In New York, abuse and exploitation is not unique to Filipino domestic workers. The majority of women domestic workers from poor third world countries have suffered the same work experience as Marichu’s. Despite the importance and significant contribution of domestic workers to New York’s economy and to the personal wealth and leisure of the rich and famous, their labor is seen as inferior women’s work—devalued and unprotected, even excluded from US federal and state labor laws.

To this day, Marichu’s abuse by the Bajas continues as the former UN Ambassador, in retaliation for Marichu’s complaint, has gone public with veiled threats about her immigration status, claiming that she is an “illegal immigrant” and “could get deported”. Though she is no longer enslaved in their household, they continue to abuse their positions of power to threaten her.

But Marichu has moved on. After gaining the courage to free herself from the Bajas, she joined DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association and together with fellow Filipino domestic workers, has been active in fighting for rights, respect, dignity and fair labor standards. Filipino domestic workers are part of a statewide coalition fighting for a New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Last year in Atlanta, Filipinos joined their fellow workers from across the US in organizing the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The alliance held its first national congress in New York last June and elected a five-member national lead body that includes DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association.

Marichu’s story will not just be another sad and hopeless story of an abused Filipino domestic worker in the US. It will be a turning point because today, we have the support not only of the Filipino and non- Filipino domestic workers in the state of New York and all across the ten key cities of the US. DAMAYAN is calling for all Filipinos across the globe, who still believe that we can have an honest and efficient Philippine government that will have the political will and determination to help its people back home and overseas, to support Marichu’s campaign for justice! We acknowledge Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and Troutman Sanders in standing for justice with Marichu. We are also calling on our allies from the domestic workers national alliance, the immigrant workers organizations and all the human rights and social justice organizations locally, nationally and internationally to join Marichu’s campaign for justice.

Justice for Marichu!
End the trafficking of Filipino women workers!
End the Modern day Slavery!
Down with bureaucrat capitalism in the Philippines!

CASE BACKGROUND: MARICHU BAOANAN V. BAJA ET AL

Marichu Baoanan, a Filipina domestic worker, filed a civil lawsuit of 15 counts (including trafficking, forced labor, peonage and slavery) against her former employers, UN Ambassador to the Philippines Lauro Baja (2003-2006), his wife Norma Baja, and their daughter Maria “Beth” Facundo. Marichu worked as a domestic worker in the Baja household for approximately three months (January-April 2006). Labaire International Travel, Inc, also a defendant in the civil case, facilitated the visa application process, collected fees, provided temporary housing, and organized Marichu’s travel from Manila to New York. Norma Baja was president, and Beth Facundo was vice president, of Labaire.

Marichu, a graduate nurse and a small business owner in the Philippines, decided to migrate to the United States when business became slow in 2005. In fall 2005, Marichu met Norma Baja through an acquaintance. Allegedly, Norma Baja offered Marichu a “package deal” – in exchange for Php500,000 pesos (about $10,000), Norma would provide Marichu with transportation to the U.S., visa, work authorization, and assurance with finding employment as a nurse.

When Marichu was only able to come up with Php250,000 pesos after mortgaging her house, Norma purportedly told her the amount was already sufficient. Marichu paid the amount in three installments. Labaire, in turn, assisted with the processing of her paperwork and housed her in an apartel for several days before her flight to the U.S.

According to Marichu, Norma had her sign a document that she was not allowed to read. To Marichu’s surprise, the document was an employment contract which made it appear that Marichu would work as a domestic worker for the Bajas.

Marichu arrived in New York on January 12, 2006 and went directly to the Baja house on East 66th Street in Manhattan. Allegedly, Norma told Marichu that she still owed Php250,000 pesos and demanded that Marichu work in the Baja house until that alleged debt was paid.

As per the lawsuit, During Marichu’s approximately three-month stay in the Baja household, the Bajas made Marichu work at least 18 hours a day, seven days a week, with no days off for three months for merely $100. In the Bajas’ five-story, eight-bedroom townhouse, Marichu’s duties included cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, ironing the clothes, monitoring the diabetes and blood pressure of Norma Baja, providing child care for Beth Facundo’s then-five-year-old son, Miguel, and other household duties. Marichu also had to prepare and clean up for the Bajas’ weekly parties, which consisted of at least 30 guests.

According to Marichu, these conditions of forced labor, abuse and isolation were extreme, and her basic human rights atrociously violated; that she was limited to eating only the Baja’s leftovers; and that sometimes Beth Facundo watched Marichu as she ate, humiliating Marichu and preventing her from eating further.

Purportedly, the Bajas restricted Marichu’s movement and kept her isolated by preventing her from leaving the Baja household unaccompanied, forbidding her from using the house telephone, and monitoring her movements and how he was taking of Miguel. She also said that the Bajas did not provide her with clothing suitable for the winter months; that when Norma Baja brought Marichu to go grocery shopping with her, Marichu wore only summer clothes, sandals, and no jacket during the winter months. Marichu declared that upon arrival to the baja home, Norma Baja immediately took her passport which she later found.

Marichu related that Ambassador Baja did not even stop and discipline his grandson Miguel when he witnessed the child hit Marichu with a broom, spit on her face, and kick her on the face. Purportedly, the Bajas verbally abused Marichu, calling her “stupid” and “slow”; yelled, denigrated, and cursed at Marichu on a daily basis. Allegedly, they verbally assaulted her further each time she asked why she was doing housework instead of being employed as a nurse, and when Marichu complained about her alleged debt to the Bajas.

In April 2006, after a good samaritan connected her to DAMAYAN and after being informed about her labor and human rights, Marichu courageously escaped. She was then referred by DAMAYAN to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) which provided her with legal education, counseling and legal representation.

** All information above are based on Marichu’s lawsuit against the Bajas et al, filed on June 24, 2008. She is represented by Attorney Ivy Suriyopas of (AALDEF) and Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of Troutman Sanders. On July 9th, DAMAYAN launched the “Justice for Marichu! End Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery of all Filipina Domestic Workers!”

Statement of Marichu Suarez Baoanan

July 9, 2008
Baoanan v. Baja et al. Translation from Tagalog to English, by DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association

Good afternoon. My name is Marichu Baoanan and I am 39 years old. I was born in Cavite, Philippines. I graduated from Unciano Paramedical College with a nursing degree. I have a husband and three children. I had a small business, like a deli or grocery store. But the business slowed down because of the economic crisis in the Philippines. I thought about other options that would be able to provide for my family’s needs. I thought about going abroad.

I met Nanay Babes. She said that she knew someone who would be able to help me go to America. She introduced me to Ma’am Norma. Ma’am Norma is the wife of the Ambassador of the Philippines, and he was stationed in New York. Ma’am Norma asked me to give her money for a package deal – transportation to the US, a US visa, working permit and she would help me get a job in a hospital as a nurse. I mortgaged the title of the lot of my house so that I could give the money to Ma’am Norma. We met at the office of Ma’am Norma in Labaire International in Makati. Ma’am Norma and her employees at Labaire arranged my papers. I gave Ma’am Norma and Labaire P250,000, and she had me sign a contract that I was not allowed to read. Ma’am Norma went with me to the Department of Foreign Affairs to process my passport. An employee of Labaire went with me to the US embassy so that I could get a visa. My documents were easily fixed and I was able to leave the Philippines on January 12, 2006.

When I arrived in America, I was taken straight to the townhouse where the Bajas lived. The very first day of my arrival in their house, Ma’am Norma took my passport. When I asked about our agreement, she got mad at me and started to curse at me. She gave me tasks to do as a domestic worker. Then she said that I needed to work for her so that I could pay off my “debt” to her. This was not part of our agreement. I felt she tricked and lied to me.

My hardship began my very first day with them. Oftentimes, I would start my work even before the sun would rise. I had not slept more than a few hours, there was already someone waking me up. I would be the only one to clean the whole house. And if Ma’am Norma would go out to go grocery shopping or go to her appointments, she would have me go with her. At that time, it was the middle of winter. It was my first time to come to America so I did not have any idea how very cold it was during the month of January. The only clothes I had were from the Philippines: thin pairs of pants, t-shirts, and slippers. They didn’t even give me a jacket or any sort of protection from the cold. I endured it even if my entire body was shivering from the cold. I asked Ma’am Norma if she would buy me anything, even just a pair of shoes. But she ignored me. In addition to cleaning the whole house and accompanying Ma’am Norma, I took care of the then five-year-old son of Beth, the daughter of Ma’am Norma and Sir Lauro. I did everything for the child – cook, clean, and take care of him until Beth arrived passed 11pm. The earliest I would finish my work would be at midnight. My body ached from exhaustion and I felt so devastated.

Because Sir Lauro was an ambassador, there were always parties in the house. The visitors would not be any less than 30 people. I was only one person who did tasks as a domestic worker. I would start washing dishes from the party and I would wash non-stop for several hours until I was the only one left in the whole house who was awake, still working. All of them would be sleeping and I would be the only one cleaning after the party. They also did not feed me well. They would give me leftovers and if I was going to eat, I would be watched to the point that I could not swallow my food. One time, Sir Lauro saw that his grandson hit me with a broom, but he did not do anything. He didn’t even stop his grandson. I felt like they treated me worse than an animal.

Every time I would remind Ma’am Norma about our agreement, she would curse at me. I couldn’t do anything because Ma’am Norma said I couldn’t use or answer the phone. They wouldn’t let visitors see me and I was forbidden to talk to them. Ma’am Norma told me that I was not to leave the house. Even if I could have left I did not know anywhere to go in the city for help and I would not have been able to get back into the house. None of this was part of our agreement. She lied to me.My eyes became blurry from crying every night. It was like I did not have hope to escape or to continue to live. I thought about committing suicide because I was so depressed – I couldn’t even send money for my family’s food. I wholeheartedly thought that if I went to America, I would make a lot of money, eat good food, and that I would be able to send my children to a good school. I was wrong. I really felt like I couldn’t get help. Ma’am Norma and Sir Lauro are powerful people. While working for the Bajas, I found out that Sir Lauro was the Representative of the Philippines in the UN. It was a huge house. There were a lot of them and I was only one person. Because of Ma’am Norma and her family, my life was miserable. They didn’t treat me like a person.I always thought about my family. The only reason why I came here was to work and make money to support my family – for their day-to-day survival and so that they could have a good education. But that’s not what happened. I served the Bajas for three months – cooked, took care of the child, cleaned the really big townhouse, did the laundry, ironed and other tasks as a domestic worker. In return, they paid me with curses, insults, disrespect, and $100 from Beth. What do I call this kind of experience? Oppression. Slavery.

That’s why I am here today, in front of you, so that I can share with you what happened to me. It is a good thing that there are good people that helped me like DAMAYAN, AALDEF, and NYANA. What I want to say to people like me who were oppressed or will be oppressed: don’t be afraid to speak out or to come out in the open. Let us fight for our rights. We are not alone. We need to face people who abuse us and our weaknesses because if we do not speak up, they will continue to abuse us.