NEW YORK—A Filipina immigrant on Wednesday accused a former Philippines ambassador to the United Nations and his family of enslaving her as a house maid and subjecting her to abuse, leading her to contemplate suicide.
Marichu Suarez Baoanan said Lauro Baja, the Philippines' U.N. representative from 2003 to 2006, and his family did not let her leave their apartment, forcing her work up to 18 hours a day, from January to April 2006.
"I did not have hope of escape," she told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. "I thought of committing suicide because I was so depressed."
Baoanan, 39, a nurse, came to New York from Manila to the United States to earn money for her family. According to a federal lawsuit filed in June, she paid $5,000 to Baja and a travel agency run by Baja's wife for a promised nursing job.
But she ended up working full-time as the Baja's personal maid and was paid only $100 for three months of work, including cooking, doing laundry and cleaning the four-level ambassador's residence in Manhattan, she said. Tha
Baja's wife, Norma Baja, and daughter Elizabeth Baja Facundo were also named in the lawsuit, filed for Baoanan by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in a U.S. court in Manhattan.
A lawyer for the Bajas, Salvador Tuy, denied the allegations, saying there were no real examples of abuse. "She has used the whole case just so she can justify getting a temporary visa in the United States," he said.
Escaped
The complaint said besides long hours with low pay, Baoanan was forced to sleep in the basement with only a sheet, her employers refused to buy proper shoes and clothes, and she was called "stupid" and "slow."
During one incident, she said the former ambassador "just stared" and did nothing as Facundo's 5-year-old son hit her with a broom, spat and kicked her in the face.
"My eyes became blurry ... from crying every night," she said, breaking down. "They did not treat me like a person."
After three months, she eventually escaped with the help of a fellow Filipina, lawyers for Baoanan said.
The civil suit, seeking unpaid wages and an apology from Baja and his family, was filed after a criminal investigation by U.S. authorities was closed, her lawyers said.
The lawsuit also seeks damages on charges of forced labor, trafficking and slavery, among others.
Elmer Cato, a spokesperson for the Philippines Mission, said, "We are looking into these allegations and taking into account the consistent position of the Philippines against trafficking, slavery and forced labor."
Also on Wednesday, The Manila Times reported the Philippines Office of the Ombudsman was investigating Baja for corruption for benefiting from the proceeds of insurance claims related to more than $48,000 in repairs made on the same New York residence. Former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos also at one time lived in the residence.
Baja is currently working in the Philippines as a consultant to the president of the Senate. His daughter still resides in the United States, lawyers said, and the family still owns a private U.S. residence.
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