MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday vowed to impose “severe” penalty on Philippine Ambassador to Brazil Marichu Mauro for maltreating her Filipina housemaid.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday recalled Mauro, who was caught on a viral video maltreating her 51-year-old housemaid.
Locsin said the DFA would file administrative or criminal charges against Mauro if evidence warrants.
The footage, first aired by a Brazilian news outfit, went viral on social media.
The housemaid has returned to the Philippines.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) condemned the abuse of the Filipina housemaid and sought an investigation into the incident.
“We are shocked at the behavior that was exhibited by Ambassador Marichu Mauro,” said TUCP president Raymond Democrito Mendoza.
The Blas Ople Policy Center, a non-profit organization looking after the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, said it would provide legal and financial support for the housemaid.