The Philippine ambassador to Brazil was fired from her diplomatic career for beating a domestic worker for months at the official residence in Brasilia, according to images recorded by security cameras and released by the press.
Marichu Mauro was summoned to Manila at the end of last year after the Brazilian television channel GloboNews released the images of security cameras taken for eight months, which showed the mistreatment she inflicted on her employee, also a Filipina.
The diplomat was fired from the Foreign Ministry, President Rodrigo Duterte announced on television on Monday.
“There are rules to follow. If you disobey them, you take a risk. If things do not go well, I will not forgive you,” warned the head of state.
Mauro, who did not respond to the AFP’s request for an interview, will lose his pension rights and will not be able to work in the public service again.
The images from the security cameras, recorded between March and October 2020, were used to support a complaint filed with the Philippine government against the diplomat, who was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2018.
Millions of Filipinos work abroad as domestic employees. The money they send to their families in the archipelago represents a significant part of the Philippine GDP.
But some of these workers do it in difficult, even dangerous conditions. Cases of physical or psychological abuse are often frequent.
mff / cgm / jac / ahe / af / yow
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