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MANILA, Philippines - Justice came after three years to an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) after a Lebanese court convicted her employer for abusing her.
A Lebanese court on December 9 sentenced Fayrouz Farez to 15 days in prison for beating up Filipina Jonalyn Malibago, a native of Quirino province.
The court also required Farez to pay US $7,200 in compensation to Malibago and $34 dollars in court fines.
?The Embassy views this case as an important legal precedent in Lebanon, being the first conviction of a Lebanese employer for the abusive treatment of a migrant worker, who significantly happened to be a Filipino,? Chargé d?Affaires, a.i. Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot was quoted in a statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In 2006, Welfare Officer Mario Antonio rescued Malibago from her employer, who was beating her up as she tried to escape Farez?s car around 200 meters away from the Sassine Evacuation Center in Beirut.
Antonio is a Lebanese employee of the Beirut office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and a local volunteer at the evacuation center.
Antonio discovered bruises on Malibago?s body. She was immediately brought to the hospital for treatment by then Labor Attaché Glenda Manalo and another Welfare Officer from Riyadh.
The Embassy had coordinated with the Caritas Migrant Center, an international non-government organization branch in Lebanon specializing in the welfare of migrant workers, mostly women, for filing and pursuing the case against Farez.
The Philippine government expressed hope that the case would push the Lebanese government to enact laws and regulations to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers.
