Image credits: philembassybrasilia.org
FORMER Ambassador to Brazil Marichu Mauro, dismissed for maid abuse, on Wednesday broke her silence and said she “completely regretted the incidents in the videos and the shame it has brought upon the Department of Foreign Affairs.” But, she insisted, she was not given due process by a DFA panel because of what she deems the haste to heed calls for “mob justice.”
She said she relayed this apology several times to the DFA authorities, including Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. “to reassure the public that I have made amends and have deeply regretted my behavior. I have asked my kasambahay’s [maid] forgiveness, which she has given.”
However, she said her pleas had fallen on deaf ears and “I chose instead to keep silent simply because I trusted the DFA administrative system to follow the prescribed procedures in investigating what really happened.”
She claimed, “There was absolutely no interest in giving me the benefit of the doubt and considering possible mitigating and even aggravating circumstances that have contributed to my behavior.”
Mauro said the DFA Hearing Panel “disregarded the documentary evidence she and her lawyers have painstakingly gathered, reviewed and submitted to them.”
Mauro said the video footage of her official residence shown on Brazilian TV, with instances of her hitting her maid and throwing a piece of clothing at her, were taken out of context and “created a negative public impression that judged my character as a person and competence as a seasoned diplomat.”
She said selected footages were illegally and stealthily obtained, patched together and eventually released to the Brazilian media to shame and embarrass her “by Brazilian local hires, one of whom was fired with the DFA authority.”
Mauro insisted, “my kasambahay and I are family.”
The maid had been in her family’s employ “on and off for more than 30 years. We grew up together.”
Mauro said the public doesn’t realize “there were heavy family dynamics involved in her kasambahay, “a familiarity that has caused me to cross boundaries I would never cross.”
“It is this same familiarity that my kasambahay has also crossed on many occasions,” she said.
She said in her 26 years with the DFA, her utmost priority was “the protection of rights and the promotion of welfare of overseas Filipinos,” adding she had consistently pursued this mission with integrity, dedication, commitment and sheer hard work.”
She claimed this dedication was much appreciated by the Filipino communities in Northern Italy, Brazil, Colombia, Suriname “and other countries where I was assigned.”
She said she had developed the political, economic and socio-cultural cooperation between the Philippines and these countries, leading to enhanced bilateral diplomatic relations.
President Duterte announced Mauro’s dismissal during his weekly address in Malacañang, upholding the DFA’s recommendation to terminate her service.
It would be hard, she said, “to find any overseas Filipino to say that I mistreated him in any way; that I have acted or have been cruel towards anyone.”
Mauro said the DFA should have determined whether her behavior “was merely a severe lapse in judgment especially under the stress of managing an Embassy with the threat of the pandemic.”
She said the DFA should have considered the letters of support from overseas Filipinos to attest that she is not the cruel person depicted “in those uncontextualized videos.”
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