Article posted August 26, 2007 – 04:52 PM
Militant group Migrante challenged Sunday the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to fire San Francisco Consul Anthony Mandap over allegations of trafficking domestic worker Arlene Gado into the United States.
“We’re outraged over the enslavement of domestic worker Arlene by Vice-Consul Mandap and his family,” Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante International chairwoman, said in a statement.
Regalado said Mandap’s action “is a slap in the face to the millions of overseas Filipino workers toiling as domestic workers around the world.”
The group demanded justice for Gado and “all Filipino women migrant workers.”
Involuntary servitude
Gado came to the United States in 2005 to work for a Filipino vice consul but was forced to instead toil for two years in what the state attorney general described as involuntary servitude.
On Thursday, the consul’s mother-in-law pleaded guilty to exploiting Gado, 23, by paying her a fraction of what she was promised and forbidding her from leaving the house without her employers.
Prosecutors said Gado agreed to come to America to work as a nanny in the house of Anthony Mandap, a vice consul in the Consulate General of the Philippines in San Francisco, to care for his three children. She was promised $8 per hour for a 40-hour work week and $12 an hour for overtime.
But Attorney General Anne Milgram’s office said Gado was instead told upon her arrival in California that she was needed by Mandap’s in-laws, Angelita and Norberto Reyes of West Windsor – a suburban community bordering Princeton in central New Jersey.
Mandap’s wife, Maryann, and a daughter of the Reyeses flew with Gado to New Jersey, where her passport and visa were taken away and she told not to leave the house without family members because she would be arrested.
According to prosecutors, Gado provided continuous care to Reyes incapacitated husband, Norberto, including feeding and bathing. She was required to clean the house and cook all meals and was also required to give massages, manicures and pedicures to relatives and friends of the Reyeses.
Gado was paid $250 per month, pay that was increased to $325 in July 2006 when she was required to begin caring for the Reyeses’ infant granddaughter.
All the while, she was told she couldn’t leave the house unless accompanied by member of either the Mandap or Reyes families because she lacked documentation and would be arrested.
Still, she was able to talk by cell phone to a cousin in Michigan, who contacted New Jersey labor department officials over Gado’s low earnings. The labor officials referred the case to the attorney general’s office, which removed Gado from the Reyes home on May 2 and found her shelter though a social agency.
“For two full years, the defendant controlled and exploited this victim, taking advantage of her youth and immigrant status,” Milgram said. “Human trafficking takes many forms, but the common thread is exploitation of the vulnerable, particularly women and children.”
Milgram was once the lead human trafficking prosecutor for the US Department of Justice.
Violation of DFA vision
“We’re certain these so-called filial responsibilities shouldn’t come at the expense of the human rights of others,” Regalado said.
“Besides, what about his responsibilities as a diplomat of a nation built on the sweat and sacrifice of countless Filipino migrants.”
Regalado said Mandap violated national and international laws protecting the rights and welfare of migrant workers.
“He even violated the DFA’s professed vision and mission regarding OFWs,” Regalado said.
“He is clearly guilty of trafficking and thus, has absolutely no moral basis and credibility as consular official.”
Mandap’s side
Mandap, meanwhile, clarified that he was not the one accused in the case.
He said he requested Gado to assist his mother-in-law in taking care of her ailing husband “in keeping with our filial duties as Filipinos.”
“I was not aware of any problem that arose between them until Ms. Gado filed a complaint,” he said.
He also denied withholding Gado’s passport.
“I took it back to San Francisco only last February—almost two years since Ms. Gado arrived—for the purpose of getting her visa renewed. Once I determined that there was no need to renew her visa (it was valid for the duration of my status as her employer), I sent it back to my in-laws immediately,” he said.
He added: “The allegations of human trafficking are absurd and grossly exaggerated.”
Mandap said while he believes in the innocence of his mother-in-law. The family decided it would be in her best interest to accept the plea offer as she could no longer withstand the rigors of trial due to her advanced age.
He also said his mother-in-law also has to take care of her ailing husband.
“The case, for all intents and purposes, is closed. My mother-in-law has pleaded guilty, and agreed to pay restitution. The state of New Jersey has also determined that there is no liability on the part of her other family members, including me. They have closed all investigation into the matter,” he said. - GMANews.TV
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