Maids of Honor

November 15, 2007  --  Got something to say?
Print This Post Print This Post

This being the anniversary of the Manila Mail, Tsismoso will now act as a knight in shining armor for the downtrodden Filipino maids. The days when Filipino maids, often derisively called Atchays, were abused, maltreated and turned into slaves are gone. Kaput. Finito. If you are an employer of a maid, beware. Be sure that you treat them well and pay the minimum wage. Because of recent changes in US laws, the maids have been given enough power to not only obtain better benefits but also to remain the US if he or she is undocumented. This probably explains why Filipino maids are now sometimes given the honorific titles of domestic helpers (maids), household managers (housekeepers) and nannys or baby sitters. According to some Tsismosos, there are many DHs employed by Filipinos or diplomats in the Washington area. Because many of them are undocumented, they are subjected to abuses and threatened with deportation.

Another Tsismoso reporter says: I know of many who came here legally when they were petitioned by employers who are allowed to hired DHs the legal way. Many are now working in foreign embassies or international organizations like the United Nations in New York, and the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. Many of those who were underpaid, maltreated and enslaved have opted to vanish and become TNTs (tago ng tago) or undocumented aliens.

Now, these DHs have the power to even put their employers in jail. A Filipino doctor-couple in Michigan, the Calimlims, have found this out the hard way. They are now serving time in jail and will pay their former maid close to a million dollars in backpay. To add insult to injury, the maid is entitled to become a permanent resident while the Calimlims, who are green card holders, may lose their green cards and be deported to the Philippines after they serve their sentence. Under US immigration laws, victims of abuse or violence may apply for a U visa that will allow them to become permanent residents and eventually American citizens!

With this newfound power, according to some Tsismosos who have friends in the WB and IMF, employers of DHs and HMs are jittery. They are now treating the DHs very well, said one Tsismoso. Theyre afraid they will be charged in court for giving the DHs a low pay with no overtime and day off.

The days when DHs had to sit and wait for leftovers to eat after their masters finish lunch or dinner are over. Some, who used to sleep on floors, are now said to be given beds with mattresses fit for a queen. The masters are now careful not to antagonize their DHs. They dont ask them to work more than eight hours a day. Some families are said to have provided the maids with their own TVs to watch when they are already off. Now, some employers are complaining that their DHs or HMs are strutting around the house, answering back and threatening to sue them.

Many of the abused maids do not themselves report the abuse to authorities. Because of the utang na loob trait common among Filipinos, it is either a friend or relative outside the home who inform the authorities. This happened to the Calimlims and now with another family in New Jersey.

Mrs. Angelita Reyes, 68, who resides in New Jersey was sentenced to three years probation recently for virtually enslaving the familys maid, Arlene Gado. Reyes is the mother-in-law of Anthony Mandap, a Philippine vice consul in San Francisco who, because of his diplomatic status, was able to bring in Gado to serve as nanny for his family. Instead of doing this, Mandap sent her to serve Mrs. Reyes and her ailing husband. And instead of acting as nanny, she was asked to do menial jobs and prevented from leaving the house. Gados relative in another state heard of her plight and contacted the authorities in New Jersey. Last August, Mrs. Reyes was arrested for maltreating Gado. She pleaded guilty and she was sentenced late last month to three years probation. She was also ordered to serve 50 hours of community service and to pay Gado $78,104 as backpay for her two-year service. The prosecutors office in New Jersey also asked other abused DHs, including those without documents, to come out and report any abuses. And Gado may also be eligible to apply for the special visa so she could stay in the US legally.

One problem that can arise is that the DHs may be emboldened into denouncing their employers in the hope of getting backpay and the U visa. Thus far, more than 5,000 have already applied for this special visa whose cap is 10,000.

***
There is also no truth to the rumor that Consul Rico Fos, the increasingly popular cultural officer of the Philippine embassy, is planning to change his name. He is often mistaken for the Rico Foz of NAFCON (National Association for Filipino Concerns), an activist organization in New York which is currently involved in the case of the Sentosa nurses and in the continuing demonstrations against ABC for the slur on Filipino doctors in Desperate Housewives.

***
Here is another canard coming from one who said she was in the awards night for the top 100 Filipino American women. I attended the 100 top Filipino Women Awardees for 2007 in Washington D.C. hotel late last month and noticed that it was disorganized. Maybe the organizers should get Nonoy Mendoza as adviser.

***
Some Tsismoso reporters hope the writers and producers of Desperate Housewives could see Anding Roces zarzuela, Something to Crow About. They said the musical play, in English, is creating real laughter among audiences in cities where it was shown. These Tsismosos report that before the curtain rises, a pretty Filipina would give an introduction of what the zarzuela is all about. Here is their report: The Filipina begins by saying how much Filipino men love their cocks! After a brief pause, probably to let it sink in, she continues: Filipino men like to play with their cocks. Every day, they fondle, caress and massage their cocks, the better to prepare them for future encounters! As the shocked audience begins to fidget in their seats, look at each other and wonder if the show was all about porn, the Filipina continues. The opera, she says, is based on a collection of short stories of Alejandro Roces about cocks, FIGHTING cocks! The relieved staid audience laughs and giggles. The style of introduction reflects Roces wit, humor and satire. Roces uses the traditional sport of cockfighting as a vehicle to reveal the colorful panorama of customs, heritage, values, religions, and even relationships on the social, political and economic life of a typical Filipino town. Lets give the producers of Desperate Housewives a free ticket to the zarzuela. They will probably learn a lesson or two on how to make the audience laugh.

***
I resent it! There is a proliferation of Tsismisos in the US and around the world. Besides Malacanang in Manila, the latest to join the Tsismoso parade is a website of Filam students in Virginia Beach called Filipino Tsismis. The latter is founded by Randy Tube Padilla. It serves community news, entertainment and issues impacting and involving the Filipino and Filipino-American community in Hampton Roads.

Their network impresses me. Its positive! Sample: Tracie Liguid is a producer for HamptonRoads.com and a contributor to the recently-launched MIX magazine. ttp://www.mixmagweb.com Shes a member of the Filipino American National Historical Society ttp://www.fanhs-hr.org/ and the Young Filipino Professionals of Hampton Roads. ttp://www.yfphr.org/ More importantly, shes in the process of expanding her Visayan vocabulary to extend beyond iho (shark), iring/ (cat) and arang ka init (its hot!) JoJo Orencia recently passed the D.C. bar and is fresh at a firm in Upper Marlboro, Md. With Virginia Beach, peace and love always in his heart, hell continue to make political and pop culture posts - in between cases.
Tonet Mariano has recently been inducted in as the booking agent for The Five Points Mission http://www.nycfivepoints.com/about/formerly_teabag.shtml target=, an independent arts organization that has produced over 250 shows and 3000 artists in C-town. Tonet also performs at Five Points.

And then, there is Forex, which is also soliciting tsismis from clients.

***
The case of Frannie Richards, a Filipino American in Chicago who was insulted by an employe of a high-end store, is keeping Youtube and the blogs busy. Frannie is suing the store, H&M, and Asian and Filipino students have demonstrated in front of the store. The case and demonstrations have received wide coverage in the mainstream media.
Here are samples from PostForum blogsite:
frannie richards. what kind of pinoy name is that?
Said another blogger: Too many people ignorant about asian american history. It almost shouldnt be any wonder why theres so much anti-asian sentiment here in the states. No one really knows anything about us, our history, or our contributions.

Another sample: “Youre given them tooo much credit, most Americans dont even know their own American history.” The most everyone else seems to know about asian history is the negative crap spewed from the media.

***
Heres some DC residents are reacting to Desperate Housewives:
From Rene Bersamin, an industrial engineer and ex-employe of ABC in the 70s: It is probably a good start but I do not think that the agreement between NaFFAA and ABC Inc. would amount to anything. I personally would have preferred an apology from at least the producers (film makers who produced and sold the shows/tv series), executive directors (ABC, Inc. employees who screened out the show and make sure the contents are within broadcasting standards) and scriptwriters (employees of the shows producers, who as you guessed it, wrote the script). This agreement to explore a program that might help increase opportunities for Filipinos at ABC” is ABCs effort to quiet down this controversy without accepting responsibility over the mistakes that were made. I do not think they will make any special accommodations to employ more Filipinos. I still prefer they apologize so that this unfortunate incident becomes a reminder not only to ABC, but to all employers - to be more sensitive and tolerant to diversity while employing the virtues of equal opportunity.

And from Ado Paglinawan:
the trouble with us filipinos is i dont know where we got this either…or mentality. pag hindi ka puti, pula ka. in this case tama ka perry, lets get pink, that is white and red combined. apply the thousand ways of skinning a cat. in this case of mr. (rodel) rodis, he wants to go to court. of course naman perry, dahil he is a lawyer! but who knows one of these days he might hit it big and start a legal fund not just against ABC but for every injustice that victimizes the pinoy.
But the most interesting response was from Dr. Luis Martinez in Tampa Bay, Florida:

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Wow- you guys are on another planet. Please stop saying win-win initiative in every single email trying to drill in our heads that its the only way to go. YES- its is a win-win, but for parties that it never concerned in the first place. I am a doctor, and I am APPALLED of this so called win-win. Me and my practice were degraded on national television and you take it upon yourself to broker a deal that doesnt even reverse the damage to my profession?
Well thank you for just thinking about making yourself look good.

Share This
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading ... Loading ...

Posted by News Team | Filed Under Tsismis 

Comments

Got something to say?





Authentic Diecast Model Cars
Close
E-mail It