MIGRANT WATCH
Migrante Scores DFA for ‘Whitewash’ in Slain OFW’s Case
The overseas Filipinos’ alliance Migrante
International has accused the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of
favoring a “whitewash” on the case of domestic helper Ivy Collantes
Bautista, who was found dead Sept. 27 in her employer’s residence in
Santander, Cantabria, Spain.
BY BULATLAT
The overseas
Filipinos’ alliance Migrante International has accused the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) of favoring a “whitewash” on the case of domestic
helper Ivy Collantes Bautista, who was found dead Sept. 27 in her
employer’s residence in Santander, Cantabria,
Spain.
Bautista’s body was
found with a kitchen knifed through her neck. A slash wound was also found
on her chest. Upon the repatriation of Bautista’s body Oct. 16, her
relatives said they also noticed bruises on different parts of her body.
Initial communication
from the Philippine embassy in Spain cited a police report indicating that
Bautista may have committed suicide.
The bereaved family
had doubted the Spanish police report because before her death, they had
been receiving calls from Bautista expressing fear for her life, said
Irineo Maranan, an uncle of hers.
“The bereaved family
fears foul play because before her death, Ivy said she noticed three or
four strange men lurking near her employers’ home,” Maranan said in a
statement Oct. 25. “She also told us about various problems she faced at
work – stories that belie statements about how she was ‘satisfied and
pleased’ with her employers.”
The DFA has
reportedly exerted efforts to convince Bautista’s family to “accept the
Spanish police report that declared she may have committed suicide.” DFA
spokesperson Gilbert Asuque has also been quoted in news reports as
offering Bautista’s family a trip to Spain so that “they could speak with
the police investigators.”
“This DFA action
actually helps those responsible for this heinous crime to go scot-free
with its acceptance – hook, line and sinker – of the Spanish authorities’
police report,” said Migrante International chairperson Connie
Bragas-Regalado.
An Oct. 27 autopsy on
Bautista’s body by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) showed that her
wounds were fatal and could only have been inflicted by other people.
“The autopsy report
firms up our basis to pursue justice for Ivy’s death,” Maranan said. “The
DFA has been deaf on the initial qualms of Ivy’s family. Instead of
pushing for the reopening of the case in Spain and conducting more
inquiries on the case, the DFA wants the family to accept the police
report as factual to maintain ‘good relations’ with Spain in exchange for
remittances the country receives. Our OFWs’ welfare should always come
first.”
“We denounce the DFA
for helping the Spanish authorities in covering up this high crime,”
Maranan added.
Migrante
International and Bautista’s relatives will meet with Spanish Ambassador
Ignacio Sagaz to urge the Spanish government to reopen Ivy’s case,
Regalado also said. They will also hold a picket-dialogue at the DFA
office “to protest how amidst the initial trauma and confusion over news
of Ivy’s death, DFA officials tried to get the family to simply accept her
death as suicide,” the Migrante International chairperson added.
Meanwhile, an
Internet petition demanding justice for Bautista has gathered signatures
from the Philippines, the US, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Taiwan,
Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Thailand, New Zealand,
Australia, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Macau, Switzerland and the
Republic of Palau. Bulatlat
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