MANILA, 15 May 2004 — A Philippine welfare officer is under investigation over the deaths of two Filipino maids in Lebanon, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has said.

OWWA Deputy Administrator Milagros Hernandez said the investigation had been launched based on complaints of neglect filed against Welfare Officer Manuel Pe?a in connection with the deaths of Lovella “Louella” Susan Lacdo-o Montenegro and Catherine Bautista, both working in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Hernandez revealed the information in an e-mail to Alfredo Ganapin of e-Lagda Riyadh and the “6713 Movement,” a group formed to promote ethical conduct among government officials.

Ganapin earlier wrote officials of the OWWA and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila to “promptly and judiciously investigate all ‘erring’ officials in the case of Montenegro, and seriously look into the cause of death of Catherine Bautista.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert had earlier said she had sent a team to look into the case of Bautista, including complaints of negligence against the personnel at the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon who are tasked to assist distressed Filipino workers.

Albert made the announcement as she confirmed that Bautista fell to her death while trying to escape from her employer by climb down a rope from their apartment.

Montenegro, a mother of three, fell to her death on February 25 while trying to climb down a nylon rope to flee her abusive employers.

It was Pe?a whom Montenegro approached to complain that she was being abused by her employers, said Cynthia Lacdo-o Cayton, the victim’s elder sister.

Cayton said she immediately alerted the DFA and the OWWA of her sister’s desire to return to the Philippines when Montenegro started complaining about her alleged abusive employers soon as she arrived in Beirut in Oct. 3, 2003.

“I begged them to help my sister but they did not lift a finger,” Cayton said.

Ganapin, in his letter to the DFA and OWWA, said: “We cannot overemphasize the fact that OFWs who are working as domestic helpers are potentially the most vulnerable to abuse from their employers, and often with much less access to liberties enjoyed by workers in other environments,” Ganapin said.

“When any distress signal is sounded by them and relayed by their relatives to government officials and workers, we cannot simply dismiss such urgency as mere ‘homesickness’ or a temporary and harmless disagreement with their masters,” he added.

Ganapin said he hoped the death of Montenegro “would not be considered as simply another sad statistic.”

“Her death should at least pave the way for a better response to similar cases — God forbid — in the future,” he said.