Maritess Lozano - OFW in Abu Dhabi died on Sunday after being beaten by Abusive Employers Maltreatment
Maritess Lozano - OFW in Abu Dhabi died on Sunday after being beaten by Abusive Employers
Maritess Lozano of Tigbauan, Iloilo City--an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Abu Dhabi--passed away on April 14, 2013 after suffering from stroke, allegedly after the maltreatment of her employer.
On April 04, 2013, a short amateur video footage shot by her fellow OFWs in a recruitment agency showed Maritess Lozano with heavy bruises on her face while narrating the alleged beating that she suffered under the hands of her employers. Lozano shared that she once forgot to dress her employer's child, causing her male employer to storm into the restroom where she was, and started to beat her up.
Lozano's cousin also mentioned that the victim had other injuries not shown in the video including some lacerations in her hands. The said footage captured Lozano's last movements.
On April 5, 2013, Maritess became so weak that she could hardly move any part of her body. The report said she felt unbearable pain and collapsed that day.
Maritess Lozano was rushed to the Sheikh Kalifa hospital on April 7, where she fell into a coma and was declared brain dead. Seven days after the state of coma, Maritess Lozano was totally declared dead by the medical practitioners in Sheikh Kalifa hospital.
Meanwhile, the family of domestic helper Maritess Lozano is demanding justice. They sought help from Vice President Jejomar Binay, the presidential advisor for OFW concerns.
Binay said he wondered why the beating incidents were not reported immediately to Philippine officials and surmised that it may be due to Lozano's fear of her employers.
Well, with due respect Mr. Vice-President, this is not the first time that we have this type of maltreatment case against our beloved OFWs. VP Binay, if you are going to take a quick search in DiversityHuman.com's "Public Service and Announcement" section, you will definitely find several OFW cases which were left unattended though it were properly reported to POLO, OWWA, Philippine embassy, and all other futile government agencies. Hence, why would we have to wonder why the incident was not reported immediately? Again, Mr. VP, I fully respect you as the VP of this country but I also wonder why you wondered that way. :)
Going back to Lozano's case, a concerned OFW returned all valuables of Maritess including her pictures to her family and the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi is currently processing the documents needed for the repatriation of her remains.
Lozano's husband died last year, pushing her to work as a domestic helper to raise money for her 13-year-old daughter in Iloilo.
Rest in Peace Maritess Lozano. Justice will prevail!