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Vol. II Number 3 July, August, September
1997
TWO SIQUIJODNON'S ABUSED IN MANILA
Two Siquijodnons working as domestic help in Manila were in the spotlight on the news
early in May after they revealed to local police authorities that they had been allegedly
physically abused and maltreated for a period of two years by their employer, former
actress, Princess Revilla. The following articles are excerpts lifted from newspapers
circulated in the Philipines.
The Philippine Star - May 1, 1997.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) yesterday said it will look into the case of two
housemaids who were allegedly maltreated and physically abused for almost two years by a
daughter of Senator Ramon Revilla.
CHR National Capital Region Director Deana Santos said she will dispatch a team of
investigators to get the statements of victims Precy Balolong, 25, and her cousin Ramilyn
Lumactud, 21, both from the province of Siquijor, who escaped last Monday from their
employer, Rebecca Bautista Ocampo, better known as Princess Revilla.
Marlon Bautista, a brother of Ocampo allegedly tried to settle the criminal complaint by
offering financial assistance to the battered maids. Sources said Bautista, a former child
actor and son of Senator Ramon Revilla, arrived at the Pasig City General Hospital with
several armed bodyguards and offered financial assistance to the complainants.
Lumactud said Bautista offered to pay the hospital bills and give "financial
incentives" if they dropped the case against Ocampo. "Ayaw Namin. We just don't
want to come to a settlement," Lumactud claimed as she added that they intend to
pursue the case in court, "so that Princess would be taught a lesson."
Chief investigator Senior Inspector Roseller St. Maria said that the Pasig City Police
will pursue the case against Bautista regardless of what transpired at the hospital on
Monday night. Investigations showed that the victims suffered contusions and welts in the
head and body due to severe beatings inflicted by the suspect over a two year period.
Balolong and Lumactud also bore scars that showed the marks of shoe heels and a hammer.
Balolong who had the more serious injuries, also sustained hemorrhages in the stomach
courtesy of Ocampo's karate kicks. Both victims claimed escaping their tormentor by
scaling the back wall of the Ocampo residence at 14 Lanuza St., Casa Verde Townhomes in
Pasig City early Tuesday morning. They fled with the help of a friend, after Ocampo
allegedly threatened to kill them with a knife.
Aside from the injuries they sustained, both victims claimed that Ocampo was remiss on her
payment of their salaries. The CHR said Ocampo also faces violation of the Anti-Child
abuse law for her alleged maltreatment of her young children as well as other human rights
violation for the physical abuse of the two housemaids.
By Sean Reyes and Mike Frialde
Philippine Daily Inquirer - May 2, 1997
Senator Ramon Revilla's eldest son yesterday vehemently denied that he attempted to bribe
the two young housemaids allegedly beaten up by his younger sister into dropping their
complaint. Marlon Bautista, however, acknowledged his sister's maltreatment of the maids.
Bautista, a movie director and former actor stressed that he did not try to bribe the
maids, saying that he only offered to pay for their hospital and medical expenses.
"We wanted to know their condition. So we offered them assistance and medicine,"
he said. "We also offered to bring them to a better hospital of their choice. We
wanted to help but not settle the case.
Precy Balolong, 25, and her cousin Ronelyn Lumactod, 21, both from Siquijor, were confined
and are now under observation at the Pasig City General Hospital. They were reportedly
scheduled to undergo operations since some of their wounds were serious. The wounds were
alledgely inflicted by their employer, Princess Rebecca Bautista Ocampo, also known as
Princess Revilla.
Lumactod earlier claimed that she was visited at the hospital on Tuesday night by
Bautista, Ocampo's secretary Emma Gondaya and seven others. She said Gondaya broached the
idea of settling the case by offering to pay for their hospital bills and their fare back
to Siquijor. But she turned it down. On Wednesday, the Pasig City police filed charges of
serious physical injuries against 31-year-old Ocampo, before the City Prosecutor's Office.
By TJ A. Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer - May 3, 1997
Senator Ramon Revilla yesterday vowed not to meddle in the case of his daughter Rebecca
Bautista-Ocampo, known popularly as Princess Revilla who has been accused by her two
housemaids of savagely beating them up regularly.
The statement came as the Pasig City Prosecutor's Office issued a subpoena to the
31-year-old Ocampo, herself a former aspiring actress to appear in a preliminary hearing
next week on the charges of serious physical injuries filed against her by the two maids.
Marlon Bautista, eldest son of Senator Revilla acknowledged that his sister maltreated the
housemaids but he insisted that the Revilla family will not tolerate his sister. This was
echoed by Senator Revilla who said in a press statement: "I assure everyone that I
will not interfere or meddle in any way nor use my position or office to influence the
outcome of whatever judicial proceeding which may arise from the incident involving my
daughter. Let the law take its course. Derailing it in any way has always been farthest
from my mind."
by TJ A. Burgonio and Lynda T. Jumilla
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