The recalled Philippine ambassador to Brazil, Marichu Mauro, has returned to Manila to face the investigation launched against her for allegedly maltreating her household worker, said Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday.
Locsin said ex-ambassador arrived late Monday night.
“She has gone through all health protocols. She’s back in the country,” Locsin said in an interview on CNN, Philippines.
The DFA chief also disowned a report that a group of diplomats is supporting Mauro.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs nor am I is aware of the existence of a so-called Department of Foreign Affairs career officers corps and the retired ambassadors association. The reported statement of such organizations on the case of the former ambassador to Brazil does not in any way reflect the position of the department nor the sentiment of its career corps,” Locsin said.
He added that the DFA “stands by its resolve to respond to the matter per and to the fullest extent of the law.”
Earlier, a DFA Career Officer Corps statement and the Retired Ambassadors Association was released expressing their full support for Mauro, saying the maltreatment incident does not define the envoy’s character.
Recalled PH ambassador to Brazil back in Manila – Locsin
“We, the DFA’s Career Officer Corps and the Retired Ambassadors Association, hereby express full support to Ambassador Marichu Mauro, who is being pilloried in the social and printed media over the unfortunate incident in Brasilia. That single incident should not define the character of Ambassador Mauro,” the groups said in a statement.
They added they all know Mauro, a diplomat who has served in diplomatic and consular posts in Manama, Tel Aviv, and Milan. The groups said Mauro assisted numerous distressed overseas Filipino workers.
“She has a very distinguished service record that spans three decades in promoting the welfare of our migrant workers, which is one of the three pillars of our foreign policy,” the statement said.
However, several career diplomats and officers interviewed by the GMA News Online also disowned the so-called statement.
Locsin said the DFA aims to finish its investigation in less than two weeks. The results will then be forwarded to President Rodrigo Duterte.