The Philippines recalled Marichu Mauro, its ambassador to Brazil, who was caught on video assaulting her Filipino household service staff several times, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Monday.
“The Philippine ambassador to Brazil has been recalled effective immediately to explain the maltreatment of her service staff,” Locsin wrote on Twitter.
On Sunday, Brazilian news channel GloboNews released a report showing Mauro mistreating and berating her helper inside the diplomatic residence.
The report said the helper was a 51-year-old Filipina who was “physically assaulted many times, many days.” The security camera caught the incidents on video. The employees who wished not to be identified documented the abuse.
One of the videos showed the ambassador slapping the victim and pulling the helper’s ear in another video. Mauro also hit the victim with an umbrella in a separate incident.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Marichu Mauro was ordered to return home immediately following video footage released.
Meanwhile, the household service staff left Brasilia on October 21 and had returned to the Philippines, DFA added.
PH Ambassador to Brazil Marichu Mauro caught on video abusing Filipino helper
“The DFA is reaching out to her to ensure her well-being and cooperation in the investigation,” the agency said. “The DFA assures the public that a thorough investigation will be conducted.”
According to the Embassy of the Philippines Brasilia website, Ambassador Marichu Mauro was assigned to the Economic Diplomacy Unit until 1996, when she was appointed Acting Director at the Office of the Middle East and African Affairs.
In 1997, Ambassador Mauro was assigned as Third Secretary at the Embassy of the Philippines in Manama, Bahrain, and then as Second Secretary and Consul to the Embassy of the Philippines in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2001 until 2003.
“In 2014, Ambassador Mauro was assigned as Consul General to the Philippine Consulate General in Milan, Italy. This was the first time Ambassador Mauro was given a Head of Post position. During her stint as Consul General, Ambassador Mauro oversaw the needs of more than 150,000 Filipinos living and working in Milan and Northern Italy. Ambassador Mauro made it her mission to streamline the Consulate´s services and to bring the Consulate closer to the Filipino community,” the website added.