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| Inog with her wispy fringe that got scorched in the incident |
This Filipina will make you proud. After an incident that
could have seriously hurt her, 42-year-old Susan Inog ignored suggestions from
most of those who heard about her harrowing experience to claim for
compensation.
Inog was the talk of the Filipino community after she posted
her tale about an elderly restaurant worker in Central who, while trying to
check her body temperature, accidentally used a stove lighter instead of a thermal
gun on her, setting her fringe on fire.
The accidental hair-burning on Apr 26 caused a fuss, with hundreds
of netizens telling Inog to report to the police and ask for money from the
culprit or the restaurant that employed her.
But, in a meeting the next day with the woman and the restaurant
manager to thresh out the issue, the Filipina forgave the offender without
asking for anything in return.
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“Pinatawad ko na lang siya. Naawa ako sa kanya. Parang siya
ang nanay ko,” Inog said during a phone interview today, Apr 29.
Inog said her female employer accompanied her to the meeting
in the office of the manager at the restaurant on Connaught Road
“Halos lumuhod siya sa akin, takot na takot at sorry nang
sorry. Parang nakita ko ang nanay ko, kasintanda niya at nanginginig din ang
mga kamay,” said Inog, who is single and supports her parents and her nephews
and nieces.
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She said that in her mother’s case, her hands shake because
of her advanced age and the hard work that she used to do while raising her
children.
So, it was not hard for Inog to forgive the reckless
restaurant worker who rushed after her to check her temperature as she was
about to enter the toilet to relieve herself.
“Nakita ko naman na talagang sincere siya sa paghingi ng
tawad. Tinatanong ako ng manager kung ano ang desisyon ko. Kung gusto ko raw
magreport sa pulis at humingi ng danyos ay pamemedikal niya ako sa ospital,”
she said.
“Sinabi ko patawarin ko na lang siya,” Inog said.
The domestic helper saw how grateful the woman was afterwards.
Through an interpreter, the woman said she was working alone as both server and
temperature checker that evening because she had no reliever.
Inog noticed that the woman’s back was already bent, an
indication of how hard she must have worked all her life.
Earlier, on their way to the meeting, Inog’s employer asked
her what to do. The employer reportedly said that if the helper would decide to
report the incident, then she would accompany her to the police after the
meeting.
The employer briefed her about her rights as a victim, that
she could claim compensation against the worker or the restaurant company. It
was the employer who called up the manager on Sunday night and demanded the
meeting.
The employer also encouraged her to post the incident on
social media so everybody would be warned.
Inog recalled that the incident happened at around 7:45pm,
when the restaurant was busy. The server had just set up a hot pot dinner for
some customers when Inog entered in haste as she needed to go to the bathroom.
The server ran after her, then absentmindedly grabbed the lighter
which she had just used for the hotpot dinner to check the Filipina’s temperature.
Inog said that being a worker herself, she understood the
woman’s situation.
She also said that she was not looking for compensation as she
was not seriously injured. “Kung nasunog ang mata ko, yun pa, hihingi ako ng
danyos,” she said.
“May pulis noon sa labas nang nangyari iyon pero hindi na
ako nagsumbong. Tinawagan ko na lang ang aking dalawang kaibigan at sinamahan nila
ako sa manager para magsumbong. Galit na galit lang ako noon dahil nasunog ang
buhok ko,” she said.
After making up with the woman, Inog said she felt better.
She said the manager offered her three booklets of meal coupons but she
declined.
“Tutubo pa naman ang buhok ko,” she said.
