By
Daisy CL Mandap
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| Reguyal posted her apology on several Facebook group accounts |
“Taos puso akong
nanghihingi ng paumanhin at kapatawaran sa aking amo at kanyang pamilya sa
pagkakasalang pagkuha ng picture ng kanilang personal documents ng walang
pahintulot. Ngayon ko nauunawaan na malaking paglabag sa kanilang privacy ang
naging pagkakamali ko.”
(I would like to sincerely apologize and ask for
forgiveness from my employer and her family for my mistake in taking pictures of their
personal documents without their permission. I now realize that I had seriously
violated their privacy because of my mistake).
This was what Mary Jane Reguyal had posted on several
social media sites today, Sunday, to admit her mistake in shoving a handwritten
note through a window in her employer’s high-rise flat yesterday afternoon asking
people to contact her sister, Maria Gracia – which sparked widespread concern.
Reguyal, who has worked in Hong Kong for more than
three years, said she only wanted her sister to know that she did not have her
phone with her, in case their family got worried after she lost touch with them
for two days.
She was also worried because her employer had given
her a warning after seeing pictures of their family’s personal documents in her
phone, and had taken it away to prevent her from sharing them online.
She admitted that she had taken
photos not only of her employers’ HKID cards, but also their passports, travel
itineraries, and even their children’s tuition fee payments.
Asked why she did all these when they were unnecessary
for taking out a loan which was the excuse she had given her employer, she
said, “Parang natuwa lang po ako.” (I
just took a fancy to them).
But all the other allegations made by kibitzers against
her employers, like she was being starved and had been locked up, were not
true, she said.
She also said it was not her intention to cause the widespread alarm that followed the sharing of her photo online, saying she just
wanted someone to contact her sister so she could share her concern that she
would be punished for her misdeed.
Little did she know that someone who had seen her
seemingly desperate appeal would take a photo and upload it online, and that it
would get out of hand from thereon.
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| Saret warns migrant workers against taking photos of their employer's properties |
This afternoon, Reguyal and her sister went to the
Consulate and personally apologized to the employer before Consul Paul Saret,
head of the assistance to nationals section. The sisters told the employer that
Reguyal needed to keep her job badly.
Consul Saret said the employer was adamant at first
about taking action against Reguyal, saying her family was put in a bad light
because of what the helper had done.
“Everyone now thinks we are bad,” the employer
reportedly said.
Saret said the employer had talked about consulting a
lawyer over the matter not only because Reguyal had violated her family’s privacy
but also because she had cast doubts on their reputation.
But after being assured that the helper would issue a
public apology and own up to her mistakes, the employer was appeased and agreed
to take her back as a show of good faith.
During the conciliation meeting, Saret said he also
learned that there was a landline in the employer’s house which the helper could
have used anytime except that she had not memorized her sister’s telephone
number.
She also could leave the house anytime, and had
actually gone down to the lobby to speak with police officers who had responded
to calls for help on her behalf from concerned netizens.
Police had been to the employer's house twice in response to calls for help made by people who saw Reguyal's photo on Facebook, but left after brief inquiries, classifying the case as "misunderstanding" the first time, and "dispute" the second time.
Saret said this incident should serve as a reminder to
all Filipino domestic workers the importance of protecting the privacy of the
family they work with.
“They should never take pictures of their employers’
personal documents and worse, upload these or use them for such transactions as
taking out a loan,” he said. “Violation of someone else’s privacy is a serious
offence in Hong Kong.”
Reguyal said she learned this lesson the hard way. Not
only was her sister dragged into a mess she had created, but it also got their
father in the Philippines worried, she said.
“Kasalanan ko
naman po talaga ito. Ako ang nagkamali, at kailangan kong linisin ang pangalan
ng employer ko,” she said. (This is really my fault. I made a mistake, and
I have to clear up my employer’s name).
Her final appeal is for people who posted and shared
her viral photo to delete it so she could start afresh.
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