Arroyo wants justice for maid

President Arroyo urged Lebanon yesterday to investigate the death of a Filipina maid who was said to have fallen to her death trying to flee her employer’s apartment in Beirut.

Mrs. Arroyo said Foreign Secretary Delia Albert has sent lawyers to Beirut to pursue the case of 22-year-old maid Catherine Bautista with the authorities there.

"The young woman reportedly leaped to her death trying to escape her employer’s apartment in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 4," Arroyo said in a statement.

"She tied bed sheets together to climb down but did not make it to the ground safely. I am deeply saddened by this event."

No other details of the case were made available.

Mrs. Arroyo said "if there was foul play, we shall demand the maximum penalty for those found guilty. I will not stand for any kind of cruelty that drives our workers to such fear and despair."

Several million Filipinos work abroad, many of them in the Middle East. - AFP