Report on 'Filippina' as 'cleaning woman' misleading - envoy

MANILA, Philippines - Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Rubens Fedele dubbed as misleading the article that came out in The STAR’s issue last Saturday, Oct. 10, titled “Italians define ‘Filippina’ as ‘cleaning woman’.”

“Although the text of the article clarifies that this absurd ‘thesis’ is that of a foreign journalist, Jeffrey Israely, the formulation of the title appears indeed misleading,” said Fedele in a letter sent to The STAR over the weekend.

“As a matter of fact, I have already been approached by some Filipino citizens who, after reading The STAR, have strongly reacted against what is believed to be the actual Italian perception of Filipino ladies. And even some Italian nationals resident in this country have been confronted with angry reaction from their Filipino fellows,” he said, adding that the assumptions of the article do not correspond at all to the truth.

The article, written by Frankie Llaguno of Newsbreak, stated that an article in the Oct. 1 issue of Time Magazine said a cleaning woman in Italy is often called “Filippina.”

The writer, Israely, said this is an indication of Italian society’s backwardness when it comes to the issue of race.

There are more than 80,000 Filipino migrants in Italy working mainly as domestic helpers, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.