Couple accused of abusing maid left house

MANILA, Philippines - A couple accused of torturing their household helper for five years has abandoned their house in Quezon City, a government prosecutor said during a Senate hearing yesterday.

Quezon City Assistant Prosecutor Irene Resurreccion said Reynaldo and Analiza Marzan left their house on Visayas Ave­nue when floodwaters caused by monsoon rains rose in the area.

The prosecutor told Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, chairman of the Senate labor committee, that the preliminary hearing on the charges of serious illegal detention, two counts of attempted murder and seven counts of serious physical injuries filed by Bonita Baran, 21, against the Marzans is at 1:30 p.m. today.

Resurreccion told senators that if the Marzans fail to appear in the preliminary investigation, the case will be submitted for resolution.

Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta, who was also present during the hearing, said her office has already asked the Department of Justice to place the Marzans on its watchlist to prevent them from leaving the country.

During the hearing, the wheelchair-bound Baran told senators she was recruited from her hometown in Catanduanes in 2007 and received P800 per month, but this was increased to P2,000 about the time Analiza allegedly began maltreating her.

Baran said Analiza reportedly sliced her with a knife, hit her on the head with hard objects until she bled, punched her in the eyes until she became blind, used a flat iron on her and force-fed her dead cockroaches.

She also alleged that Analiza repeatedly beat her and twisted her ears until they became deformed.

“I shouted for help, but nobody heard me. People in the neighborhood did not care,” she said in Filipino.

She also accused her employers of wanting her dead and that they had planned where they would dispose of her body.

Baran earlier said that last May, the Marzans sent her back to her hometown on a bus. She said she was made to wear a diaper because since she was blind, she could no longer go to the restroom alone.