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Mail Order Bride in the House! 'Ching Ching Chang' says H&M Employee

‘The Magnificent Mile’ in downtown Chicago is where you can shop for the latest name brand fashion items and H&M a retail giant clothing store located in Michigan Avenue is a professional establishment where you least expect ignorant racist behavior from their employees.

Ignorant racist behavior in this day and age is unthinkable and that is not what one expects in a ‘classy’ establishment where customers are often catered to but not at H&M where Frannie Richards was subjected to a humiliating degrading racist treatment according to this article from Pacific Citizen:

Frannie Richards stopped by the Michigan Avenue H&M on her lunch break hoping to walk out with a dress or a new suit. She never expected to emerge with a different kind of suit - a lawsuit.

The Filipino American nurse is filing a complaint against the corporate clothing behemoth for an alleged racial slur one of its employees made to her in mid-September at an H&M in downtown Chicago. According to Richards, she had just entered the store and was browsing the racks when an employee near her raised his hand and exclaimed loudly, "Mail order bride in the house!" before running over to a fellow employee and bursting into laughter.

"I was shocked and disgusted," said the 33-year old retired U.S. Air Force reserve staff sergeant in an interview. In her complaint to the Chicago Commission of Human Relations, she stated: "I felt he was implying that I was a whore and couldn't understand why he would say anything so derogatory."

Richards then approached the employee, a Caucasian male in his late twenties or early thirties, and asked for a fitting room.

"Can you read that sign? It says 'fitting room,'" he allegedly told her, muttering "Ching, chong, chang" as she walked away.

"I was dumbfounded," said Richards, who was born and raised in Chicago. "When he first said it, I couldn't believe it, but even when I went up to him, he wouldn't stop. He just went on and on and on. [...] I'm not naïve about racism, but for him to say it disgusts me. He didn't understand how degrading it was."

To make matter worse as if to add insult to injury she was given the runaround by the store manager who refused to give her the name of the offending employee. Shocked and devastated she went home but was persuaded by a friend to come back who went along with her acting as a witness.

On her return while she was finally able to get the harasser employees’ name from the other manager it was a complete disappointment. She was told that his harassing subordinate identified as ‘Joseph H’ working as a ‘visual merchandiser’ would first “get a verbal warning, and if it happens again, then, it would be written down." Not exactly a response that will appease one subjected to such degrading racial insults especially after this prior racial incident, to quote:

The incident follows close on the heels of the drowning death of Du Doan, a 62-year-old Vietnamese American fisherman who was pushed off a harbor into Chicago's Lake Michigan only weeks earlier. Many local Asian Americans believe his death is tied to anti-Asian sentiment. The man being charged with Doan's murder is a member of a skinhead group (though allegedly an "anti-racist skinhead group") and, according to authorities, is prone to violent behavior.

Doan's death has raised the profile of anti-Asian sentiment in Chicago, said Myron Dean Quon, Richard's representing attorney and legal director of the Asian American Institute.

"There are a lot of anti-Asian incidents in Chicago but people don't know what to do or just suck it up and move on. Ever since [the Doan murder] we've been getting reports of all sorts of incidents," said Quon, asserting the belief that if Richards had been in an H&M in a different city, the scenario might have played out very differently.

"I have no doubt that if this happened in San Francisco or New York or even L.A., the response would be different. They might even get beaten up by their coworkers, there are so many Asian Americans [in those cities]," he added.

While Richards said that it is too late for an apology, she hopes that people will learn from this.

"I want people to know that there is no right place or right time to say any sort of racial comment, especially in a professional atmosphere," she said. "If he came to my hospital and was treated like that by any of the doctors or nurses, we would be terminated."

Indeed and the people should learn from this and should follow Richard’s lead and Filipino-Americans are not taking this racial insult sitting down either according to this article:

A protest in front of the Magnificent Mile H&M department store, 840 N. Michigan Ave., added to the usual throng of shoppers and tourists Saturday.

The demonstrators, including at least eight Northwestern students, were condemning H&M for failing to take action when a salesperson allegedly made racist and sexist comments to a female Filipino-American shopper. Holding signs and shouting coordinated chants, such as "2-4-6-8, H&M discriminates" and "Hey hey ho ho, racist employees have got to go," the protestors marched in a circle on the sidewalk from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

"It was really empowering," said Leizl Rivadelo, a Communication sophomore and member of Kaibigan, NU's Filipino student association. "It was like a giant, well-oiled machine."

It seems that H&M employees operate based on their prejudice and biases be it racial or anti-women as shown in this Vancouver H&M store incident wherein a mother was told to stop nursing her baby as it is against H&M policy and might offend other customers.

I say a call for the boycott of H&M should be resorted to until they come up with measures to make sure that their stores are not populated by bigoted ignorant racist misfits. The racist employee is in a establishment where professional conduct is expected, he and the other racist employee (should have called the attention of the offending associate instead of letting it go) may have a sense of humor but a racial slur is not exactly humorous..... it is illegal and no one should be subjected to a very degrading humiliation based on ones' skin color.

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Marichu Baoanan vs. Lauro Baja Controversy, a case of Domestic Help Dispute?

There is something very wrong with how the Marichu Baoanan vs. Lauro Baja controversy, a case of Domestic Help Dispute as other seems to portray it. This is definitely not a domestic help dispute, sadly there is more to that than what is portrayed by the Philippine madaya errr media with some even pointing out the frustration of Foreign Service people over losing “control.” Losing control as in more likely to get pirated by others once their domestic help reached their foreign country assignment, which some liepapers failed to elaborate. Mr. Palengke Roxas in a praise errr press release seems to almost get it and I quote:

When a Filipino domestic helper is offered a job by a foreign employer, that employer must strictly adhere to the policies of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. And when she suffers abuse or is maltreated by her employer, our embassy becomes her first place of refuge. In that sense, we can not have a set of standards for foreign employers and none at all for Filipino diplomats because this affects the confidence of our own workers in the objectivity, humanity, and professionalism of our own Foreign Service.

The allegations are too serious and to confuse this as a domestic help dispute is totally missing the point. In the first place even the POEA minimum wage requirement of US$400 for domestic help is not good enough to qualify for a US visa. The problem is that even our liemakers seems to miss the point that some or perhaps most of the Philippine diplomats and consulate officials stationed in the US pay their maids slave wages. Domestic help brought along by Philippine diplomats and consulate officials are paid below the US minimum wage and this is the reason why they lose "control" when Filipinos in the know pirates' their maid for higher wages. Here is a hint, check the visa application and you will see that the salary stated by the diplomats and consular officials does not tally with the actual salary paid to the maid. The arrangement is fraudulent in the first place with some resorting to keeping their domestic helpers' passport for "safekeeping" as a counter measure. This is exacerbated when the employers abuse their position and fleece their domestic help like predators to unsuspecting victims who for lack of opportunities in the Philippines out of desperation enter into fraudulent bondage arrangements. These diplomats and consular officials should realize that they are from a third world country, thinking rich and acting rich when they can't afford high living in their country of assignment should they want the luxury must pay accordingly. What a shame or maybe they have no shame at all being hypocrites I should say but to expect Philippine public officials to play by the rules is like expecting hell to freeze over.

Not only do they not go through the process like the rest of us mortals but what is alarming is when the very institution that distressed Overseas Filipino Workers seek refuge are no different from the criminally exploitative and abusive employers they are escaping. That can be likened to being thrown in the lions den and if the migrant worker is not aware of her rights she then suffers alone and in silence.
Marichu Baoanan Sues Former UN Envoy from RP

Obviously, there are no set standards when it comes to Philippine diplomats hiring and bringing along domestic help in their foreign assignments unlike domestic help hired by foreigners going through the bureaucratic red tape process with government agencies. Diplomats and consular officials do not go through any processing except "abide" by the visa requirements of the country where they are headed. So now there will be more requirements and laws to be enacted by grandstanding pork barrel hungry Philippine legislators, but the question is will having more laws and regulation solve the problem when they fraudulently skirt the visa requirement in the first place?

Marichu Baoanan Sues Former UN Envoy from RP - Part 2

The problem is we have government officials that are clueless on the meaning of accountability so without the necessary guidelines, arrangements are then made between just the employer and employee. Having no clear guidelines and in a government that eats corruption for breakfast, lunch and dinner resulting in perverted mindsets said private arrangements naturally will result in problematic situations, to quote the US-based Mariposa Alliance and GABRIELA Network USA at AJLLP blog:

There have been innumerable stories of Filipinas seeking sanctuary from their brutal employers at consulates and embassies only to be returned to the same employers; of Filipinas funneled into the sex trade by embassy and consular personnel; of Filipinas traded as domestic workers by embassy and consular personnel to their relatives and friends as favors; of Filipinas coerced into paid-for marriages and sex work to enable embassy and consular personnel to make enormous profits.

Party List Representatives Liza Largoza-Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan in a resolution filed in the 14th congress to look into the allegations of trafficking using Consular Privileges as shown in the case of Marichu Baoanan and Arlene Gado cited some serious allegation which I quote:

WHEREAS, in her complaint Baoanan claims she was told by Norma Baja that she would arrange for Baoanan to come to the US and work as a nurse and that for Php 500,000.00 she would get a plane tickets, a US visa, work authorization and assistance in getting employment in the US;

WHEREAS, on December 2005, Norma Baja took her regular passport and accompanied her and a certain "Dorie" to the Department of Foreign Affairs to apply for a new diplomatic passport as Ambassador Baja's personal employees;

WHEREAS, Baoanan was able to produce Php 250,000.00, issued a diplomatic passport and upon arrival in the US on January 2006 was told that she had to work for the Bajas as domestic helper for six months to pay off the remaining Php 250,000.00;

The alleged P500K required by Lauro Baja change the picture entirely, if true then it is not just a simple case of dispute between an employer and domestic helper but one of a victimized person deceived and lured on a "promised" nursing job only to end up in bondage for the "remaining balance".

Baja is facing so much scrutiny due to this scandal and now it appears that Labaire International travel the agency that Norma the wife of Lauro Baja owns also a respondent to the human trafficking case filed by Baoanan are no stranger to labor disputes, to quote an Inquirer article:

The party-list group said in a statement that the Baja-owned Labaire International Travel, which Baoanan reportedly initially approached to help her go to the United States, had been involved in cases dealing with alleged noncompliance with labor standards and breach of contract.

It said the labor department in Metro Manila in 2003 found Norma Baja and Elizabeth Baja of Labaire guilty of noncompliance with labor standards involving former employees who were supposedly forced to sign cash vouchers and quit claims in exchange for their salaries amounting to P298,481.15.

The group added that in 1995, the Manila Regional Trial Court found Labaire guilty of breach of contract for failure to comply with a travel and tour package to Palawan which had already been partially paid for by the complainants.

The Court of Appeals later reversed both decisions.

Baja, in a phone interview, said he did not know about those cases, saying the travel agency was a corporation.

What is really odd or maybe this is normal in a society where corruption is so endemic you see the wife of a respected diplomat owning a travel agency, have they not heard of conflict of interest or is “delicadeza” dead nowadays?

The allegations of deceit, fraud, peonage, bondage or forced labor, racketeering and human trafficking are very serious federal offense in the US. What is ironic if Baja is found guilty is that the Philippines being a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women which guarantees the rights and welfare of women makes a mockery of what the nation supposedly stands for. To make matter worse the Philippines way back in 2003 it appears has an Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 penalizes trafficking of persons especially women and minors for forced labor, sex and prostitution, institutes policies and establishes mechanisms to prevent the proliferation of trafficking and yet this scandal crops up.

This case is definitely not a simple case of domestic help dispute if indeed the allegations are true. There is a need to to look deeper and see if if we need more laws and regulations and ton loads of bureaucratic red tapes to hurdle for our Overseas Contract Workers? The Philippines definitely have so many laws in place but what is obvious is that the Philippines has a dearth and short supply of honest respectable public officials and no amount of complicated legislative mambo jumbo will do the trick until we see decency and propriety among the nations leaders.

Online petition - Justice for Marichu! End Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery of All Filipina Domestic Workers!

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Former Philippine UN Ambassador Lauro Baja Sued for Human Trafficking

The charges filed against former Philippine UN Ambassador Lauro Baja filed by Marichu Suarez Baoanan in the US federal court if it prospers will be an eye opener on the complexities of human trafficking.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) took over the case of Baoanan from Damayan (a grassroots migrant organization based in NY) whose Anti-Trafficking Initiative, provides free legal representation to trafficked women and youths to apply for immigration relief, facilitate survivors’ access to human services, and represent them in civil litigation. The case stems from what Baoanan describes in a press release by AALDEF, which I quote:

Marichu Suarez Baoanan, a citizen from the Philippines, described how she paid $5,000 to the Bajas and Labaire International Travel, in return for transportation, a visa, a work permit, and job placement services in the United States. Ms. Baoanan arrived in New York in early 2006, believing that she would receive assistance to find employment as a nurse. Instead, former UN ambassador Lauro Baja, Jr., his wife Norma Baja (an owner of Labaire International Travel), and the Bajas’ adult daughter, Maria Elizabeth Facundo, alleged a substantial debt against Ms. Baoanan and subjected her for three months to involuntary servitude, forced labor, peonage, debt bondage, and slavery as a domestic worker in their home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Former Ambassador Lauro Baja’s case was featured at World Patrol and I was just amazed at how the story line came up which seems to center on the T visa or alluded to as the actual purpose on why a case was filed against Baja.

A clip was shown where Baoanan was complaining about the shoes she requested Baja to buy for her since she cannot withstand the cold snow and was berated instead by Baja. What is so odd was that World Patrol showed a photo supplied by Baja of Baoanan wrapped in winter clothes and was selling it as picture “evidence.” Ok, but don’t the televison reporters noticed that the picture only showed Baoanan from the waist up, so where is the evidence? Duh, this is exactly why Philippine media is more of madaya (cheat) offering opinionated news instead of presenting the facts as they see it as truth will speak for itself without further bola bola (lying) errr elaboration. Anyway here is a similar video from GMA, a little subdued compared to World Patrol but just almost on the same story line.

Why did they not ask Baoanan a nursing graduate from Unciano Medical College if indeed she agreed to be a housemaid? Why in the name of idiot box will she cough up US$5,000 for her visa and plane fare thru Baja’s wife travel agency just so she gets paid US$1,000 a month? Why pay in the first place if she is to work as a housemaid which is normally paid for by the employer? An interesting report from the NY Times answers most of the question, to quote:

The woman, Marichu Suarez Baoanan, 39, said the diplomat, Lauro Baja Jr., and his wife lured her to the United States with the promise that they would help her find work as a nurse. She gave them $5,000 to pay for a visa, airfare and help in finding nursing work, she said.

But on her arrival in January 2006, Ms. Baoanan alleges, the Bajas said that she owed them another $5,000 and would have to work in their home to pay off the debt. Ms. Baoanan said the Bajas confiscated her passport, forced her to work more than 120 hours per week, prevented her from leaving the house alone and paid her only $100 per month. She was the only domestic employee in a four-story house, she said at a news conference on Wednesday to publicize a civil lawsuit filed against the Bajas late last month in the United States District Court in New York.

“They paid me with curses, insults, disrespect,” Ms. Baoanan said, choking back tears. “They didn’t treat me like a person.” After three months, she said, she fled the house with the help of someone she described only as “a good Samaritan.”

I say let the court decide whether he is guilty or not but if the accusations are valid which is more likely as AALDEF is a well respected organization and surely will not ruin their reputation just so they can assist Baoanan legalize her stay in the US. If the intention was just for a T visa as alluded to by Baja then the law firm would not have taken the case and for free at that just don’t make sense, to quote AALDEF:

“It is an honor to work with AALDEF on behalf of Ms. Baoanan and other women and youth like her to meet the humanitarian needs of trafficking victims and their families, and to preserve the rule of law and the values that we cherish in our lives and our society,” said Aaron Mendelsohn, an associate at Troutman Sanders LLP in New York, the law firm which is serving as pro bono co-counsel on this case.

Hopefully this is a rare case within the Philippine Foreign Service circle but there is no doubt that exploitation happens and most migrant workers are not aware of their rights thus they are vulnerable. The problem here is if indeed there is truth to the claims of Baoanan, will Baja who was serving as Philippine UN ambassador at the time successfully prosecuted if he invokes diplomatic immunity or could this be even brought up in a federal case like this? One thing for sure though is that Lauro Baja's daughter Maria Elizabeth Facundo is reportedly still in New York working for the UN and she is included in the complaint filed by Marichu Baoanan.

For whatever its worth Lauro Baja with a long career in the Foreign Service is faced with legal problems even in the Philippines not for human trafficking, not yet anyway but is facing scrutiny on his past performance. A case with the Ombudsman seems to be looming regarding the renovation of his residence in New York and if the congress inquiry pushes through more scrutiny is coming his way.

Gabnet’s Purple Rose Campaign has some data on human trafficking and exploitation of migrant workers that is worth participating for those who care about migrant rights.

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JUSTICE VS. PERVERTED TRUTH

SENTOSA IS LYING! AVALON NURSES DID NOT WALK OUT ON THE JOB! Sour Grapes Plague Sentosa Camp as Criminal Case Moves to Higher Court

NEW YORK-As oral arguments continue this month with the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, the healthcare management company known as SentosaCare LLC is launching a desperate media offensive against the 10 Filipino nurses that lawfully resigned from the Sentosa-owned Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Suffolk County, Long Island.

Pushing the same line that the nurses "walked out on" and "endangered" their patients, SentosaCare LLC filed criminal cases against the 10 nurses who were recruited from the Sentosa Recruitment Agency (SRA) in Manila back in 2006. The nurses maintain they adhered to standard labor regulations on each of their resignations.

"None of us, except for one, were on duty when we submitted our papers to resign, and that one on-duty nurse waited till she was done with her shift and that the next attending nurse was in," states one of the nurses now known as the Avalon 10. "Absolutely no patients were abandoned or endangered."

So why is the Sentosa camp claiming otherwise to the media in a current frenzy?

"Desperation," states Rico Foz, Executive Vice-President of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns or NAFCON, which has been heading the international campaign seeking justice for the nurses. "SentosaCare LLC is in the lucrative business of human trafficking and illegal recruitment. These nurses have been victimized and are now fighting back, and the right people are listening. Now Sentosa is desperate to ruin their reputation as nurses and professionals."

So much support has poured to the nurses now known as the Sentosa 27++. A minimum of 27 nurses from the Philippines, including the 10 from Avalon Gardens, signed up to work for SentosaCare's facilities in New York through the SRA in Manila. Upon arrival in the United States, SentosaCare LLC not only failed honor the tenets of the nurses' contracts, but subjected them to a steep 60:1 patient-to-nurse ratio and withheld their wages.

"Our case has always been about the advocating for the very best care possible for our patients and that is not going to stop," stated SentosaCare LLC owner and CEO Ben Philipson. "If that means pursuing justice on both sides of the Pacific. If it means prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law those caregivers and others who would do our patients harm intentionally or through negligence, then we will do just that."

"The bottom line is there is no such thing as quality patient care if the healthcare management company itself is subjecting its healthcare workers to indentured servitude, and inhumane working conditions, not to mention breaching labor contracts," Foz added. "It was for these strong and legitimate reasons that the nurses chose to resign, not walk-out. The nurses are not guilty of negligence, SentosaCare LLC is."

The recent decision to transfer jurisdiction of the criminal case from Suffolk County to the New York Supreme Court may also be a factor in SentosaCare's media offensives against the nurses.

"Perhaps Mr. Philipson is sweating bullets because all his millions can't buy the favoritism of the New York Supreme Court, unlike all the money he invested to buy-off the Suffolk County Court System, after holding a series of closed-door meetings with Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota," Foz continued.

With the support of the immigrant community and major labor allies such as the American Nurses Association, New York State Nurses Association, and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199, the nurses remain strong and confident that the truth will set them free.

"Sentosa may have a million-dollar press machinery, but the nurses have the truth, and no amount of money can bend the truth," Foz ended.

Reference:
Fr. Ben Alforque
President
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON)

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1st Anniversary of Sentosa 27 Campaign for Justice

As we celebrate the National Nurses’ Week in the US, the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) would like to offer the following short video as a celebration of the achievements and strengths of the former Sentosa 27 nurses, victims of illegal recruitment from the Philippines, and the one year anniversary of the NAFCON led Justice for the Sentosa 27++ Campaign.

Special thanks also to Migrante International, Alliance of Health Workers, and the Health Alliance for Democracy for spearheading the Philippine front of this campaign and to our strong US based supporters such as the American Nurses Association (ANA), New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), California Nurses Association (CNA), SEIU Local 1199, and the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA).

Mabuhay kayong lahat,

Rico Foz
Executive Vice President

The following video was made by Jonna Baldres, Secretary General of Anakbayan NY/NJ, a member organization of NAFCON.

MABUHAY ANG MIGRANTENG PILIPINO!

JUSTICE FOR THE SENTOSA 27++ NURSES!

JUSTICE FOR THE AVALON 11!

JUSTICE FOR ALL MIGRANT WORKERS!

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NAFCON Claims Victory for the Avalon 11

Appellate Division Should Dismiss Criminal Case, Fil-Ams Demand

The recent ruling of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court issuing an order staying the Criminal Prosecution of the Avalon 11 (10 former Sentosa nurses and their lawyer) marks a victory for the Filipino community-based campaign for justice for the former Sentosa 27++ nurses. The community campaign was spearheaded and led throughout by the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, or NAFCON, a national alliance of Filipino organizations in over 23 cities in the United States.

From the beginning, despite doubts flung from all sides, NAFCON stood firm in its belief that the Sentosa 27 nurses, and those 11 criminally-indicted by Sentosa's legal team, had the truth on their side. This truth, the moral bankruptcy of the illegal recruitment scheme of SentosaCare LLC and its owner, Bent Philipson, has been the iron shield for all the Sentosa 27 nurses.

The Avalon 11 embody the courage of all the world's Davids that can beat the world's Goliaths if they believe in themselves and are organized. They faced criminal charges of patient endangerment after resigning from the Sentosa-owned Avalon Gardens in Long Island. Although the right to resignation is a basic worker's right protected by the United States Constitution, the unscrupulous Sentosa camp sought revenge to cover up its criminal human trafficking activities and build public opinion against the victimized nurses. They even attempted to buy-off the Suffolk County Court System by having closed-door meetings with Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota.

After much community pressure led by the Avalon 11 and NAFCON to dismiss the charges as invalid, since no Avalon patient was put in danger, legal advocates for the Avalon 11 filed a writ of prohibition with the Appellate Division, on the basis that the Suffolk County Court System does not have legal jurisdiction over the case. Since the case is a basic labor dispute, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has exclusive jurisdiction over it. State criminal action is preempted by federal law.

Amicus briefs submitted by SEIU Local 1199 and two bar association firmly supported the prohibition petition.

The Appellate Division's stay on the criminal prosecution case will mean the scheduled April 28th trial in Suffolk County will not push through. Oral arguments on the criminal petition will begin in May, and there is much demand that the Appellate Division dismiss the case all together by granting the writ of prohibition.

NAFCON views the seizing of jurisdiction of the criminal case from the Suffolk County Court System's hand as a major step towards victory for the Avalon 11 nurses. It is no secret that the Suffolk County Court System has been corrupted by the Sentosa camp and is ridden with anti-immigrant sentiment. It joins the broader public in demanding that the Appellate Division dismiss that case all together.

Reference:

Fr. Ben Alforque, President,

National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON)

email: nafconusa@yahoo.com

Note: The decision can be accessed here courtesy of Atty. Tim Calumpong.

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Filipino Nurses Migrant Rights OFW

Filipino Nurse Jailed for ‘Child’ Sex

The pervert is a Filipino nurse named Oliver Balicao, 34 a father of 2 from Bicester, Oxfordshire originally from the Philippines was sentenced to a 16 month jail term.

The victim a 16 year old girl was rushed to John Radcliffe Hospital on paracetamol overdosed distraught over school bullies was once more violated by a person of trust while in a state of drowsiness and confusion. Now how pathetic and gross is that? Hospitals are supposed to be a refuge for battered and troubled minors and to end up with a pedophile truly is disheartening and troubling.

According to newspaper accounts the teenager was molested by Balicao while she was drowsy lying in bed and then took the girl to the toilet on the pretext of taking her urine sample but ended up having sex with the minor. To quote a BBC report:

Judge Anthony Hall, passing sentence, told Balicao: "This was the grossest possible breach of trust.

"By your actions you have brought a reputable hospital and a reputable profession into disrepute. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself."

The judge said he was unable to order Balicao's deportation because he became a British citizen in 2006.

He added: "This was a young, vulnerable girl aged 16 who was ill and clearly in considerable mental turmoil who was in hospital so she could be cared for.

"Instead you did exactly the opposite - for reasons that wholly escape me you went with her to the WC and there you had sexual intercourse with her."

For his “defense” Balicao testified that it was “consensual sex”…… say whaaaaat? What in the name of Garcillano (Comelec Comm. in a wiretapped scandal on fraudulent electoral cheating) was that all about! What an unbedolable (Lintang Bedol another Comelec Official in fraudulent electoral scandal in the south) errrr unbelievable stupid perverted defense was that all about anyway, does he think he is in the halls of Injustice of SiRaulO Goonzales? Did he have Jalosjos (Philippine Congressman Romeo Jalosjos convicted of raping an 11 year old girl pardoned by President Gloria Arroyo in what other quarters are saying as a political favor for delivering the votes in the last election) for his role model or no one told him that there is no such thing as consensual sex with a minor. To top it off this pervert did not even show any emotion at his sentencing but says he was ashamed for what he did.... well he should be, geeez.

“Lucky” for him the judge can’t deport him since he has acquired British citizenship but his woes is not over since what he did was tarnish the nursing profession and hopefully get his license revoked. Balicao definitely is not fit to work in a hospital environment where he not only violated its ethics but committed a criminal violation as well, after all hospitals should be free of pedophiles like Balicao..

At Philippine Update Forum one guy was blaming the whole generation of martial law babies for Balicao’s perversion…… how about you what do you think?

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