Two years ago, Jocelyn Dulnuan, 25 years old at that time, left her fiancé and two-year old daughter and journeyed to a distant land searching for a job to provide a better future for her family. Two years later, her dream was shattered when her life was snuffed out -- a victim of foul play -- in her living quarters in the basement of a $15 million palatial mansion located in a posh neighborhood in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Dulnuan, a native of Hingyon, Ifugao province graduated from the University of Baguio, Philippines with a degree in Criminology. She did not pursue a career in criminology but instead she took a job overseas to support her family. Dulnuan's sojourn brought her to Hong Kong where her mother is working as a housekeeper. Then she moved to Canada in November 2006 and worked in several jobs in the Greater Toronto Area. Two months ago, Dulnuan started working for an affluent family, Dr. Jayshree Chanchlani and her husband Vasdev, a businessman. Last October 1, 2007, Dr. Chanchlani discovered her dead body when she got home after 5:00 PM. Her husband was on a business trip abroad at that time.
Three weeks later, Dulnuan's remains returned home to her family in the Philippines. One of the observers from Migrante International said that "the remains bore several stabbed wounds on the chest, and bruises in many parts of the body including the neck, knee, arms and legs." It was believed that more than one killers were involved; however, the Canadian police wouldn't confirm that.
It was reported by The Mississauga News that evidence recovered from the scene suggests that Dulnuan knew her killer. The homicide inspector assigned to the case, Norm English, stated that the murder was an "isolated incident" and that the killer "might have targeted Dulnuan, the mansion, or both." He added that "the location was targeted for a specific reason that I am not prepared to comment on." English said that "detectives have found no signs of forced entry."
It was further reported that two weeks before her death, Dulnuan called her fiancé, Sandy Kinnud, and told him that she was being threatened. However, Dulnuan's mother, Godeliva, who works in Hong Kong, said that she spoke to her twice the day before her murder and she did not mention any threat to her life.
But what is intriguing is that if it was a simple case of robbery why would the killer bother to go to Dulnuan's quarters in the basement and kill her? The fact that there was no forced entry would support the theory that Dulnuan knew her killer. To date, the murder remains unsolved.
Dulnuan's murder has become an international cause celebre. Dulnuan's sister-in-law, Imie Belanger, asked the Philippine consulate in Toronto for assistance in repatriating Dulnuan's remains to the Philippines. But her request was shrugged off. A consular officer told her that they did not have the funds to repatriate Dulnuan's remains and that Dulnuan was an "unregistered worker." So what if she was an unregistered worker? She was a Filipino citizen and one of 10 million OFWs who remitted more than $15 billion this year. Wasn't that enough to provide consular assistance? Frustrated with the consulate's callous indifference, the Filipino community in the Greater Toronto Area took it upon themselves to raise the money to send Dulnuan's remains to her family for burial. They raised $10,000. The consulate, after getting a lot of flak, decided to contribute $5,000 to the fund.
Dulnuan was categorized as an "unregistered worker" because she failed to report to the Philippine government that she was working in Canada. However, she was registered when she worked in Hong Kong and her working papers in Canada were legitimate.
The growing number of Filipino domestic workers going overseas is spurred by the Labor Export Policy (LEP) of the Philippines and the "Super Maids" program that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo implemented when 30,000 OFWs returned from Lebanon in early 2006. At that time, Arroyo said that a training program would be started to upgrade the skills of overseas Filipino domestic helpers. She said that with their upgraded skills, the "super maids" -- as she called them -- could get higher pay from foreign employers. However, the program led to further "de-skilling" of Filipino professionals who end up in low-paying jobs in foreign countries.
In a media release issued by the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC), it claimed that Canada's Live-in Caregiver Program (PCP) requires caregivers to live in the homes of their employers for a 24-month period. The NAPWC said that LCP is perpetuating a "cycle of poverty, debt, isolation, and vulnerability to physical, sexual, and verbal abuse." It said further that 97% of all live-in caregivers in Canada are Filipino women. Since the early 1980s, when Canada implemented LCP, more than 100,000 Filipino women have entered Canada. Statistical information shows that everyday, 3,000 Filipinos leave the country for overseas employment. And each day, eight Filipinos return home dead. Since 2003, there were 23 unsolved murder of overseas Filipino workers.
In my opinion, the Arroyo administration is guilty of neglect. The Dulnuan murder case is just the tip of the iceberg. Countless incidents of violence and abuse against OFWs are occurring every day. With ten million OFWs in more than 190 countries remitting $15 billion this year, they deserve the protection of the Philippine government. As the number one beneficiary of the OFWs' remittances, the Philippine government should not turn a blind eye to the plight of the OFWs. The OFW remittances are the primary reason for the Philippines' economic recovery.
The OFWs are like orphans in a foreign land. They endure the sacrifices they make to fulfill their dreams of a better life for their families back home. They persevere in adverse working conditions. They overcome the obstacles they face each day. They bond into a tight-knit "family" and protect each other. And when one of them falls, they feel the pain of the shattered dreams of the fallen kindred.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)