A lawyer has been hired to manage the case of the late Mary Jean Balag-ey Alberto, an undocumented domestic worker who allegedly leapt to her death in Abu Dhabi, the Foreign Affairs Department announced today.
The 44-year-old Mary Jean, a member of the indigenous Bontok Kankana-ey tribe from Mountain Province, died on Oct. 2 after she allegedly jumped from the 13th floor of the building where she was working, Rappler reported. However, her children believe that there was foul play involved because her employer allegedly strangled her a day before she died.
Her son, Ronel Alberto, voiced his skepticism at Mary Jean’s employer’s testimony, in which she said she heard something fall to the ground, claiming it would have been impossible for Mary Jean’s boss to hear the sound when her home was located on the 13th floor.
What’s more, Lilian Falayo, a cousin of the deceased, said it made no sense that Mary Jean would have committed suicide.
“Our cousin has no reason to kill herself in Abu Dhabi,” she said in Filipino. “As a mother, she closed her eyes and went to work abroad so that she can send money to her children.”
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that they will respond to Mary Jean’s family once the results of the Abu Dhabi authorities’ investigation are released.
Before she died, Mary Jean allegedly sent a Facebook message to her sister to say that someone had threatened her life, ABS-CBN News reported. The domestic worker also allegedly said that she was not being fed by her boss until she finished her work, and that she would rather be imprisoned by the police just to be rid of her employers.
Mary Jean had been working for three months in the United Arab Emirates using a tourist visa. Her family said she initially applied to be a driver, but became a domestic worker upon her arrival in the emirate. Her body has yet to be repatriated, but the Foreign Affairs Department promised that it will be sent back to the Philippines soon.
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