A 17-year-old housemaid who filed child abuse and serious physical injury charges against former actress Princess Revilla detailed her ordeal at the hands of her employer since October 2007.
The victim, a native of Samar, claimed it is not only Revilla – the sister of Sen. Bong Revilla – who maltreated her but also her employer’s 14-year-old daughter.
Aside from beatings, the housemaid also said she never received her salary since she started working at Revilla’s Casa Verde Townhomes residence in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City.
Accompanied by her lawyer, Raymund Fortun, Revilla (Rebecca Ocampo in real life), came out in the open last June 12 to deny the charges lodged against her.
Revilla admitted that she personally knows the housemaid but she claimed she terminated her services last March 28 when she caught the maid stealing money. The actress is expected to file her counter-affidaviton Tuesday.
Earlier, Fortun threatened to file counter-charges against the housemaid for the damages caused to his client’s reputation.
In her sworn affidavit filed before the Pasig Prosecutor’s Office, the housemaid claimed a certain Mana Ruth recruited her at her province in Barangay Sawa, Basey, Samar last October. She was supposed to receive a salary of P2,500 per month.
However, the housemaid said she did not receive a single centavo from Revilla, who claimed that she forwarded the maid’s salary to Mana Ruth, who in turn sent the money to the maid’s parents in the province.
The victim said her ordeal started in the last week of October 2007 when a security guard of Casa Verde saw her cleaning outside the actress’ residence. The maid claimed her employer barred her from going out of the house.
Since then, the maid said Revilla would beat her every time she made a mistake. The victim also said Revilla’s daughter once forced her to eat rice mixed with salt and fish sauce.
Last March 28, the housemaid said she escaped by scaling the subdivision’s six-foot fence but was later turned over by the subdivision’s security guard to the local police. Revilla arrived at the police station and after a private conversation with several police officers, she promised the housemaid that she would give her money for her trip back to Samar .
However, Revilla brought the maid to her office where she stayed for several days. She was transferred to the suspect’s condominium unit in Global City last April. The housemaid was brought back to Case Verde on June 10.
Last June 11, the housemaid escaped for the second time and was brought to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which led to the filing of charges against Revilla.