Couple accused of abusing maid surface at NBI

MANILA, Philippines – A couple who allegedly maltreated their former housemaid surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday.

Spouses Annaliza Catahan Marzan and Reynold Marzan, residents of Las Villas del Cinco in Quezon City, turned themselves in to NBI Director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas after weeks of evading arrest.

In a written statement, they said they decided to surrender so they would be able to air their side. “We cannot understand why we are being accused of this serious charge that eventually led to the issuance of an arrest warrant against us,” the couple said in Filipino.

In an order dated Aug. 23, Judge Germano Francisco Legaspi of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 issued separate warrants of arrest against the couple in connection with the charges of serious illegal detention, attempted homicide and serious physical injuries filed by their former housemaid, Bonita Baran, with the help of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).

The 21-year-old Baran accused her former employers of maltreatment and torture, which left her partially blind.

The court dismissed the charges of serious physical injuries and attempted murder against Reynold due to lack of evidence.

The couple said they have nothing to do with Baran’s injuries and called on her to tell what really happened.

Baran – who went to the NBI headquarters in Manila with PAO chief Persida Acosta after the couple surrendered – insisted that her injuries were inflicted by the couple.

“I am happy that they were apprehended,” Baran said. “I hope that they will be punished for what they have done to me... I hope that they will be imprisoned.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada also rushed to the NBI after the Marzans surrendered. Estrada, the chairman of the Senate committee on labor and employment, earlier asked the Senate to issue a warrant for the couple’s arrest after they failed to attend a probe on the charges filed by Baran.

The Marzans are detained in the Senate and will be turned over to the jurisdiction of the court after the Senate investigation. – With Christina Mendez