CA OKs probe of ex-envoy on sex rap

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has given the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) the go-signal to resolve the administrative case against former ambassador to Kuwait Shulan Primavera.

In a six-page decision, the CA’s special fifth division dismissed Primavera’s petition seeking to stop the investigation being conducted by the DFA’s Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) on the sexual harassment complaint filed by Nerissa Lanza, a Filipino worker in Kuwait. 

In his petition, Primavera questioned the DFA proceedings and accused the CODI of grave abuse of discretion for denying his motion to set aside Lanza’s complaint through resolutions dated June 22, 2013 and July 29, 2013.

The CA rejected his argument that the CODI, chaired by Irene Susan Natividad, committed grave abuse of discretion when it did not dismiss the charge despite the lack of a sworn complaint.

The court, in a ruling penned by Associate Justice Socorro Inting, held that the sworn statement of Lanza is different from the formal charge issued by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, which still stands on its own.

Associate Justices Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla and Rodil Zalameda concurred in this ruling.

Primavera reportedly offered temporary jobs at the Filipino Workers Resource Center in Kuwait to those who wanted to earn and save money while waiting for their cases to be resolved or while awaiting repatriation to the Philippines.

Lanza, a domestic helper in Kuwait, ran away from her employer and sought shelter at the center on Dec. 3, 2011. She was then hired as a household helper and cook at Primavera’s residence.

On Oct. 22, 2013, Lanza was among the wards repatriated to the country.

On Dec. 6, 2013, Lanza executed an affidavit charging Primavera with sexual harassment, which she said happened at the ambassador’s residence in three separate instances.