I have pondered for almost 3 months whether I should do this. At first, I was prepared to let this awful experience just slide. However, as new information about how my son was maltreated unexpectedly comes in, I can no longer endure the thought of another kid being under her “care”.
So here it is: her name is Gemma Macaraig Lalantacon (Gemma/Gie). She is a 42-year-old widow (her husband was a soldier who died in battle somewhere in Mindanao) from General Santos City. She has 3 grown-up children: 2 sons (one of whom we helped with his employment at a local food chain, care of my husband) and a daughter who is in Gen San (still in high school). According to her, she had been working as a Yaya for more than 10 years, including a stint as a domestic helper in Singapore and rearing the granddaughter of a Chinese tycoon (who owns food, airline, retail, and media businesses in the Philippines). Sounds impressive, right?
She started working with us last October 2007, and due to her “excellent” service, we actually adjusted her salary several times. By the time we fired her last August 2008, her salary was 25% higher than when she started (in less than a year!). Moreover, we allowed her to take a weekly half-day-off - this arrangement was agreed upon at the onset of her employment - a specific request because she had to do the laundry of her two boys every weekend. Predictably, made occasional salary advances as well for various reasons, including tuition for her daughter, rental problems with her landlord etc.
Instead of being a “heaven-sent” yaya, we learned by chance (and painfully so) during our Boracay trip that she is actually a “yaya from hell”. I caught her hurting our son when she thought I was not around. After that incident, I put her under close watch and discovered a lot. These horror stories, as confirmed by several people, are as follows:
- She repeatedly pulls our sons hair (strategically on top of the head so that the redness will not be visible)
- “Pinipitik nya ang noo ng bata kapag ayaw matulog” according to my other yaya. “Sinabihan ko na huwag nyang gagawin yon dahil baka mag-pasa pero sabi nya, hindi daw nagpa-pasa basta pitikin sa noo”. (Specifically the area between the eyebrows – she calls this “piso” due to the circular shape her fingers form, similar to the “okay” sign)
- She locks our son in isolation inside the bathroom / dressing room and does not relent no matter how hard he cries
- She yells at our son, yanks his arms and shoulders to “discipline” him
- She teaches my younger daughter (who is only 1.5 years old) how to fight/ hit back at her older brother
Aside from maltreating my son, I found out that she also repeatedly filched small grocery items from us (powdered detergent, 3-in-1 coffee, etc.). Apparently, she was able to do this freely because she took weekly half-day-offs. She complained a lot about hotel rooms (whenever we went out of town) and the food being served to her. She is very talkative – a trait we actually found irritating at first, but eventually learned to accept because we thought it was good for our son.
I am attaching the photos of Gemma / Gie for your information. Please, please beware of this person because one of her talents is deceiving her employers about her sincerity and qualifications. If you are her current employer, I would suggest that you fire her immediately. Please pass this message so that we can help in our own little way to prevent the maltreatment of innocent kids.
So here it is: her name is Gemma Macaraig Lalantacon (Gemma/Gie). She is a 42-year-old widow (her husband was a soldier who died in battle somewhere in Mindanao) from General Santos City. She has 3 grown-up children: 2 sons (one of whom we helped with his employment at a local food chain, care of my husband) and a daughter who is in Gen San (still in high school). According to her, she had been working as a Yaya for more than 10 years, including a stint as a domestic helper in Singapore and rearing the granddaughter of a Chinese tycoon (who owns food, airline, retail, and media businesses in the Philippines). Sounds impressive, right?
She started working with us last October 2007, and due to her “excellent” service, we actually adjusted her salary several times. By the time we fired her last August 2008, her salary was 25% higher than when she started (in less than a year!). Moreover, we allowed her to take a weekly half-day-off - this arrangement was agreed upon at the onset of her employment - a specific request because she had to do the laundry of her two boys every weekend. Predictably, made occasional salary advances as well for various reasons, including tuition for her daughter, rental problems with her landlord etc.
Instead of being a “heaven-sent” yaya, we learned by chance (and painfully so) during our Boracay trip that she is actually a “yaya from hell”. I caught her hurting our son when she thought I was not around. After that incident, I put her under close watch and discovered a lot. These horror stories, as confirmed by several people, are as follows:
- She repeatedly pulls our sons hair (strategically on top of the head so that the redness will not be visible)
- “Pinipitik nya ang noo ng bata kapag ayaw matulog” according to my other yaya. “Sinabihan ko na huwag nyang gagawin yon dahil baka mag-pasa pero sabi nya, hindi daw nagpa-pasa basta pitikin sa noo”. (Specifically the area between the eyebrows – she calls this “piso” due to the circular shape her fingers form, similar to the “okay” sign)
- She locks our son in isolation inside the bathroom / dressing room and does not relent no matter how hard he cries
- She yells at our son, yanks his arms and shoulders to “discipline” him
- She teaches my younger daughter (who is only 1.5 years old) how to fight/ hit back at her older brother
Aside from maltreating my son, I found out that she also repeatedly filched small grocery items from us (powdered detergent, 3-in-1 coffee, etc.). Apparently, she was able to do this freely because she took weekly half-day-offs. She complained a lot about hotel rooms (whenever we went out of town) and the food being served to her. She is very talkative – a trait we actually found irritating at first, but eventually learned to accept because we thought it was good for our son.
I am attaching the photos of Gemma / Gie for your information. Please, please beware of this person because one of her talents is deceiving her employers about her sincerity and qualifications. If you are her current employer, I would suggest that you fire her immediately. Please pass this message so that we can help in our own little way to prevent the maltreatment of innocent kids.
(Photos taken during our Boracay Trip in Aug 2008)
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