After half a decade of court hearings and legal battle, househelp Bonita Baran finally received the justice that she has been longing for years. Her abusive employers in Quezon city were sentenced to a maximum of 40 years imprisonment.

The poor housemaid broke in tears as she emotionally expressed her happiness after Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 released the decision of the case she filed five years ago that triggered a Senate hearing in 2012. In an interview, Bonita Baran said that she is thankful to God that justice has been finally served.

Summary of the maltreatment case

Bonita Baran faced physical abuse and multiple maltreatment incidents while rendering her service to the family who were living in Visayas Avenue, Quezon city.

In a video report, the Filipina housemaid was purportedly employed to the primary suspects namely Reynold Marzan and Analiza Catahan back in 2007, the year that marked her horrible life experience. At the time, Bonita Baran was just 17 years old.

In a sworn statement submitted to the Senate, the housekeeper mentioned that her employer specifically Analiza Catahan would attack her for no apparent reason. The encounter would usually turned to violent physical abuse. Bonita was hit by hard objects, forced to eat cockroaches, and was illegally detained by the family.

The housemaid claimed that she was slapped with metal objects, slammed against the wall, and was stabbed with a pair of scissors. During her 5-year stay in the house of the suspects, Bonita was also locked indoors. The victim was left fully secured inside a toilet and storage room.

The most controversial incident and a lifetime concerning piece was the time when Analiza Catahan poked a hard instrument right into the housemaid's very own eyes which later turned her blind.

While the Senate hearing was in progress, the forensic test result was also thoroughly conducted by medical experts. The lawyers from the Public Attorney's Office(PAO) sought proper professional medical investigation to back up their fight against the rich suspects. The forensic result revealed that a blunt instrument, blunt force or could even be a fist strike was the primary cause why the victim could no longer see.

Meanwhile, in October 2012, the suspects allegedly attempted to bribe the family of the victim amounting to P2 million pesos. The alleged private settlement aimed to encourage Bonita Baran to withdraw the complaints against the Marzan family. The victim, however, declined the offer. Watch the video reports for additional details.

The recent success of Bonita's legal battle against her former employers also gave highlights to the capacity of the lawyers assigned in the Public Attorney's Office.