September 24, 2011
According to my laptop's clock, it's 4:50 AM. An hour ago, we had a problem with our little boy so till now my mind has not stopped running around. So rather than waste a perfectly good thought process, I will blog. (Since it has been 48 years ago when I last blogged about anything.)
In the Philippines, having a yaya (stay-in babysitter) is a necessity. Some households have one yaya per kid. I have been raising my children with just one yaya that they share. My kids are fairly well-behaved and sometimes, I must admit, the yaya becomes a luxury.
But how many of us Filipino mothers have been ditched by yayas without so much as a proper goodbye? This has happened to me a couple of times already and I would like to start this habit of typing in the details of the Yaya Who Left and her 'reasons' behind it. I promise that even if it was anything that I did wrong, I would still post it.
The blog title is the yaya's reason. JENNILYN PONGASI came to us on March 18, 2011. She was a cousin of my husband's grandmother's own yaya. So she came with a pedigree. I always believe that it is better to get a yaya by way of referral. So at least you'd have someone to ask about her background and the like.
I did not have any problem with Yaya Jen except for the occasional slow pick-up on instructions. I'd give her instructions, she would look like she is paying attention and then immediately after, do the opposite of what I told her. And that she puts on too much eyeliner. She was no-read-no-write.
Yaya Jen was all-around. This is a category for helpers who do everything in the house. She was all-around because the kids are only 4 and 5 years old. They can be left with minimal supervision as long as they are inside the house. Yaya Jen's strongest point was cooking. She had a mean Sinigang that a week never goes by without it.
Yaya Jen also has a problem with her cellphone. She had her own cellphone when she came to work with us. It stuck to her ear almost like it was already a part of her body. But I did not mind. She would put her phone down when I needed her to do something. Otherwise, she used it hands-free. She calls because she could not text. No read, no write.
Everything ran smoothly especially when we moved to another house and acquired a Manang. Manang and yaya shared the household chores so yaya's load got even lighter. Fast forward to 3 months since the move, she asked permission on Friday night that she has to go home to Pagadian because her lolo died. I knew she was raised by her lolo but she told me a few months back that the Lolo died already. So I asked, didn't he die last time? she said it was a different one and the one that died this time was the one who raised her. He was almost a hundred years old.
Of course I allowed her. She said she would be back on Tuesday. Since the funeral will be held on Monday, they (she and yaya-cousin from grandmother) will catch the ferry back on Monday night and get here Tuesday 5AM. I said okay. I reconfirmed if she was really coming back. She said yes she was and that she was not doing anything back home so she might as well stay and work.
She left on Saturday morning without my having to check her clothes because I had to go to work early. My husband said he trusted her and that it was not a big deal if her clothes were not checked. Manang said she brought 2 bags with her. When she first came here, I think all she had was a bag of a few clothes. But she shopped for clothes and makeup so maybe she must have bought for her family.
By Sunday, I got news from my carpool driver that she held a small despedida over at the school on Friday afternoon because she was telling her fellow-yayas that she was leaving and not coming back. Still, I gave her the benefit of a doubt.
Monday night, I called her personal cellphone and a guy answered. I asked for her and the other line was not responding anymore. I tried calling back, the phone can no longer be reached.
I checked her closet. All her clothes were gone. So now I was beginning to worry. But I waited till the next day to panic. I checked for the yaya-phone (mobile phone with Suncellular sim for easy contact) and it was not there. She brought it with her!
Plus we are now suspecting that she may also be involved in the loss of my husband's cousin's wallet when we went to their house the night before she left.
I gathered reports from the children's school that she indeed bought snacks for her friends on Friday afternoon even if she told me she was informed of her Lolo's passing just that Friday afternoon at the house after they got home from school. They also said that her Manila-based boyfriend sent her money so she can buy her ticket to Manila to live with him and that she was scheduled to leave on September 23. So she really had no intention of coming back and every intention of taking the yayaphone with her! I regret that I was not able to rummage through her clothes because who knows what else she might have taken with her. I gave her salary in advance, gave her transportation allowance. Manang said she also shelled out a hundred pesos for abuloy. What an effin' fraud!!!
I am only thankful that nothing ill has happened to my children during the course of her 6-month-stay with us. She did her job well but might have gotten greedy towards the end.
I am posting this so that whomever hires her next may get a chance to google her name and come across my blog. CAVEAT EMPTOR!
