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Beware: Marife Maramag Dela Cruz | EB2954803| WP N (Singapore)

I am writing this to share with fellow parents of my current helper who I am going to send back. Hope future parents will be wary of employing this particular FDW, I do not want another family to suffer. I am suspecting that the agency is currently in cahoots with her. Both my husband and I are working parents. I employed her (she is a single mom) in March last year and we were initially happy with her for the 1st 3 months. Her housework was alright, (not perfect) and she had to take care of my 2 boys. I am totally fine because, as a mother, I understand how tiring it is looking after 2 boys at such a young and active age, not to mention handling the whole household. Before I have employed her, I have told her that she was to place my kids in the top priority. Household to be second, and cooking for adults to be secondary. Honestly, nowadays, it is really tough getting a maid who will be able to cover 100% of what you expect. I have a mom that comes over every day to help out, to oversee my boys and the maid.
Towards the 4th month onwards, her housework was going down the drain in which I was not calculative and my mom help up with the housework as well. I had been very forgiving until last December, she asked for advance salary in which I gave her. (Note: Every time she asks for advance salary, we will always give and I guess it became a habit) She told me a sob story that her daughter’s new term is resuming and that she needed money to send back. After her off day, I started noticing that she has a fresh tattoo at her lower hip (at the back). I kept quiet and didn’t pry as I knew something was wrong. I started searching her on facebook and I found out that she did her tattoo after she got her advanced salary. When she was questioned, she lied that she got the tattoo in Philippines & when she was questioned again, she apologized and said that she did it in Singapore and her agent was present while she was doing her tattoo. Also, to my horror, I found her selfies on her facebook that were taken in the day time- in my children’s room which she is sleeping at and also my master-bed room. I started getting paranoid, and saw sexy photos with her showing her butt, her tattoo, posing with a banana sexually, and it got me worried. No doubt that it’s definitely her own freewill to have fun when she has her off day. However, I have 2 very young children and I believe all parents out there would probably feel that same way as I do.
Gradually, her work performance deteriorate, her heart was not at home or at work. She became absent minded. She was reminded many times on a market list that was her responsibility but she did not keep up after constant reminders. Then came the scolding from me but she still refused to improve on her performance. I started having many ants in the kitchen, which includes our drinking water, rotten vegetables (that was supposed to be cooked for my boys) kept in the fridge, my boys’ milk teat not washed properly with accumulated BLACK dirt, black dirt in my boys’ water bottle, my boys’ sliced oranges in their bowl left uncovered overnight, my boys’ milk container not washed properly (there were milk powder stuck between the sides), my boys’ room not clean (when I clean the room door and the floor, the cloth was black). The list goes on, she did not fulfill her main priority (which is the children), not to mention the other household chores. My husband and I sat down and counseled her which was our last resort but nothing worked. She also changed her facebook name, but her facebook url still remains the same. We have all evidences of her work performance at home.
She went to her agency, requesting for a transfer, we went down to the agency to look for her. When we came home, we saw documents of releasing her to another employer stamped by her agency. I do not appreciate that the agency is doing all these behind my back. If the FDW has a problem, the agency should let the employer know of any problems or potential problems as we are the client. There were certain occasions that I walked pass the agency and witness the agency giving out flyers and interviewing maids who walked pass to change their employer- whether it’s a genuine case of helping troubled FDWs, I do not know. My maid previously has informed me about her agent, calling her to ask her to change her employer if she isn’t happy (this was within the 1st 3 months) Isn’t the agency supposed to act as a mediator between the employer and the FDW? It seems to me that they just want to make money out of the pool of FDWs that they currently have.

She is still looking out for prospective employers. I have cancelled her work permit a few days ago. She has requested to go to Malaysia to see her relatives working there. There might be a chance for her to come back to SG to await a transfer. MOM has also acknowledge that they received my email and cannot place an employment ban on a foreign domestic worker based on feedback. They can only do so if she is charged and found guilty under Singapore laws.

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