Ifugao woman found dead in Canada mansion

A 27-year-old Filipino domestic helper from Ifugao province was killed in a mansion in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The woman has been identified as Jocelyn Dulnuan from Ifugao. Her mother is said to be working in Hong Kong also as a domestic helper. In her friendster account, Jocelyn said she hails from Barangay Namulditan, Hingyon town in Ifugao. "Hey, suplada daw ako sabi ng iba pero in real friendly ako," she wrote. Toronto Sun reported Wednesday that Dulnuan’s body was found 5 p.m. on Monday by her female employer in her living quarters at the basement of the mansion. Homicide investigators from the Peel police district said the Doulton Place home was targeted for burglary. The mansion valued at $15 million is owned by Dr. Jayshree Chanchlani, a family physician, and her husband Vasdev, a co-founder and corporate finance officer of software developer Sigma Global Solutions in Toronto. After examining the body of the Filipina maid, investigators believe the victim died as a result of foul play. The report said police is still investigating if Dulnuan was a target of the burglars or if she surprised them. Quoting a relative, the Toronto Star reported in its Oct. 4 issue that Dulnuan finished a criminology degree from the University of Baguio. Fay Hangdaan, who presented herself as a cousin of Dulnuan's fiance, said the domestic helper made the difficult decision to move to Canada after obtaining her degree in order to help support her loved ones in Ifugao. "She came here like everybody else; to make a living and help her family," Hangdaan was quoted in the Star report. "We just can't believe it," said Hangdaan, who lives in Toronto. Other than a few friends, Dulnuan didn't know many people in the city. Back home, she enjoyed playing volleyball and basketball and hanging out with friends. "She's so much fun. A little bit of a shy girl, but if you say a joke she'll laugh and laugh," Hangdaan said. Right now, Hangdaan says, friends and family back home are in shock. News about Dulnuan’s murder has been disseminated to the Ifugaos through an email group. Participants in the email thread have called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to intercede on the case in view of statements from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OAAW) in Canada and the Philippine consulate that they could not help bring home Dulnuan’s remains because she was an unregistered worker. Toronto Sun said Dulnuan arrived in Canada last year under a work permit. She started working at the Chanchlani household two months ago and lived in the huge house. She worked as a nanny for a number of other families prior to her employment as domestic helper with the Chanchlanis. Police said she has friends and distant relatives in the Greater Toronto Area. Investigators have reportedly spoken to her mother in Hong Kong who was “extremely upset" upon learning of her daughter’s death. Detectives are delving into Dulnuan’s background to check on her friends in the area and see if she was involved in a relationship. Mississauga News said in its Oct. 3 issue that the neighborhood in the wealthy community was shocked over the murder. While police said the incident was an isolated case, it was reported as the sixth murder in Mississauga during the year. Irate Ifugaos said the Philippine government ought to help Dulnuan regardless of her status in Canada. “Her citizenship and the circumstances (behind) her death, not her status, should be considered by the Philippine Consulate to seek help from the government in the Philippines," an Ifugao email sender in Canada said. “Despite our grief, we are trying to face this enormous task of seeking for proper justice and trying to find ways to send her home," another Ifugao in Canada posted. - GMANews.TV