Philippine Showbiz Today
March 22 - April 7, 2018
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
Local News
11
Pinay allegedly harassed in Burnaby church
complains before B.C. Human Rights Tribunal
A complaint will be heard by the
B.C. Human Rights Tribunal about
the alleged harassment of a Filipino
mother in a Burnaby church.
The tribunal, in a recent
decision, rejected the request of the
Willingdon Church to dismiss the
complaint filed by Raquel Cunanan.
A single mom, Cunanan had
alleged that she was harassed by the
church’s custodian Cesar Beltan.
Like Cunanan, Beltran is also a
Filipino.
According to Cunanan, Beltan
acted inappropriately toward her and
her son in a number of occasions.
Beltan denied the allegations,
and he was supported by the
Willingdon Church.
Cunanan resigned from being
a volunteer at the church because
she believed that the church did not
respond properly to her concerns
about the alleged harassment.
Cunanan filed a complaint
before the B.C. Human Rights
Tribunal, claiming she was the
subject of discrimination because of
her sex, race, and family status.
“Ms. Cunanan’s allegations
must be tested at a hearing, where
an expert Tribunal Member can
hear and weigh all of the evidence
to determine whether Mr. Beltran
her.”
engaged in a course of conduct and
exerted a form of power, rooted in Ms.
Cunanan’s protected characteristics,
which
poisoned
the
Church
environment for her, leading her to
feel she had no choice but to resign
her volunteer duties and leave the
Church,” according to the tribunal
decision about holding a hearing.
According
to
information
summarized in the decision, Beltan
began to allegedly act inappropriately
toward Cunanan in September
2016.
“She says that on one occasion,
she was using the women’s washroom
when Mr. Beltran came in to clean
it,” Cousineau related. “He started
to push her stall door open, while
she said ‘someone is here!’ He then
looked at her through the crack in
the washroom stall. When she came
out of the stall, he was still standing
inside the washroom, smiling at
Other
alleged
incidents
followed, and when Cunanan aired
her concerns with the church, Beltran
allegedly started to cause her more
discomfort.
Beltran allegedly began showing
up at places in the church where she
does her volunteer work. He also
would be “staring angrily” at her.
“On January 8, 2017, Ms.
Cunanan alleges that Mr. Beltran
stared angrily at her son, and
mouthed the ‘F word’. Later that
day, she ran into Mr. Beltran near
the washroom, and almost collided
with him,” Cousineau wrote in her
decision.
The tribunal noted an email by
Cunanan where the woman stated,
“This is a typical behaviour of Filipino
men towards Filipino women. They
tend to have a power showdown.”
“I also think that he looks down
on me because I’m a single mom,”
Cunanan also claimed in the email.
The woman added: “If I was
married and has a husband with me,
he would think twice before doing
these things to me.”
The church told Cunanan in a
letter that her accusations against
Beltran were “unfounded”.●