A Taste of Victory

Congratulations teachers! We just won a taste of victory!

From $310 per individual per month, we were able to force the greedy Lourdes Navarro of Universal Placement to lower our rent to $275. From $1800 to $2000 per individual, we were able to force the gluttonous Lourdes Navarro of Universal Placement to lower the renewal fee to $1000.

Now here are questions for us to answer: Do you think she did these out of the goodness of her heart? Do you really think that this monster had undergone a real change in her outlook in life and decided to treat all of us fairly and humanely? Do you think that she would have done this without us exposing her abuses in this blog? Do you think she would have done this without the force of our voices?

With her notorious track-record of exploiting us, of treating us as slaves, in violating and getting around laws, both of the state of California and the Philippines, the sad answer to those questions above is a resounding NO!

No, she did those because of our united front of challenging her through our blog! She did those to calm down the anger that is being released in your comments and rejoinders in this blog! She did these out of trying to save her skin. She thinks that if she lowers those rates then we will treat her like a hero, a savior sent from heaven above.

Lourdes Navarro, we are not dumb! We are teachers, remember? Here is the simple math. For Savoy South: $275 x 4 people per unit = $1100 per unit, real rate = $800 per unit. For Savoy North: $310 x 4 people per unit = $1240 per unit, real rate = $940 per unit. Lulu, as swapang as she is, still earns AT LEAST $300 per unit per month. So let’s say there are only 40 units: $300 per unit x 40 units, that is $12,000 per month!

Gentle ladies and gentle men, Lourdes Navarro is cheating on us with at least $12,000 per month! She is forcing us to live in an old decrepit apartment at a higher rate while she continues to gather the fruits of our labor. We checked out other apartments in the area and at $1100 or $1240 a month, the Savoy units we are now occupying looks like an old worn out doormat.

Further immigration lawyers are now even entertaining $600 per person as we are a big group.

Fellow teachers, see what we can achieve by voicing out our common concerns and demands. We just made the oppressor blink and back track from her unfair and oppressive policies. See how in a simple concerted action, by simply exposing her wickedness, we can make the oppressor stop and think before unleashing more of her monstrosities.

What is clear now is that Navarro is simply trying to pretend that she understands our plight, that her heart bleeds for us. But what is obvious is that she did these as a smoke screen to the real issues – which is her violation of our contract, her violation of a Philippine Law (R.A. 8042), her overcharges, her threats and intimidation, her illegal and suspicious opening of our SSN documents, her forcing us to lease an apartment of her choice. She thinks that we will stop our call for justice and forget our demand for fairness once she gives us loose change.

Let us not be blinded by the real issues here, fellow teachers. The fight for real justice goes on! Let us remain courageous and united as we are confident of the victory of good over evil.

Again, congratulations to all of us teachers! May this development not dampen our resolve to seek justice but rather strengthen our commitment to truth and fairness.

Mabuhay ang gurong Pilipino!


Concerned Filipino Migrant Teachers
Louisiana, USA


P.S. To all teachers please do not fall for Navarro’s threats of silencing this blog. We are not afraid of her threats to sue us. On the contrary, Navarro’s actions make our determination even stronger. What we are doing here is an exercise of our right to free expression – a right that is protected under the Constitution of this country. Remember, what we are doing here is simply voicing out our experiences. It is clear that this blog did not just exist to malign somebody but to share our factual experiences. If they think what we are saying here is false, then all they have to do is answer them in this blog or in another blog. But clearly truth-telling is not one of their virtues and the only way they can respond is threaten us with their cash and lawsuit.