Missing OFW found ‘decomposing’ in Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines — The remains of an overseas Filipino worker, missing for two months, were found in a heavily decomposed state inside the home of a Kuwaiti citizen.

In a message to Philstar.com on Tuesday, December 31, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega described the body of the OFW as being in an "advanced state of decomposition."

“According to the Embassy, the police are saying, based on their interrogation, it appears to have been happened two months ago. Forensics may be able to provide supporting evidence,” De Vega told Philstar.com.

De Vega said the alleged perpetrator, who was turned over by his brother, is "incoherent" and "difficult to get clear information from."

“Possibly from frequent drug use as he has a prior record of drug use. It was his own brother who turned him in,” he said. 

The news of the OFW's death was revealed in a "public announcement," according to De Vega.

The announcement mentioned that public prosecutors will charge a couple with concealing premeditated murder and that the body was recovered by authorities from the couple's garden in Saad Al-Abdullah, Jahra.

The foreign affairs undersecretary, however, did not reveal further details, as the embassy is still in contact with the family of the deceased domestic worker.

“The Embassy team is communicating with local authorities as we seek justice for our kababayan,” De Vega said in a message to Philstar.com.

In recent years, several OFWs have lost their lives in Kuwait. These cases include Jullebee Ranara, whose burned body was found in a desert in 2023; Joanna Demafelis, who was murdered and stuffed into a freezer by her employers in 2018; Constancia Lago Dayag, who died at the hands of her employer in May 2019; and Jeanelyn Villavende, who was killed by her female employer out of jealousy in December 2019.

The incidents led to a ban on the deployment of new Filipino workers to Kuwait in February 2018.

However, after years of negotiations, the ban was eventually lifted in May 2018, allowing Filipinos to return to work in the country. — with reports from Cristina Chi