Slain OFW’s kin: No help from POEA, OWWA

MANILA, Philippines — Relatives of the Filipina domestic helper in Kuwait found dead inside a freezer in her employer’s house were clueless about her agony and felt ignored by Philippine authorities from whom they sought help in tracking her whereabouts.

It was only after her death that the family of Joanna Daniella Demafelis learned of the pain and suffering she had to endure just to earn the money she would send home.

Jessica, Demafelis’ elder sister, said they did not hear a single complaint from the Filipina worker regarding maltreatment at the hands of her employer.

Jessica said they sought the assistance of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) after months of not being able to talk with her sister, but they were simply told to wait.

“We were hoping OWWA, POEA and the Philippine embassy will help us find our sister. But they did not take any action and even told us that we have to wait because there are many other cases that they are following up,” Jessica said.

According to Jessica, they would communicate with Joanna every three months during the two years that her younger sister was working in Kuwait.

“She was not allowed to have her own cellphone to communicate with us, but she never told us that she was being maltreated by her employer,” Jessica said in Filipino.

Her sister, Jessica said, was a quiet person and she opted to work in Kuwait to support their parents in Iloilo and send their youngest sibling to college.

“It’s very painful for us to know now what she went through in those two years that she worked in Kuwait. We were told now that she was not allowed to eat or have a day off. She could be very weak and unable to fight off when murdered by her employer,” Jessica said, holding back tears.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said based on initial investigation, Demafelis sustained broken bones and stab wounds indicating that she had been tortured, presumably by her employer.

Yesterday, Bello met with members of the Demafelis family and assured them that the Philippine government would be providing them with all the necessary assistance.

He said one of the Demafelis siblings would be flying to Kuwait to identify her remains, which were found inside a freezer more than a year after she went missing.

The labor chief said he also ordered POEA chief Bernard Olalia to suspend or cancel the license of recruitment agencies that deployed Filipino workers who suffered abuse at the hands of their employers.

“Heads will definitely roll,” Bello warned.

Demafelis’ other elder sister Juliet said their family wanted nothing but justice for the death of Joanna.

OWWA chief Hans Cacdac said Demafelis was legally deployed to Kuwait in 2014 and was reported missing to the agency in February 2017.

“The matter was referred to the welfare officer in March 2017 and the agency was told that Demafelis cannot be located,” Cacdac said.

However, Cacdac said, OWWA is now conducting an investigation to identify the officers who failed to assist the Demafelis family.

Cacdac also gave assurance that OWWA would be providing death and burial assistance to the family of the slain Filipina worker.

But Cacdac said the remains of the Filipina worker cannot be repatriated until police investigation of her death has been completed.

The Philippine Association of Agencies for Kuwait (PHILAAK) yesterday pledged to extend financial assistance to the family of Demafelis.

Bello also said he has signed an administrative order on the total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait.

“The total deployment ban will be effective immediately,” Bello announced yesterday after signing the administrative order.

Bello said the ban was “in pursuit of national interest” and in response to numerous reports of Filipinos suffering abuse or death in the Arab country.

Bello said the ban covers all workers although the Department of Labor and Employment is looking into the possibility of exempting Balik Manggagawa or returning workers to Kuwait.

“Basically we want to allow workers who are being treated well by their employers to go back, but we have to first make sure that those who will be leaving the country are not fake Balik Manggagawa,” Bello said.

Former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said the total ban was proof of President Duterte’s genuine concern for overseas workers. “I congratulate the President for that. It is the duty of the President to protect all Filipinos at all cost, may it be in the country or abroad,” Estrada told The STAR in a phone interview. – Jose Rodel Clapano