Killer of OFW Jullebee Ranara sentenced to 15-year imprisonment

MANILA, Philippines — A Kuwaiti court has convicted the person who killed Jullebee Ranara, an overseas Filipino worker who was raped, murdered and burned by her employer's son and whose death revived calls to review the mass deployment of Filipino migrant workers to Kuwait.

The accused — 17-year-old Turki Ayed Al-Azmi — was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murder and one more year for driving without a license, according to a statement by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

Ranara was found with her head smashed and her body burnt in a desert on January 21. An autopsy later revealed she was pregnant at the time of her death. 

RELATED: After Jullebee Ranara killing, OFW party-list rep seeks review of labor agreements | Philstar.com 

The “lesser” penalties meted out to Al-Azmi were due to his being a minor, the DFA said.

Al-Azmi has 30 days to appeal the judgement to the Court of First Instance.

“The family of the OFW has been informed and is grateful for the assistance provided them by the government,” the DFA said.

“The Philippine Government acknowledges the efforts undertaken by the Kuwaiti authorities to effect a speedy resolution of the case, in the pursuit of justice for our slain kababayan,” it added.

Rep. Marissa Magsino (OFW Party-list) hailed the Kuwaiti court's conviction on Friday, saying that the decision would "give justice" to Ranara and her family. 

Magsino, however, pointed out that the "overarching" issue of poor working conditions for OFWs remain. 

"There must be a fundamental transformation of the conditions under which Filipino migrant domestic workers can work and live in their host countries," Magsino said. 

"We need key reforms through stronger bilateral agreements that should include a standard contract, a system for rescuing workers in distress and investigating worker abuses and deaths," she added.

‘Kafala system’ 

Ranara's gruesome death spurred a senator to call for the abolishment of the "Kafala" system practiced in Arab countries, a sponsorship-based employment system that legally restricts the movement of migrant workers.

Specifically, under the Kafala system, migrant workers are entirely dependent on their sponsors for employment and legal residency. They cannot change jobs or leave the country without the sponsor's permission.

International human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have consistently criticized the Kafala system for its adverse effects on the rights and dignity of migrant workers.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said in January that the local and foreign recruitment agencies that facilitated Ranara's deployment to Kuwait would be facing charges. Olalia said that the local agency, Catalist International Manpower Services Co., would be blacklisted.

In February, the DMW imposed a temporary deployment ban on newly hired Filipino domestic workers bound for Kuwait.

Ranara's death also prompted the DFA in January to review the four-year-old bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Kuwait. 

This agreement was created in 2018 following the death of another Filipino migrant worker in Kuwait — domestic worker Joanna Demafelis – whose remains were found in a freezer.

— with reports by Kaycee Valmonte