MANILA — The remains of slain overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (NAIA) cargo terminal on Friday via Gulf Air flight GF 154 from Bahrain.
Authorities from the Department of Labor and Employment’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said Demafelis’ body would be flown to Iloilo, her hometown, on Saturday.
According to reports, Demafelis worked as a domestic worker in Kuwait. She was murdered and was placed in a freezer.
Based on autopsy reports, Demafelis was tortured, had broken ribs, internal bleeding, contusion, and trauma in pelvis and kidney area.
Kuwait authorities are still looking for Demafelis’ former employers, who are believed to have escaped the country.
Meanwhile, as the body of Demafelis was discovered last week, the Philippine government is currently considering a total deployment ban of OFWs to Kuwait. The move was also due to reports that most of them have been suffering from abuse.
Hundreds of OFWs have already been repatriated since Monday. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)