Palace wants killers of OFW Joanna Demafelis ‘punished soonest’

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Saturday said it wants the persons behind the brutal murder of a Filipino whose body was found this month in a freezer at an abandoned apartment in Kuwait “punished soonest.”

The Palace made the statement after the Department of Foreign Affairs reported Friday that one of the principal suspects in the killing of overseas Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis has been arrested.

READ: Interpol arrests suspect in brutal slay of OFW Joanna Demafelis

“We’re thankful but hoping that they will be prosecuted and punished soonest,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a text message to reporters.

According to Roque, President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to summon the recruitment agency that processed the employment of Demafelis.

The DFA, citing Kuwaiti officials, recently said Lebanese Nader Essam Assaf was nabbed in Lebanon. However, Assaf’s Syrian wife, Mona, is still at large and is believed to be in Syria. 

The couple have been the subject of an Interpol manhunt after Kuwaiti authorities discovered the lifeless body the 29-year-old domestic helper, with signs of torture.

According to reports, Demafelis was allegedly physically abused, got starved, and was not paid for her work—the latest in what the Philippine government qualifies as a pattern of maltreatment in the Gulf state.

The killing was the final straw for Duterte, who had repeatedly lashed out at Kuwait and ordered a ban on sending workers to the Gulf state, which he said may expand to other countries if an “audit” found that Filipinos were being abused by employers elsewhere.

Amid simmering public anger in Manila, Kuwaiti officials have scrambled to patch diplomatic ties by reportedly inviting Duterte to visit.

“This is a positive development because as we all know President Duterte and the [DFA] Secretary Cayetano have been asking assistance of Kuwaiti authorities in attaining justice for Joanna Demafelis,” Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa said in a video message.

Money sent home by Filipino migrant workers reached a record $2.7 billion last December, rising 7.1 percent year-on-year and helping drive the increase in spending by their families which, in turn, fuel overall economic growth.

RELATED: Another 160 OFWs, 30 kids arrive from Kuwait

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