OWWA exec on Joanna Demafelis case: We could’ve done better

An official of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Friday admitted that they "could've done better" on the case of Joanna Demafelis, the Filipina worker who was found dead in a freezer in Kuwait.

"We felt remorse," said OWWA Deputy Administrator Josefino Torres in a report by GMA News' Mariz Umali on 24 Oras. "We could've done better, we could've done more, but when is the question, and what happened."

Joanna Demafelis was found in a freezer in an abandoned apartment unit in Kuwait last week, more than a year after her family in the Philippines first reported that she hasn't been contacting them.

The Demafelis family has accused OWWA and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) personnel of inaction when they first brought her case to them in January 2017, four months after their last communication with her.

Joanna's remains arrived in the Philippines on Friday morning and will be brought to her hometown in Sara, Iloilo, on Saturday.

The 24 Oras report said the Demafelis family spent Friday preparing for the arrival of Joanna's body.

"Lungkot na lungkot ako. Hindi ko matanggap [ang] nangyari sa akin anak," said Eva Demafelis, Joanna's mother.

The Demafelis family showed GMA News the Filipiniana gown that Joanna will be wearing on her wake.

The family also received on Friday three piglets, as well as feeds, vitamins and dewormer, as livelihood assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) office in Iloilo, as requested by her father Crisanto.

"We believe makatutulong ito sa startup sa kanya," said Joselito Dela Banda, DOLE-Iloilo provincial head.

Based on autopsy Joanna was beaten to death. Considered suspects are her former employers, a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife, who have since left Kuwait.

Her death had prompted the Philippine government to stop the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait. —KBK, GMA News