Couple linked to Joanna Demafelis’ death identified —OWWA chief

Authorities have already identified the couple being linked to the killing of Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis in Kuwait, according to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) head Hans Leo Cacdac on Friday.

"Wala lang sa akin ngayon ang eksaktong pangalan... Arabic name, kaya baka ako magkamali ng bigay," Cacdac said in an interview on News To Go.

The couple, a Lebanese man and a Syrian woman, is currently the subject of manhunt operation by the International police (INTERPOL).

Demafelis was found stuffed in a freezer inside the couple's abandoned apartment in Kuwait two weeks ago. The brutality of the killing prompted the Philippine government to ban the deployment of first-time Filipino workers to the Gulf state.

Cacdac said Demafelis' family's last communication with her was in 2016. Her case was reported to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration officials in February 28 last year. The POEA alerted their counterparts in Kuwait thrice of the case.

Following the discovery of Demafelis' body, a labor attaché and a welfare officer in Kuwait were recalled for their alleged failure to act on her case.

A team of senior labor officials left on Thursday to check the welfare of Filipinos on the ground in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Another team, led by Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano, will go to Kuwait next week to negotiate for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the protection of Filipino workers.

"Ito ay inaantabayanan po pa rin natin para kung ano 'yung eksaktong petsa at lugar nung pangyayarihan ng negosasyon," Cacdac said. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News