Group, kin slam 14-year jail time for OFW killer: ‘Not enough!’

“It is unacceptable for government agencies to ignore this. They are mandated to provide support and protection to our countrymen who are vulnerable to abuse, even murder, outside the country.”

CAGAYAN DE ORO — Not enough!

A group championing the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant domestic workers stressed this point, criticizing the 14-year imprisonment of the person responsible for killing Dafnie Nacalaban, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Kuwait, in late 2024.

The Samahan ng mga Domestic Helpers sa Gitnang Silangan (Sandigan) denounced the verdict, saying that it reflects unfair justice and treatment of OFWs killed in the Middle East.

“It is unacceptable for government agencies to ignore this. They are mandated to provide support and protection to our countrymen who are vulnerable to abuse, even murder, outside the country,” Sandigan said in a statement released on October 22.

Read: Group fumes at latest OFW death in Kuwait: ‘Abolish Kafala system’

In a video posted by government-run Radyo Pilipinas, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac confirmed that the primary suspect landed a guilty verdict with 14 years of jail time, while one-year imprisonment was given to each of the three other accomplices.

The three, according to Cacdac, had personal knowledge of the crime but did not immediately report the incident.

After being reported missing for two months, the decomposing remains of Nacalaban who hailed from Cagayan de Oro were found buried in her employer’s yard in Saad Al-Abdullah, Jahra, Kuwait. The primary suspect admitted to the crime, according to the information received by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

The migrant workers’ rights group expressed dismay after the family was allegedly not informed about the probe result of Nacalaban’s case, saying the government just went to them and informed them about the decision of a Kuwaiti court.

Bulatlat reached out to DMW on October 17 using the email address in its official Facebook page to obtain details about the investigation, but it has yet to respond as of this posting.

Should be a higher penalty

Michael Nacalaban-Linsahan, Dafnie’s sister, told Bulatlat that they were also not in favor of the ruling, stressing that they want the primary suspect to have life imprisonment as punishment.

Nacalaban’s partner in Zamboanga del Sur, on the other hand, wanted the death penalty for the killer, according to Sandigan.

In 2018, a couple was sentenced to death by hanging in absentia after the murder of 29-year-old OFW Joanna Daniela Demafelis in Kuwait, whose body was discovered in a freezer in an abandoned apartment.

The female employer of another OFW in Kuwait, Jeanelyn Villavende, was also sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for killing the domestic worker in 2019, according to the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait. 

The suspect’s penalty in Nacalaban’s case is two years less compared to the 17-year-old boy responsible for killing OFW Jullebee Ranara in 2023, whose burnt remains were buried in a Kuwaiti desert. Because he was a minor, lesser penalties were given, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Read: Proposed deployment ban in Kuwait will not stop abuses vs OFWs – migrant group

Nacalaban’s sister also questioned the government’s policy of informing the families about the case, as the Nacalaban family in Cagayan de Oro only knew the development on social media. “We were not informed directly,” she said.

In his interview with reporters, Cacdac only mentioned that they were able to inform the partner and the child of the slain OFW.

Like many Filipino migrant workers, Nacalaban just wanted a better life for her family. This aspiration pushed her to work abroad. According to her sister, her first overseas work was in Jordan, where she spent two years working as a domestic helper before she flew to Kuwait in 2019.

Sandigan reminded the Philippine government of its responsibility to provide opportunities and decent jobs with livable wages so that no Filipinos would be forced to work abroad for better income and endure the inhumane treatment that may result in death. (DAA)

The post Group, kin slam 14-year jail time for OFW killer: ‘Not enough!’ appeared first on Bulatlat.