DFA vows justice for slain OFW in Abu Dhabi

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday vowed to seek justice for the 30-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Abu Dhabi who had gone missing for 10 months before she was found dead recently.

“[The] UAE (United Arab Emirates) police arrested a murder suspect. A colleague of Ms Daynolo confessed to the crime. We’ll leave no stone unturned for justice,” Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.

Mary Anne Daynolo left Manila for Abu Dhabi to work as a receptionist in February 2018. She was supposed to return to the Philippines in July 2020 for a vacation. She was reported missing on March 4, 2020, by one of her siblings who also works in the UAE.

The DFA said the UAE police conducted a full-blown investigation, which led to the arrest of the murder suspect who eventually confessed to the crime.

The suspect, a Ugandan national identified only as Paul, is under police custody, it added. He reportedly stabbed Daynolo in the neck inside the hotel employees’ locker room and hid her body in the hotel.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the suspect allegedly implicated two unidentified accomplices. “They should also be caught and brought to justice,” he said.

Malacañang on Monday vowed to pursue justice for the killing of Daynolo.

“The President’s promise is to give justice for the death of our fellow countryman Mary Anne Daynolo,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said. —With reports from Tina G. Santos, Leila B. Salaverria and Dona Z. Pazzibugan