DMW building. File photo / ABC
The “heavily decomposed” body of a Filipino woman who had been reported missing for two months in Kuwait was finally found in the house of a Kuwaiti citizen, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Thursday.
Migrant Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that Kuwaiti authorities had arrested a “prime suspect” although it was unclear if that person was the employer of Dafnie Nacalaban.
READ: OFW involved in death of Kuwaiti child ‘an isolated case’
The overseas Filipino worker (OFW) had been in Kuwait for five years and was planning to fly back to the Philippines for Christmas to surprise her family.
Based on local news reports, Nacalaban had been missing since October before her remains were found on Dec. 31.
No timeline yet
“The timeline of when exactly the person was killed has not yet been established. It is still unclear if the person arrested is their employer, but an individual has been apprehended, and they are the prime suspect in the death,” Cacdac said in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
He added that the relationship between the suspect and the victim has yet to be clarified. But according to Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), it was the brother of the suspect who reported the location of Nacalaban’s body.
“We have a lawyer closely monitoring the case and coordinating with the Kuwaiti prosecution to ensure that the case is tried, prosecuted and that justice is served,” De Vega said.
Both the DMW and the DFA are also working closely with Kuwaiti authorities in the investigation and for the return to the country of the OFW’s remains.
Ranara case
The discovery of Nacalaban’s body came nearly two years after the DMW reported on Jan. 23, 2023, the death in Kuwait of Jullebee Ranara, a 35–year-old OFW whose burned body was found in the desert after she was reported missing the day before.
Reports indicated that her head had been smashed open after being run over by a vehicle twice. Kuwaiti media cited an autopsy report saying that Ranara had been raped and that she was pregnant when she was killed.
Two days after the discovery of the OFW’s body, Turki Ayed Al-Azmi, the 17-year-old son of her employer, was apprehended and detained by the Kuwaiti police as the prime suspect in her death.
On Jan. 27, 2023, Ranara’s remains arrived in the country. An avid Tiktok user with over 42,300 followers, she posted her final video—dancing to a remix of Bonnie Bailey’s “Ever After”—just two days before her disappearance.
During a Senate hearing the following month, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva noted that a day before she was found dead, Ranara had spoken to her parents about the “cruelty” she was experiencing at the hands of Al-Azmi. Ranara even said he had threatened her with an ice pick, Villanueva said.
Her murder prompted the DMW to temporarily stop processing the applications of first-time OFWs bound for Kuwait. At the same time, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior also suspended the issuance of all types of entry visas for Filipinos.
On Sept. 14, 2023, Al-Azmi was convicted by a Kuwait trial court for Ranara’s murder and sentenced to 16 years—15 years for murder and one year for driving without a license. The OFW’s family had wanted a longer prison term but a Kuwaiti lawyer explained that 15 years was the maximum jail penalty under the country’s juvenile criminal law. —WITH INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ