Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MANILA: The murder of a Filipino employee whose body was found in the desert in Kuwait has sent a shockwave through the Philippines, where a two-week vigil could begin after her remains return to the country on Friday.
According to Arab News, Jullebee Ranara was one of more than 268,000 overseas Filipino employees, mostly women worked as domestic helpers in Kuwait.
Her charred remains were discovered in a desert. Kuwaiti media reported she was pregnant and subjected to blunt-force trauma. Kuwaiti police have arrested a 17-year-old son of her employer on murder charges.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople has declined
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople has declined to comment on the causes of Ranara’s death until after the National Bureau of Investigation had conducted an autopsy.
She said, “There are many speculations about the cause of the death and its motives. The family has requested an autopsy,”.
“What is important is the Kuwaiti police acted quickly. The primary suspect is under the control of the police, and we are closely monitoring the case.”
A vigil for Ranara could begin after her remains are repatriated on Friday.
“We are hopeful that her wake could start by Sunday,” Ople told reporters.
“According to the husband, they have given two weeks to give time for friends and relatives in a province to pay their respect.”
News of her death was “dreadful” for former OFWs like Maria Nida Dizon.
“What they did to her is inhuman. She went Kuwait to work, carrying every hope for a better life in her suitcase, only to meet a gruesome death,” she told Arab News.
