'HEADS WILL ROLL' Bello orders probe on ‘inaction’ over Demafelis case
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Monday said he has ordered an investigation on the alleged inaction of Philippine officials on the case of Joanna Daniela Demafelis, the Filipina whose body was found in a freezer in an unoccupied apartment unit in Kuwait.
At a press conference announcing the deployment ban in Kuwait, Bello said he has asked the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to conduct the investigation.
"There will be heads that will roll in the POEA," he said. "May mga madi-dismiss, may mga maiimbestiga, and pending on the investigation, they will be placed under preventive suspension."
Bello bristled after he was informed by Demafelis' sisters in the Philippines that they reported to the POEA and OWWA that they lost contact with her a year ago.
"I have asked OWWA and POEA to conduct an investigation, identify kung sino 'yung mga lintik na wel-of (welfare officers) at tsaka 'yung lintik na labor attache din kasi kung mapatunayan na ni-report sa kanila, hindi inaksyunan 'yung kanilang ni-report, then welcome back sa kanila dito."
He added that recruitment agencies responsible for deploying Filipino workers maltreated or killed in their host countries will also have their licenses suspended from now on.
"We also gave a directive to Administrator [Bernard] Olalia to cause the cancellation or suspension of agencies which are shown to have deployed OFWs who are later maltreated, or abused, or victims ng lahat ng klase ng pagmamalabis," Bello said.
Missing sister
According to Joyce and Jessica, siblings of Demafelis, they first attempted to contact their sister's recruitment agency, Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Incorporated, after they lost contact with her on November 2016 — the same month the employer of Demafelis, a Lebanese man, fled Kuwait for Lebanon with his Syrian wife for charges related to fake checks.
Joyce and Jessica traveled to the listed address of the agency in Malate, Manila, but were informed by a security guard that the agency had shuttered.
Undeterred, the siblings approached the POEA in January 2017 and were directed to give details about Demafelis, including her name, the name of her agency, and recruiter to help the agency look for her records.
"Tapos sinabi sa 'min ng POEA, punta po kayo ng OWWA. Tapos nung una po, sinabi muna sa amin ng POEA, binigay po sa 'min yung telephone number, 'yung pangalan, tawag-tawagan na lang namin, fa-follow-up daw namin," Joyce said.
They were then directed to OWWA, where they were asked for the same details along with an account from Joyce.
Both sisters said they felt demeaned by the treatment they received in the hands of the officer assigned to them, and the lack of concrete action they saw from the government agencies. Neither could remember the name of their contact, but said they could recall the officer by sight.
Demands of investigation
Labor Undersecretary and POEA OIC Bernard Olalia said the private recruitment agency was still licensed when Demafelis was deployed in May 2014 but lost their license in 2016 due to a recruitment violation case.
"Dahil po siguro cancelled yung license ng ating recruitment agency, ni-refer ito sa OWWA for whatever appropriate action," Olalia said.
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the complaints were transmitted to welfare officers in Kuwait on February 28, 2017 to allow them to look for the Kuwaiti counterpart of the OCW's agency.
"There was a follow-up ng March 2017 to the welfare officers ng Kuwait, and the welfare officers came back to us with the information na hindi na operational 'yung Kuwait agency, at hindi na ma-locate si Joanna at that stage," he said.
Cacdac said the way the OWWA officer supposedly handled the siblings went against protocols.
"Hindi siya problema. And our people all are trained to engage clients and treat clients fairly and humanely. Kaya't titingnan din namin, ayon din sa directive ni Sec. Bello, titingnan din namin kung sino itong mga empleyado namin na sumagot ng ganitong klase na sa hindi nararapat yun," he said.
The family of Demafelis will receive death and burial benefits, livelihood assistance, and financial assistance. They will also receive repatriation assistance once officials finish performing autopsies on her remains.
One of her siblings will be invited to accompany the government team to oversee the repatriation of Demafelis. —KBK, GMA News
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