DMW on Ranara’s autopsy report: ‘No official documentation yet’

January 27, 2023 - Friday 7:01 PM by Caryl Gonzales

Photo courtesy: Department of Migrant Workers

After Kuwaiti media reported that the brutally killed overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara was raped and impregnated, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) asserted there is no official documentation yet.

In a press briefing on Friday, DMW Secretary Sunan Ople revealed that she personally had not seen any official documentation— the main reason they want to discuss the elements of the criminal case with Kuwaiti lawyers, with the Philippine ambassadors, and Migrant Workers and Overseas (MWO) senior staff.

Ople explained this is to have a “firmer understanding of the legal battle that lies ahead,” and they can explain properly and objectively to the bereaved family.

DMW shared that Ranara started expressing her fears over her employer’s son last January 20, and her family could no longer contact her the next day.

The Kuwait media recently reported that the 35 years old OFW was found dead in the middle of the Al-Sami desert on Saturday, January 21, where her remains appeared to be burned and abandoned.

It was also reported that she was raped and pregnant.

The migrant workers' secretary also revealed that Ranara’s family had requested a re-autopsy of her remains to be done by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) once her body arrived in the country.

Ranara’s remains would be repatriated to the country at around 9:30 p.m. on January 27.

However, her bereaved family requested that the body’s arrival in the country be treated as a private event.

The 17-year-old son of the slain OFW’s employer is the “primary suspect,” said the DMW.

The agency added he was detained by Kuwaiti authorities, and no other suspects were being investigated in relation to Ranara's death.

Meanwhile, the recruitment agencies behind Ranara’s deployment face a “recruitment violation case and disciplinary action,” DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olaila said.

The local recruitment agencies identified are Catalist International Manpower Services Company and Platinum International Office, which the DMW is currently looking into.

In terms of banning the deployment in Kuwait, Ople said they would discuss some additional safeguards, including stricter accreditation and evaluation of employers and the employer and recruitment agencies.

Recently, the agency has not considered suspending the deployment ban to Kuwait. Instead, they looked at additional safeguards and reforms to ensure workers bound for Kuwait are better protected.”

On the other hand, Kuwait Ambassador to the Philippines Musaed Saleg Althwaikh wrote a letter to the slain OFW’s mother, assuring their family that they would give justice and punish the suspect accordingly.

In data shared by DMW to the media, around 73% of the 268,100 OFWs in Kuwait as of December 2022 are female domestic workers.