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BY CAROLYN JANE ABELLO
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Sunday, February 25, 2018
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Another suspect in OFW slay caught
ILOILO City – Her family wanted the death penalty for those guilty of killing Joanna Daniela Demafelis, the 29-year-old Ilongga domestic worker slain in Kuwait.
The Syrian wife of the Lebanese suspect in Demafelis’ death has been caught, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced last night.
“We have just been informed by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait that Mona Hassoun, wife of Nader Essam Assaf … is now in the custody of authorities in Damascus (Syria),” an article posted on the DFA’s website quoted Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano as saying.
Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, and his Syrian wife Mona Hassoun were Demafelis’ employers in Kuwait – the primary suspects in the death of the Filipino worker from Sara, Iloilo.
Demafelis was beaten to death and stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait. Her death triggered the Philippine ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to the Gulf state.
The announcement on Hassoun’s arrest came a day after Cayetano announced that Assaf was in the custody of Lebanese authorities.
With the two suspects now arrested, Cayetano assured that the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment “will follow President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to pursue justice for Demafelis.”
The Demafelis family has not yet been officially informed of the latest development as of press time.
Demafelis’ uncle Pablo, 52, said they get official updates on the manhunt for the suspects only from the DFA and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration.
Sought for comment last night on the arrest of Mona Hassoun, Pablo told Panay News they were glad the two suspects have been caught.
He said the family continued to be enraged by what happened to Demafelis and wanted the death penalty on the suspects if found guilty.
“From what we have gathered, the Syrian wife was really the one maltreating Joanna,” Pablo said in Hiligaynon.
“We know there is death penalty in Kuwait. That is what must be imposed on the killers,” he said.
He thanked the Philippine Embassy and the International Criminal Police Organization for tracking down the suspects.
Early yesterday, commenting on the arrest of Nader Essam Assaf, Pablo told this paper, “They must pay for what they did to Joanna. They must pay for their crime.”
Pablo said someone from the DFA informed him about the Lebanese suspect’s arrest at around 7 p.m. on Friday. He said they have not yet received an official update on the Syrian wife’s arrest.
The uncle said the family will be at peace only if the suspects are proven guilty and sentenced.
“’Pag buhay ang inutang, buhay din ang ang kabayaran,” Pablo said. “Indi lango-lango ang natabo sa hinablos namon. Kabuhi ang ginbawi nila.”
ON RECRUITERS
In a related development, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to summon the local recruiters of Demafelis.
Duterte made the order after the arrest of the Lebanese suspect, according to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.
“Duterte asked the NBI to summon them,” Roque said yesterday.
The Palace welcomed the arrest of the Lebanese suspect.
“We are thankful for the arrest but hoping that they be prosecuted and punished for Joanna’s murder,” Roque told reporters in a text message.
Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III also believes the recruitment agency of Demafelis must be held to account.
Her recruiters “will be accountable civilly or administratively, unless the Kuwaiti police have evidence to link them to the violent death of Joanna,” Bello said in a dzBB interview.
He added: “The Kuwaiti government must file murder charges against the suspects to show that they care about the Filipino workers in their country. Justice will be done.” (With Adrian Stewart Co/PN)
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