Suspect in OFW Dafne Nacalaban case confesses to crime

The suspect in the death of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Dafne Nacalaban has admitted to the crime, according to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac.

At a news forum on Saturday, 18 January, Cacdac stated that more details would be disclosed once the DMW receives the official police report.

“There are various accounts regarding the prime suspect’s background, so we will await the complete police report,” said Cacdac.

The suspect, a Kuwaiti national, has been taken into custody, along with his wife, father, and younger sibling according to the DMW secretary.

Nacalaban had been working in Kuwait for five years. She reportedly left her first employer before her second employer filed a report in October last year, stating the OFW was missing or had absconded.

On 31 December, her remains were found in a decomposed state in a Kuwaiti national’s backyard after the suspect was turned over by his brother. The perpetrator also had a previous criminal record.

Following the case of Nacalaban and the death of Jenny Alvarado, whose remains were mistakenly repatriated to the Philippines after she allegedly died from suffocation due to coal smoke inhalation, a ban on the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait is now being considered.

Tighter rules and requirements in the deployment of Filipino migrant workers in the country are also for consideration.

“If, upon our evaluation, suspending the deployment will help, we will do that. But we also have to consider our countrymen who are safely employed, and we must weigh the opportunities available to them,” Cacdac said.

During the kapihan held on Friday, 18 January at the Manila Hotel, Cacdac also added that the agency is monitoring the efficacy of existing restrictions in deploying workers to Kuwait.

“First-time domestic workers are no longer allowed, there’s a whitelisting of agencies, pre-departure briefings, and monitoring systems. We are closely studying whether these measures are sufficient. We are also ready to work with the Senate and the House on this matter,” said Cacdac.

There are around 215,000 OFWs in Kuwait. To date, around 6,000 Filipino workers have been deployed to the country under the restriction of employing workers with prior experience as domestic workers.