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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO and IME SORNITO
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Friday, March 2, 2018
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MANILA – A distant relative of slain overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis of Sara, Iloilo surfaced to deny recruiting the Ilongga to work in Kuwait.
According to Agnes Tuballes yesterday, she merely referred Demafelis to job placement agency Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc.
“Lumabas po ako para linawin ang issue, ‘yung iresponsableng news na ako po ay illegal recruiter. Kasi po ang impact po sa akin parang ako lumalabas na suspect,” said Tuballes.
Facing the media in Camp Crame in Quezon City, Tuballes said she sought the help of the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) so she could address the reports about her.
“Chinat ako ni Joanna. Sabi niya, Tita pwede mo ba akong tulungan gusto ko mag-abroad,” according to Tuballes. This was between December 2013 and January 2014, she said.
Tuballes said she referred Demafelis to the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc.
“Sabi ko doon ka mag-apply kasi doon free passport (processing), no placement fee, no salary deduction. Iyon po ang chat namin kaya siya napunta doon,” said Tuballes.
While she insisted she was not an employee of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc., she said she received P13,000 from the agency as referral fee.
Tuballes admitted she was working with a certain Kuwait-based Ara Midtimbang who asked her to look for OFW recruits. In her search for job placement agencies to refer workers to, they found Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc.
The agency deployed Demafelis to Kuwait in 2016. It ceased operating sometime after.
In Sara, Iloilo the Demafelis family welcomed the surfacing of Tuballes. Demafelis’ brother Joejet said they hoped this would hasten the probe.
He also said a sibling of Tuballes visited Joanna’s wake.
Addressing the media, Tuballes said, “Sana kinuha ninyo man lang ‘yung side ko bago ninyo ako pinalabas sa TV…Katulong din po ako, hindi ko ginusto na mamatay si Joanna doon. Never, never kong pinangarap na makadisgrasya ng tao.”
Demafelis was found dead in a freezer in the abandoned apartment of her Lebanese and Syrian employers in Kuwait on Feb. 9. Autopsy showed she was beaten repeatedly and may have died for over a year already.
“Nakikiramay po ako sa pamilya ni Joanna, at saka di ko rin po ginusto ‘yung nangyari. Sana kung pumunta kayo ng that time (when Joanna was missing) na ganon pala, andon na ako. Sana naagahan natin ang pag-detect kay Joanna, na ganoon na pala katagal ang pagkamatay niya. Pero wala din kayong ginawang aksyon para puntahan ako,” said Tuballes.
CIDG director Roel Obusan said Tuballes is not yet a suspect and for now is being considered a material witness in the ongoing investigation on Our Lady of Mount Carmel Global E-Human Resources, Inc.
Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look for the local recruiters and job placement agency of Demafelis following the arrest of her employers, Lebanese national Nader Essam Assaf and Syrian wife Mona Hassoun, last week.
Aguirre issued Department Order (DO) No.102 dated Feb. 26 directing NBI director Dante Gierran to do “case buildup over possible liabilities of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc.”
The foreign recruitment agency Demafelis was signed under was identified as Fadilah Farz Kaued Al Khodor Recruitment Office which is currently under the watch list of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration because of a pending case.
The Demafelis family said they looked for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Global E-Human Resources, Inc. after losing contact with her in 2016 but they found out that it had shut down.
Demafelis’ case prompted Duterte to ban the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait.
He also ordered an “audit” of places “where we deploy Filipinos and (where) our countrymen suffer brutal treatment and human derogation.”
Demafelis’ remains arrived in her hometown on Feb. 17. She will be buried tomorrow in Sara.
According to Joejet, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration promised to constantly update them on the investigation.
“Sila na lang ang bahala sa recruiter at sa agency ng kapatid ko,” he said. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
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