ILOILO City – The remains of the Cabatuan, Iloilo native killed in South Korea were set to arrive in the province today.
That Angelo Claveria was coming home lifeless filled his family with sorrow, said his sister Jeanette.
“Sobra gid nga kasubo [ang nabatyagan namon], ilabi na gid ang amon nanay, kay makapauli sia (Claviera) nga skeletal na lang,” Jeanette said.
Citing information from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Region 6, Jeanette said the remains will arrive at the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan at 9:20 a.m. via flight PR 2141.
Jeanette said they have no other choice but to accept what happened and continue to seek justice for his death.
“Nagapasalamat gid kami sa mga nagbulig sa amon kay at last makapauli na ang remains sang amon utod … bisan kalawig kag kadamo sang proseso ang amon ginpang-agyan,” she said.
The Claverias were natives of Barangay Rizal Ilaud, Cabatuan.
Claveria’s mother Angelita earlier asked OWWA Region 6 to speed up the repatriation of the remains.
Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, special assistant to President Rodrigo Duterte, was expected to visit Claveria’s wake today.
Malacañang, through Go, promised last week to help the family expedite the body’s return to the Philippines.
Jeanette said they will reiterate with Go their request for legal assistance from the government.
“Kon kami lang indi gid namon makaya (We cannot deal with the legalities on our own),” she said.
For now the family gets updates on the investigation into Claveria’s death from the Korean media, Jeanette said.
Another overseas Filipino worker had been tagged as person of interest.
The South Korean police believed the suspect was already in the Philippines but were still collecting more evidence that would firm up their suspicion, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul Hernandez had said.
Korean authorities sought help from the Philippine National Police and the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, in their search for the suspect, Jeanette said, citing a report on The Korea Times.
According to Jeanette, they intend to lay Claveria to rest at the Cabatuan public cemetery at 2 p.m. on June 1.
Jeanette, an overseas worker in Bahrain, went home to the Philippines for Claveria’s funeral. She was set to head back to Bahrain on June 3.
In April, the skeletal remains of Claveria were found in a septic tank of a water purifier plant in Hwaseong city, Gyeonggi province – more than two years since he went missing in January 2016.
Claveria went to South Korea in July 2014 to work as a metal cutter. He was last in touch with his family in December 2015.
His family reached out to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Consular Office – Iloilo on Feb. 20 this year to help them determine his whereabouts.
It appeared that Claveria and his killer were acquaintances, if not friends, said Hernandez.
Hernandez declined to name the suspect “so as not to preempt the ongoing investigation of the South Korean police.”/PN
