Palace welcomes conviction of Joanna Demafelis’ employer in Syria

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang welcomed Tuesday the decision of the Syrian District Criminal Court that found the employer of slain overseas Filipina worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis guilty of murder.

The remains of the 29-year-old Demafelis were found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait in February 2018, which prompted a deployment ban of OFWs in the Gulf State.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he “haven’t read or heard about it.”

“But coming from you then we welcome that news, which means justice has been meted to the culprits, to the killers,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

READ: Employer of slain OFW Joanna Demafelis found guilty in Syria

The DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs identified Demafelis’ employer as Syrian national Mouna Ali Hassoun, adding Hassoun’s co-accused, her Lebanese husband Nader Essam Assaf, was also charged with murder in Lebanon.  /muf