Slain OFW Jullebee Ranara’s kin to seek damages

Jubellee Ranara. Courtesy by Ranara Family

The Philippine government will help the family of slain overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara claim monetary compensation from her Kuwaiti employer whose teenage son was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in jail for her murder.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) earlier said that a Kuwait appeals court had upheld the punishment handed down to the 17-year-old accused.

“The next recourse for the family of Jullebee Ranara is to help them in filing the civil action for damages,” DMW officer in charge Hans Cacdac told reporters Thursday.

He said the Migrant Workers Office in Kuwait would work with the Kuwaiti counsel “in filing a civil action for damages against the father of the convicted perpetrator,” adding that he and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) head Arnell Ignacio would discuss with Ranara’s family “the amount they will seek by way of damages.”

Just like in the criminal case, the Philippine government would also shoulder the expenses for the civil suit. “The family will not spend a single cent in the filing of the civil action,” Cacdac said.

The 35-year-old Ranara, a household worker, was raped and killed while her body was burned and dumped in the desert in January 2023.

The 17-year-old son of her employer was arrested within 24 hours of the discovery of her body.

In September last year, he was convicted by a Kuwait trial court and sentenced to a jail term of 16 years—15 years for murder and one year for driving without a license.

Ranara’s family had wanted a longer prison term but Cacdac said the Kuwaiti lawyer explained that 15 years was the maximum jail penalty under the country’s juvenile criminal law.

Her parents and brother were informed of the Kuwait appeals court’s ruling during a video conference on Wednesday night with officials of the DMW, Owwa, the labor attaché office in Kuwait and the case counsel. Talks on to lifting the ban

The DMW suspended the deployment of newly hired Filipino household workers to Kuwait in February 2023 due to the case of Ranara.

Kuwait responded by suspending entry and work visas for all Filipino new hires, with resident visas the only exception. Cacdac said that talks with their Kuwait counterparts about lifting the deployment ban would continue while the Ranara case progresses.

“Of course, the path to justice is very important to us and our discussion,” he replied when asked if the appellate court’s decision would affect negotiations.