A resolution was filed at the House of Representatives urging it to look into the “tragic and suspicious” death of 35-year-old Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Dafnie Nacalaban in Kuwait.
The Nacalabans are constituents of Cagayan de Oro second district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.
In Resolution 2151, the Mindanao lawmaker said his OFW constituent has died under “suspicious circumstances.”
Rodriguez said Nacalaban was employed in Kuwait as a household service worker since December 2019. He said in October last year, her employer reported her missing.
Three months later, last Dec. 31, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that the OFW’s body was found buried in the yard of her employer’s home in Saad Al-Abdullah, Jahra, Kuwait.
“It was reported that the suspect in her killing was said to have also killed his Filipina girlfriend a few months earlier,” Rodriguez said.
“As a sign of her dedication to building a brighter future for her loved ones, Dafnie Nacalaban had planned to come home in December 2024 to live with her family and construct a house,” he said.
The lawmaker pointed out that his constituent’s “premature and tragic passing brings to light the dangers many OFWs, especially those in vulnerable circumstances like household workers, suffer.”
He added that what happened to Nacalaban was “not an isolated incident, as previous reports of abuse, maltreatment and death of OFWs abroad continue to surface, demanding immediate and sustained government action.”
The Mindanao lawmaker noted that in Kuwait in particular, Filipinos workers have to endure harsh and inhumane treatment from employers, prompting the government at one time to suspend deployment there of OFWs until employment conditions improved.
“We urge the Kuwaiti government to conduct an exhaustive and an impartial investigation of the death of Dafnie Nacalaban, and to offer better employment terms for our OFWs,” he said.
Rodriguez condoled with OFW’s common-law husband Bonifacio Daculos, their 14-year-old daughter, and the Nacalaban clan in Barangay Dansolihon, Cagayan de Oro. He assured them of his commitment to pursue justice.
He has also spoken to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac, who informed him of the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for full assistance and support to be given to Nacalaban’s family.
Cacdac also visited the late OFW’s husband and daughter, and has assured them that all costs for repatriation, funeral, psychosocial, financial, livelihood, and educational assistance shall be shouldered by the national government.
The DMW likewise hired lawyers who are in close coordination with Kuwaiti authorities to monitor the release of police investigation results, until the prosecution, trial and delivery of justice for Dafnie Nacalaban and their family.
Rodriguez thanked President Marcos and Cacdac for the concern, support and assistance extended to his constituents.
Rodriguez seeks House probe of suspicious OFW death in Kuwait
