A Catholic Church leader in the Philippines called for justice for a female migrant worker who was reported killed by the son of her employer in Kuwait early this month.
“It is very sad, tragic news, a life is brutally, cruelly taken, it is inhuman, a crime,” said Bishop Ruperto Santos of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People.
“Jullebee Ranara would be at peace, at rest if justice is served,” said the prelate.
Ranara, a 35-year-old household worker, was allegedly killed by the 17-year-old son of her employer, whom she had described to her family as “cruel.”
The perpetrator has since been arrested and put under Kuwait police custody.
“She is a person, a human being, she came just to work, thinking of the welfare of her four children, dreaming of a better life for her family and she suffered,” said Bishop Santos.
“We pray for our [migrant workers] especially those in great difficulty and in dire need that in God’s mercy and power they will surpass all those things, be saved, and for a change of heart of their employers,” said the bishop.
The prelate called on the government to enhance the protection of migrant workers.
The Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers has earlier announced that charges have also been filed against the recruitment agencies that brough Ranara to Kuwait.
In a statement, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salen Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah condemned the killing of Ranara whose body was found in the desert last week.
