By Camille A. Aguinaldo
THE remains of an overseas Filipino worker murdered in South Korea was returned to his family in Iloilo on Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The DFA said factory worker Angelo Claveria, 34, was reported missing two years ago. But his body was only discovered last April inside a septic tank of a paint factory outside Seoul. His identity was confirmed the next month after DNA testing.
Investigators in South Korea said Mr. Claveria was believed to have been murdered by a Filipino co-worker, who is now being pursued in the Philippines.
DFA Director for Migrant Workers Affairs Iric Arribas personally conveyed the condolences of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano to Mr. Claveria’s family. DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration have provided assistance for the repatriation and burial of the OFW’s remains.
Meanwhile, about 22 OFWs from Kuwait who missed the amnesty program were brought home by the government, according to the DFA.
The repatriation of distressed workers in the Philippine Embassy shelter was among the conditions that the Philippines laid down prior to the signing of the labor agreement with Kuwait and the lifting of the deployment ban.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said the DFA would provide the OFWs P5,000 in assistance and free airfare in their transport to their home provinces. More workers will be repatriated in the coming weeks as 600 distressed OFWs remained in shelters in Kuwait.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR