Pacquiao Fights Back Tears Over Fate of Pinay Found in Freezer

MANILA – Senator Manny Pacquiao became emotional Wednesday as he talked about the plight of a Filipino who was killed by her employer in Kuwait. 

Pacquiao, who promised to help the family of killed domestic worker Joanna Demafelis, said he feels the pain of the OFW families because he too came from poverty. 

“Galing kasi ako sa hirap, Mr. Secretary, at ‘yung paghihirap ng mga mahihirap na tao, nararamdaman ko ‘yun,” he said, pausing slightly as he fought back tears.

“Pati ari-arian sinangla nila para lang maka-abroad… Siyempre proud ang magulang kasi naka-abroad ang anak nila. Mababayaran yung mga utang. Tapos ang sinapit ng anak nila nawala na ang pagasa nila sa buhay. Hindi ko mapigilan sarili ko dahil doon ako galing. Si Manny Pacquiao naranasan matulog sa kalsada.”

The boxing champion-turned-politician asked the authorities in-charge of the OFWs welfare to do what they can in order to bring justice to the domestic workers who died at the hands of their employers.

The body of Demafelis was found stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait on February 9. Her body bore bruises and a broken hipbone. 

Demafelis’s slay is just one in a series of deaths of Filipino migrants in Kuwait that angered President Rodrigo Duterte and promoted him to implement a employment ban in the gulf country.

(Source: ABS-CBN.com)