In tears, family meets remains of OFW Joanna at Iloilo airport

In grief, the family of OFW Joanna Demafelis welcomed her remains early Saturday morning at the Iloilo International Airport.

Members of Joanna's family broke down in tears in front of the crate containing her remains, as they offered a short, solemn prayer for the repose of her soul.

The flight carrying her remains touched down shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday from Manila.

A GMA News report said that Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Hans Leo Cadac accompanied Joanna's remains on the flight.

In assuring the grieving family of justice, Cacdac said that the OWWA welfare officer who did not respond properly to Joanna's pleading for assistance last year, has been recalled from her post to face an investigation.

Also, Cacdac said that authorities, in cooperation with the Interpol, already have leads on the whereabouts of the couple that employed Joanna.

Joanna's body was found stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait. Her employers, a Syrian and Lebanese couple fled Kuwait after killing Joanna. Authorities believed that her body had been stuffed in the freezer for a year before it was found.

Meanwhile, from the Iloilo airport, Joanna's remains will be brought to Ahoy town to a funeral parlor. 

Joanna's body will be taken to her hometown in Sara, and based on the family's initial plan, a two-week wake is scheduled to allow Joanna's relatives and friends pay their last respects. —LBG, GMA News