Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 15) — The family of slain overseas Filipino worker in Kuwait Jullebee Ranara is calling for a higher punishment for her killer, who was convicted of murder by a juvenile court but the Department of Foreign Affairs said only an increase in damage claims could be appealed.
The 17-year-old son of Ranara’s Kuwaiti employer was sentenced to 15 years in prison and another year for driving without a license. But the OFW’s family said he should spend life in prison.
\”Hindi po sapat na ganon lang po ‘yung hustisya na natangap niya (The justice she received is not enough),\” Ranara’s mother Norlynda Cabiles told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Friday.
READ: ‘Sana makamit niya’: Mother of slain OFW in Kuwait seeks justice
The 35-year-old OFW was killed in January. Her body was found burnt and mangled in the Kuwaiti desert on Jan. 21.
Despite understanding that there are different laws in Kuwait, her brother Mark Reyes insisted that their family wants \”an eye for an eye,\” and is seeking life imprisonment for the murderer.
\”Fifteen years? Parang ang baba naman kasi buhay po tsaka grabe po ‘yung ginawa, sobra. May apat po siyang (Jullebee) anak na nandito. Hindi niya deserve ‘yung ganon,\” he said.
[Fifteen years? I think that’s not enough because she lost her life and what was done to her was too much. She has four children here. She did not deserve that.]
However, the DFA said it cannot appeal the decision of the Kuwaiti government, adding that the imprisonment sentence of 15 years is already the maximum for a minor in that country.
“Magaan man, yun ang nasa batas ng Kuwait kaya hindi na pwedeng hingin pa na ipaakyat yan,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told CNN Philippines’ Balitaan.
[Translation: Even if it’s light, that’s in Kuwait’s law, so it’s not possible to ask for a higher sentence.]
De Vega said they will be in touch with the embassy in Kuwaiti to see what else could be done in terms of claim in damages to the victim’s family.
DFA added that it is still waiting for a copy of the decision.
Marcos lauds PH, Kuwaiti efforts
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meanwhile welcomed the court’s ruling, as he commended the efforts of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, the Department of Migrant Workers, and Kuwaiti authorities.
“We hope that the appeal process will be conducted fairly, and justice will be served accordingly,” he wrote in a statement posted on social media.
The president visited the wake of Ranara in the Philippines in late January this year and vowed to offer all possible assistance to her bereaved family.
“I take comfort in thinking that Toots and Jullebee are looking down from heaven with smiles,” he said, referring to the late Migrant Workers Secretary Susan \”Toot\” Ople who died last month.
