Slain OFW’s remains set to arrive from Slovakia

MANILA, Philippines — The remains of the slain Filipino worker in Slovakia are expected to arrive next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Quoting Ambassador to Vienna Ma. Cleofe Natividad, the DFA said the repatriation of the remains of Henry John Acorda is tentatively scheduled on June 13.

Acorda, 36, died last week from injuries after he was brutally assaulted by a local man in Bratislava after he tried to stop him from harassing a Filipino companion.

The suspect is now in detention and facing manslaughter charges.

The DFA expressed its appreciation to Slovakia for offering to bring home the remains of Acorda, who worked as financial analyst there.

The DFA, quoting a report from the Philippine embassy in Vienna, said the family of Acorda has accepted the offer of the Slovakian government to repatriate his remains next week.

 “We would like to thank the government of Slovakia for its kind gesture of offering to bring home our late kababayan and reuniting him with his loved ones here in the Philippines,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.

Natividad said the Slovakian government has offered to provide an aircraft to carry the remains and personal effects of Acorda and his mother and two siblings.

Slovakian Prime Minister Peter Pelligrini has assured the Philippines that justice would be served for the death of Acorda.