Beheaded OFW’s remains arrive in PH

The remains of Antonio Espares, the overseas Filipino worker who was beheaded in Benghazi, Libya last month, arrived in Manila early Sunday morning. (Note: Earlier reports had mistakenly spelled the last name of the deceased as “Espares.”)

Espares’ remains arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) past 1 a.m. on Sunday and were met by his emotional relatives.

Espares, a construction worker, was kidnapped and beheaded by insurgents in Libya last July 15. His beheaded remains were found in a hospital on July 20.

Espares’ kidnappers initially negotiated with his company for a $160,000 ransom, but they received a call from the abductors on July 20 that referred them to a Benghazi hospital, according to Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose.

His beheaded body was found “in an advanced state of decomposition,” indicating that Espares may have been dead even while the negotiations were ongoing.