MANILA — Hong Kong authorities are looking into the "decomposing body" of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was found floating near a pier in the special Chinese administrative region earlier this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday.

Relatives of the OFW, a household helper, asked authorities to keep the incident "a little private," DFA Assistant Secretary Paul Raymond Cortez told Radyo630.

“Requested po ng pamilya to keep it a little private,kung kaya't hindi po nare-release yung pangalan ng namatay at yung employer po,” he said.

“Nakausap po natin yung employer and sabi po, they'll do everything para maiuwi ng mabilis yung katawan po ng ating kababayan,pati na rin po yung sweldo, gratuity or end of service benefits,” he said.

Joggers first saw the rotting corpse on July 13, the DFA official said.

“Mga alas-6 po ng umaga, may nakita pong katawan na lumulutang-lutang sa may pier,” he said.

“They tried to fish out yung katawan kasi parang na entangle po dahil sa mga barko-barko. Noong nakita yung katawan medyo na decomposed na po,” he said.

“In-open na rin po for post mortem examination para matukoy kung ano po ang nagyari sa kababayan po natin,” he added.

The Philippine government has “full trust” that investigations related to the incident are “detailed and not jeopardized,” Cortez said.

“Alam nyo naman po sa diplomasya, we put our trust na lahat ng gagawin ng host country will be up to our expectation bilang isang migrant community, building relations with other the host government,” he said.

“Syempre kailangan po natin ang lahat ng kasagutan para maibsan man lang ng konti ang nararamdaman ng pamilya at nang maiuwi ang labi ng ating kababayan,” he said.

The OFW's remains will be transported back to the Philippines as soon as the case is closed and a death certificate has been issued in Hong Kong, he said.

In May 2023, an OFW died in Hong Kong after falling off a window she was cleaning.

• Filipino worker in Hong Kong dies after falling off window