Lack of Funds Forces Liberian Burial in Philippines
The late Patricia Lisa Johnson
— As Family, however, wants government investigate cause of death
The family of the late Patricia Johnson and the government of Liberia have concluded that the deceased will be buried in the Philippines, where she died while attempting to enroll in a University.
Johnson’s lifeless body was discovered when a roving guard from her apartment smelled an unpleasant odor coming from her unit, according to the Philippines National Police report.
The investigation disclosed that during ocular investigation, it was noticed that the victim was wearing red underwear and no upper or lower garments.
The remains of Patricia Lisa Johnson will be buried in the Philippines due to a lack of funds from the family to repatriate her remains, according to Fatu Nyoun, the sister of the deceased.
Nyoun disclosed that the total cost of transporting the deceased body is US$10,000, but the family is unable to afford this amount. “She will just be buried there. We can’t do anything,” she said.
Known on social media as Lofa Queen, the deceased was the Chief Executive Officer of L&B Real Estate Management Inc., an online agency that finds apartments for clients.
According to Nyoun, Johnson left Liberia in June 2023 and traveled to Accra, Ghana, before traveling to the Philippines to process her school documents to enroll at a university.
“We asked the government to help us transport the dead body, but the government said [Patricia] did not travel through the proper procedure, so they cannot assist.
Nyoun added that the family held a meeting with authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to plead with the government to assist them in funding the repatriation of the deceased, but the ministry said because the deceased did not travel through the proper procedure, they are unable to help.
The public affairs department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there were meetings held with the family and that the government is incapacitated to sponsor the repatriation of the deceased but would assist with the investigation.
According to the Philippines National Police report, Patricia’s lifeless body was discovered when a roving guard of the apartment smelled an unpleasant odor coming from her unit, prompting them to report the incident.
“Investigation disclosed that during ocular investigation it was noticed that the victim was wearing red underwear and no upper and lower garments and in a sitting position behind the main door wherein it was already at the stage of decomposition. Accordingly, the victim was living alone based on accounts of the unit lessor, SOSO.”