After Vecina, 57 more OFWs still on death row

MANILA, Philippines - Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) May Vecina’s reunion with her family on Tuesday after a year on Kuwait’s death row is definitely another feather in the cap for the Arroyo administration. But the current number of OFWs facing the death penalty abroad means the government still has a lot of work to do. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the number of overseas Filipinos on death row stands at 57, down from 59 after the commutation of the death sentence of an OFW in Taiwan and the reversal of another in Malaysia. Last May 2, Taiwan’s Court of Appeals gave Cecilia Alcaraz a reprieve when it commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment. Alcaraz, a tutor, was sentenced to die by firing squad for killing a Taiwanese national. The second to be removed from death row was Armah Candelario, who was convicted by a lower court in Malaysia of trafficking drugs in August 2008, but was acquitted on June 25 by the Malaysian High Court. Candelario was apparently used as a “drug mule" by a drug syndicate, but the court found "reasonable doubt" that she knew the contents of a leather travel bag a friend had asked her to deliver to another individual. Advocacy groups such as Migrante say the Vecina, Alcaraz and Candelario cases show that with vigorous assistance from the Philippine government, the execution of OFWs could be avoided. In the case of Alcaraz, the commutation of her sentence elicited criticism from some Taiwanese groups against the alleged interference of the Manila Economic Cooperation Office (MECO), the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, in court proceedings. In Malaysia, the Philippine Embassy was known to have extended legal and psychological support for Candelario. Vecina, a mother of two from North Cotabato province, was found guilty of killing her employer’s seven-year-old son Salem Sulaiman al-Otaib on Jan. 6, 2007. But her death sentence was commuted by Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah early last year after a succession of representations by Vice President Noli De Castro and later, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Last June 24, the 30-year-old OFW received a pardon from the Kuwaiti ruler for good behavior during her stay at the Kuwaiti Central Jail. Executions DFA records show that a total of 87 Filipinos were placed on death row since January 2006. One has been acquitted, 29 have had their sentences commuted, and 13 have returned home after serving their prison sentences. DFA officials would not provide any figures on the number of Filipinos executed abroad. Migrante International said its tally under the Arroyo administration was six, the latest of whom was Jenifer Bidoya a.k.a. Venancio Ladion, a native of Zamboanga Del Norte province, who was executed in Jeddah last October for killing a Saudi man. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. says most of the 57 remaining cases involve offenses such as rape, drug smuggling, and homicide in China, Malaysia, Kuwait, Brunei, United States and Saudi Arabia. Of the total, 48 are facing death for drug-related charges, mostly in Chinese jails. China gives a two-year reprieve for foreign nationals with death sentences, giving them a chance at commutation for good behavior. Other OFWs in jail The DFA could not give a specific number of Filipinos languishing in jails abroad, but data previously released by Migrante International placed the total at almost 5,000 Filipinos all over the world, particularly in several Middle Eastern countries. According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), a total of 174 Filipinos are currently detained on drug-related charges abroad. PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago said 158 of the Filipinos involved in drug cases are detained in different parts of China. DFA and Migrante have reported that most of the cases are minor ones. These include alcohol-related offenses, gambling and illicit affairs, which are considered crimes in most Mideastern countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia, home to some 1.2 million Filipinos. Action taken “We don’t spare any effort to help our Filipinos abroad which is why the DFA does whatever it can to assist them, with the help of the Department of Labor and the Office of the Vice President. We go the full gamut," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said in a statement on Tuesday. The DFA has also actively campaigned for the abolition or at least a moratorium of the death penalty in countries with jailed Filipinos. In a separate statement, Vice President De Castro said Tuesday that the DFA and Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya are now securing tanazuls or affidavits of forgiveness from the families of the victims of Jakatia Pawa and Bienvenido Espino, two OFWs who are currently on death row in Kuwait. “In Kuwait, the tanazul will allow the offender to be freed from his private obligation to the victim. Only the Amir (King) of Kuwait can grant a pardon which will free a convicted offender from his public obligation," the DFA said in a previous statement. [See="http://www.gmanews.tv/story/162122/Pinoy-on-death-row-in-Kuwait-gets-pardon-from-murder-victims-family" target="_blank"> Pinoy on death row in Kuwait gets pardon from murder victim's family] Kuwait’s Shariah court hears the case on two aspects – private and public – in case of death or injury to a victim. The private aspect of a case can be addressed with the signing of a tanazul by the heirs of the victim or the victim himself. The signing of a tanazul may or may not influence the court’s decision on the public aspect of a case. There are cases, for instance, when the family of a murder victim forgives the killer but the court may still call for the execution of the offender when the crime was attended by extraordinary circumstances, such as mutilation or rape. Espino was convicted for killing fellow OFW Jhiyas Gumapac in Kuwait in October 2007. He allegedly stabbed Gumapac 33 times over a laptop serving as collateral for his loan.[See: Spurned suitor stabs Pinay 33 times in Kuwait] On the other hand, Pawa of Zamboanga Del Norte was sentenced to death on April 13, 2008 for allegedly killing her employer’s 22-year-old daughter. Pawa has denied the allegation and said one of the family members might have committed the crime. The Kuwaiti Court of Appeals, however, still upheld her death sentence last month. - GMANews.TV