Pardons by Saudi King spark jailed OFWs' hopes for release

Recent news of the King of Saudi Arabia granting royal pardon to prisoners jailed for petty crimes and offenses has buoyed the hopes of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in prison to be included in the pardon list. “Upon hearing the news, the 79 OFWs who have been in jail at Malaz Central Jail in Riyadh expressed their excitement and hope that their names will be included in the application for pardons," said the Middle East chapter of migrant workers group Migrante International in a statement on Monday. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah had earlier issued royal pardons to some prisoners who do not pose any threat to public security or order, based on an announcement (http://www.saudiembassy.net/latest_news/news12110904.aspx) posted on the website of the Saudi embassy in the United States. According to the group’s regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona, most of the 79 OFWs are currently detained at Malaz Central Jail in Riyadh for such petty crimes as illegal possession of liquor, gambling, absconding, and some in violation of the customary laws of the host country. Monterona cited the case of OFW Arnulfo Alcantara, who has been in jail for three months now. Alcantara has expressed hopes that the Philippine Consulate in Saudi Arabia will waste no time in applying for the release of jailed OFWs under the royal pardons granted by the King. “Being in jail for a crime one did not actually commit is already injustice; staying long for an uncertain time in jail is an additional injustice," said the 45-year-old Alcantara who was arrested by Mutawa, Saudi’s cultural police, along with three others in October 2009 for alleged illegal possession of liquor, which they subsequently denied saying they have been framed up. Monterona said the royal pardon for petty crimes is an opportunity for the Philippine post in the Kingdom to work for the release of OFWs languishing in different jails in Saudi Arabia, who now number about a thousand in various jails according to the group’s records. “Though it will mean a big task for the (Philippine) post in Saudi Arabia, it will certainly help speed up the release of jailed OFWs, many of whom have already completed their sentence," Monterona said. Monterona added that a number of the 79 OFWs in the Malaz Central Jail said they have been jailed for more than six months and others, for over a year now. Jail terms for petty crimes, according to the Migrante regional coordinator, range from six months to one year of imprisonment. Monterona, however, scored the Philippine posts in the Middle East for not having a centralized data of OFWs in jail, saying that the group’s requests for updates have yet to be granted. Earlier, migrant workers' groups worked for the release of OFW Jonathan Bigas, a limousine driver who was imprisoned in Saudi when one of his passengers was caught with a package of ‘shabu’. Bigas’ original sentence was one-year imprisonment, but the jail term was stretched to two years and four months as he had no money to pay for his one-way ticket. Bigas was finally repatriated on November 19 last year after seven years in Saudi, including his two-year incarceration. Migrante-Middle East estimates that there are about 3,000 OFWs in various jails in the Middle East. – Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV