Palace: Arroyo may appeal for OFW on death row in KSA

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may appeal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) authorities to spare the life of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) sentenced to death for killing and stealing from his Sudanese landlord in June 2009. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Charito Planas on Saturday said Mrs. Arroyo had already made appeals to spare the lives of other Filipinos abroad who had been in death row. “Maari niyang gawin sapagka’t nagawa na niya sa marami at ilang buhay ang nasagip niya ... yan ang taong may puso at pagmamahal sa ating mga kababayan (She is likely to do that because she already did so for other Filipinos abroad with death penalties. She is a president with a heart and love for Filipinos)," she said on government-run dzRB radio. Planas added that President Arroyo had not only appealed for the lives of OFWs sentenced to death, but also had them repatriated. Last Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the male OFW was meted the capital punishment last April 13 for stealing from and killing his Sudanese landlord. The DFA said legal counsel provided by the Philippine Embassy had assisted the OFW during his trial and until this time. Philippine Third Secretary and Vice Consul Roussel Reyes said the convicted OFW is being visited by Embassy representatives in the Malaz Central Jail and that it also continuously consults with the Riyadh Prosecution and Investigation Office and the Riyadh Grand Court and frequently inquired on the status of the case. “The OFW has signified his intention to appeal and was given by the court 30 days to file an appeal. His lawyer is preparing the appeal," the DFA said in its website. The Embassy said it will also schedule a meeting with the victim’s family through the Sudanese Embassy in Riyadh to settle the private rights aspect of the case. It is also working with the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs in providing updates to the OFW’s family. “A native of Mexico, Pampanga, the OFW was brutally beaten by his Sudanese landlord when he refused to the demands to pay rent in advance, since his payment is not yet due. He fought back and accidentally killed the Sudanese by hitting the victim with a hammer. The OFW also admitted to the police that he stole the Sudanese’s wallet and mobile phone, the latter he gave to a Filipino woman," the DFA said. The woman was also imprisoned for harboring the convicted OFW, but was already repatriated in January 2010 after serving her jail sentence. — LBG, GMANews.TV