Dad seeks blood money for OFW son on death row in Saudi

Not satisfied with the legal aid the government is providing, the father of an overseas Filipino worker facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has appealed to the government to help him raise blood money that will save his son, an online news site reported. Jesus Zapanta claimed a lawyer for his son Joselito does not appear knowledgeable about the case and depends on another lawyer in Riyadh "who hasn’t been in touch." "I want the government to help me raise funds to pay blood money if that will save my son from execution," the elder Zapanta, a construction worker, said in an interview with the Union of Catholic Asian News. "I have spoken with the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government officials, but it seems nothing is being done," he added. The online news site reported that Joselito Zapanta, 31, was sentenced to death on April 13, for killing and stealing from his Sudanese landlord. He went to Riyadh in October 2008 to work as a tile setter. The militant migrant worker group Migrante claimed Joselito’s employer did not pay his salary for six months so he left and survived on part-time jobs. Joselito's father believes his son "fought to defend himself." Joselito phoned his family in May last year to say he could send only a little money for his two young children. The next the family heard was in June when a friend told them Zapanta had been badly beaten by his Sudanese landlord who had died in the dispute while trying to collect rent. Philippine officials assigned lawyers in both Manila and Riyadh to the case. But the elder Zapanta said the lawyer in Manila "seems not to have much information about the case and depends on another DFA lawyer in Riyadh who hasn’t been in touch." He said he hopes the sentence will at least be commuted to life imprisonment. For his part, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said Zapanta, with help from the Philippine government, had filed an appeal for clemency. He added government is “working quietly" and refraining from public discussion while the negotiations are in progress. — RSJ/LBG/HS, GMANews.TV