DFA exec: 'P20-M blood money didn't pass through DFA'

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday denied receiving P20 million from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for "blood money" for the families of three Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) killed in Saudi Arabia in 2006. The denial came a day after former PCSO General Manager Rosario Uriarte claimed that Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos "personally received" the blood money. "I did not personally receive the P20 million from the PCSO... Wala akong natanggap maski isa sa P20 million," Conejos said in a press conference on Friday. What Conejos knew about was that the PCSO issued a P15-million manager's check or P4,995,000 each for the families of the three slain OFWs. The OFWs were said to have been killed by their fellow OFWs in Saudi Arabia in 2006. Seven suspects were originally charged with murder but only three were convicted and received death sentences. During Friday's press conference, Conejos said the check did not pass through the DFA but were personally handed over by PCSO officials to the families themselves. Conejos said on May 13, 2010, Uriarte called him to talk about the mode of payment for the blood money and explained how the money could be turned over to the relatives of the victims. "[But] PCSO mismo ang nagbigay sa family. My staff [only] witnessed the signing [of the turn over of checks]," Conejos said. He claimed having no idea why Uriarte said the blood money was P20 million when the manager's checks issued only totaled to P15 million. Asked why the PCSO-issued checks amounted to just P4,995,000 each and not exactly P5 million, Conejos said that was part of the agreement to forgive the convicted murderers. "Eto ang condition ng mga pamilya ng bikitma, dapat may konting pera na mabigay ang pamilya ng akusado. Dapat magpakita rin sila ng kusang loob at huwag puro sa pamahalaan," he said. All parties eventually agreed that the families of the suspects would shoulder P15,000 of the 15-million blood money. However, the families only raised 12,000 and Bishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando, Pampanga ultimately volunteered to chip in the remaining P3,000. Conejos also maintained there was nothing illegal in paying blood money in exchange for the forgiveness from the victims' families. "It is the DFA’s responsibility to exhaust all legal remedies to save the OFWs. Under Saudi laws, there is a legal remedy for those convicted of murder and that is an affidavit of forgiveness in exchange for blood money," he said. "My job is to determine the legal remedy and it just happened that the blood money came from government fund," Conejos added. - VVP, GMA News