OFW facing death in Saudi Arabia makes new plea for life

An overseas Filipino worker facing death in Saudi Arabia for a murder in 2000 made a fresh appeal to a Saudi quasi-government agency to spare him from execution. Rogelio “Dondon" Lanuza issued a personal appeal to the Saudi clemency committee on the matter of “blood money," according to a report on Bulatlat. Lanuza had accepted that the Philippine government will not raise the required “blood money" in exchange for the forgiveness of the family of a Saudi national he unintentionally killed in 2000, the report said. In his appeal, Lanuza asked the Ministry of Interior through Saudi Reconciliation Committee official Shiek Ali Bin Ali Al-Dossary “to make peace with the father of the aggrieved family and find ways to raise the three million Saudi riyals" that the family asked in exchange for Lanuza’s pardon, the Bulatlat report said. The report added Lanuza informed Migrante-Middle East coordinator John Monterona last Aug. 8 that he had sent his second letter to the SRC. Monterona said Lanuza claimed an SRC official visited him in jail to inform him that members of the SRC are set to have a conference. “His case is one of the issues to be discussed. Lanuza is most worried because his family obviously cannot raise the amount on their own," Monterona said. “The embassy could represent Lanuza to the SRC and convey his appeal to the aggrieved family. The SRC is providing a venue wherein Philippine authorities could negotiate for a reduction on the amount of blood money being asked by the aggrieved party," Monterona said. Monterona also suggested that Malacañang’s newly-formed Technical Working Group should instruct the embassy to negotiate the amount and ask the assistance of the SRC. Among the group’s declared tasks is to find ways to raise blood money for OFWs on death row. Former draftsman Previously an architectural draftsman at Ali Hussain Alyami and sub-contractor for Aramco Saudi Arabia, he is now detained at the Dammam Central jail. Lanuza has two children, one in high school and the other attending elementary school. In 2000, Lanuza, then 27, was convicted of killing a Saudi national. He had been sentenced to death by execution. Bulatlat said Lanuza — a reverted Muslim with the Islamic name Eesa — confessed in court that he stabbed Mohammad ibnu Saad ibnu Abdullah Al-Qahtani in self-defense, supposedly after the victim attempted to sexually abuse him. Facebook Lanuza’s family launched on social networking site Facebook the “Barya mo Buhay ko," (Your Small Change, My Life) campaign to gather funds for Lanuza’s “blood money." The campaign asks the public to give P100 or more to save Lanuza’s life. “Beat the deadline [or] else the death sentence is imposed. Me and the rest of my families are appealing your help to support us in this cause. Any substantial amount would really be a big help for us to save me from death penalty. Please help me," Lanuza said. — JE, GMA News