Beheaded OFW was a sweet child, says mother

A sweet man with an abusive employer.

This was how his relatives decribed Carlito Lana, who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia last week for killing a Saudi national in 2010.

“Sabi niya nga po sa 'kin, 'Nanay, tanggapin na natin. I-[handa] mo na lang sarili mo, tibayin mo ang loob mo kasi ikaw lang ang inspirasyon ko, kaya ako lumalakas [at] nabubuhay pa,” Carlito's mother, Susana, said in a report on “24 Oras” Tuesday, recounting her last visit to her son in June.

Carlito, 37, had been working for only three months in Saudi Arabia in 2010 when he shot dead Nasser al-Gahtani, his employer, before running him over with a car.

Emmanuel Nuñez, Carlito's uncle, said his nephew suffered under his abusive employer.

“Ang trato sa kanya, hindi tao. Pinapatakbo siya [tapos] binabaril-baril siya. Pero may dalawang Arabo na pumapalakpak, tinatawanan lang siya. Pinagbigyan niya yun kasi 'di naman po siya totally pinatatamaan,” he said in the same report.

Nunez said Carlito couldn't stomach the same abuse when it happened for the second time, leading him to kill his employer.

When Lana was incarcerated, Nunez said his nephew eventually accepted his future due to his peaceful nature as a Muslim.

Carlito left behind three children in the Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it may be impossible for Carlito's family to have his remains repatriated due to the Muslim tradition that a body must be buried within 24 hours.

It also said it did everything it could to assist Carlito, who converted to Islam and was buried in Riyadh. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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