No to another Flor Contemplacion - Migrante
Migrante International together with Russel Contemplacion, daughter of Flor Contemplacion, and relatives of overseas Filipino workers in death row, criticized the government for failing to address the worsening plight of OFWs.
This comes 14 years after the hanging of Contemplacion, the OFW who was sentenced to death in Singapore.
Since Contemplacion’s death, her family seems to have moved on. Her daughter, Russel, was just 18 when her mother was executed. Now, she is working at Congress and has four children.
But Russel is still joining the call of Migrante to save OFWs who are now on death row.
She also said that she feels bad because the government did not fulfill its promise that no one will end up like Flor Contemplacion anymore.
Among OFWs on death row is Cecilia Alcaraz who was sentenced to death by firing squad in Taiwan.
Alcaraz's sister, Rosalinda Pisue, just came from Taiwan and said that her sister is in good condition.
But her family hopes that Alcaraz will still be able to go home so that she can be with her children.
Meanwhile, brothers Edison and Rolando Gonzalez are both on death row in Saudi Arabia, that is why their sister Norie is inconsolable because she pities her brothers’ fate.
The other OFWs placed on death row are Rodelio Lanuza and Idan Tejano.
Aside from that, Migrante reported that there are 41 OFWs facing death penalty abroad.
The group urged the government to be as determined in helping OFWs on death row just like how persistent it is in helping Filipinos find jobs overseas.
"After 14 years, the government has dismally failed to prevent a repetition of the Flor Contemplacion case and the Arroyo regime shamefully holds the record in the number of innocent OFWs who were executed for crimes they did not commit," said Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante International.
Martinez said that there were six OFWs who were executed under the Arroyo administration namely Antonio Alvesa, Sergio Aldena, Miguel Fernandez, Wilfredo Bautista, Reynaldo Cortez and Jenifer Biduya.
"These innocent lives could have been saved if President Arroyo have prioritized migrants rights’ protection instead of pursuing labor exportation as its main source of foreign exchange earnings especially now amidst the global financial crisis," added Martinez.
The Migrante chair also said that his group will hold a protest march in Mendiola on March 17 to commemorate the 14th death anniversary of Contemplacion.
The march also aims to protest the government’s alleged intensified labor export program.
According to Martinez, “the Arroyo regime even embarked on a high-flying marketing blitz to sell OFWs to the lowest bidders all over the world through Administrative Order No. 247."
AO 247 instructs the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to go "full blast" in opening job markets for OFWs worldwide amid mass layoffs because of the global financial crisis.
Migrante also claimed that the government’s effort to ask for the commutation of death sentence instead of working for the release of OFWs in death row is a compromised solution in order not to put at risk its OFW job market.
But for the families of Cecilia Alcaraz and Rolando and Edison Gonzales, they would rather want their loved ones to return to the country than for them receive a commutation of their sentences.
"Commutation of death penalty to life imprisonment does not disregard the fact that these OFWs are innocent. In the case of the Gonzales brothers for example, they were even tortured by Saudi Arabian authorities for them to admit to the crimes they did not commit.
“For us, commutation is legally and morally erroneous; in fact, every minute of stay of these innocent OFWs in their prison cells is already an injustice to them and their families," said Martinez.
"It is incumbent upon the Arroyo administration to work for the release and safe return of OFWs falsely accused abroad. These has been done before and Joselito Alejo, Ramiro Esmero, Maryjane Ramos, Sarah Balabagan among others can attest to these," he noted. With a report from Rod Macenas, ABS-CBN News
This comes 14 years after the hanging of Contemplacion, the OFW who was sentenced to death in Singapore.
Since Contemplacion’s death, her family seems to have moved on. Her daughter, Russel, was just 18 when her mother was executed. Now, she is working at Congress and has four children.
But Russel is still joining the call of Migrante to save OFWs who are now on death row.
She also said that she feels bad because the government did not fulfill its promise that no one will end up like Flor Contemplacion anymore.
Among OFWs on death row is Cecilia Alcaraz who was sentenced to death by firing squad in Taiwan.
Alcaraz's sister, Rosalinda Pisue, just came from Taiwan and said that her sister is in good condition.
But her family hopes that Alcaraz will still be able to go home so that she can be with her children.
Meanwhile, brothers Edison and Rolando Gonzalez are both on death row in Saudi Arabia, that is why their sister Norie is inconsolable because she pities her brothers’ fate.
The other OFWs placed on death row are Rodelio Lanuza and Idan Tejano.
Aside from that, Migrante reported that there are 41 OFWs facing death penalty abroad.
The group urged the government to be as determined in helping OFWs on death row just like how persistent it is in helping Filipinos find jobs overseas.
"After 14 years, the government has dismally failed to prevent a repetition of the Flor Contemplacion case and the Arroyo regime shamefully holds the record in the number of innocent OFWs who were executed for crimes they did not commit," said Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante International.
Martinez said that there were six OFWs who were executed under the Arroyo administration namely Antonio Alvesa, Sergio Aldena, Miguel Fernandez, Wilfredo Bautista, Reynaldo Cortez and Jenifer Biduya.
"These innocent lives could have been saved if President Arroyo have prioritized migrants rights’ protection instead of pursuing labor exportation as its main source of foreign exchange earnings especially now amidst the global financial crisis," added Martinez.
The Migrante chair also said that his group will hold a protest march in Mendiola on March 17 to commemorate the 14th death anniversary of Contemplacion.
The march also aims to protest the government’s alleged intensified labor export program.
According to Martinez, “the Arroyo regime even embarked on a high-flying marketing blitz to sell OFWs to the lowest bidders all over the world through Administrative Order No. 247."
AO 247 instructs the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to go "full blast" in opening job markets for OFWs worldwide amid mass layoffs because of the global financial crisis.
Migrante also claimed that the government’s effort to ask for the commutation of death sentence instead of working for the release of OFWs in death row is a compromised solution in order not to put at risk its OFW job market.
But for the families of Cecilia Alcaraz and Rolando and Edison Gonzales, they would rather want their loved ones to return to the country than for them receive a commutation of their sentences.
"Commutation of death penalty to life imprisonment does not disregard the fact that these OFWs are innocent. In the case of the Gonzales brothers for example, they were even tortured by Saudi Arabian authorities for them to admit to the crimes they did not commit.
“For us, commutation is legally and morally erroneous; in fact, every minute of stay of these innocent OFWs in their prison cells is already an injustice to them and their families," said Martinez.
"It is incumbent upon the Arroyo administration to work for the release and safe return of OFWs falsely accused abroad. These has been done before and Joselito Alejo, Ramiro Esmero, Maryjane Ramos, Sarah Balabagan among others can attest to these," he noted. With a report from Rod Macenas, ABS-CBN News
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