Give attention to other OFWs on death row, lawmaker urges govt

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government should also give attention to other OFWs on death row or those facing potential death sentences, just like they did with May Vecina, a lawmaker has said.

Senator Manuel Villar issued the statement after Vecina, the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, was fully pardoned by Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah on June 1. [See: Kuwaiti ruler grants full pardon to OFW Vecina]

Vecina was found guilty of killing her employer’s seven-year-old son on January 6, 2007. She was also accused of attempting to kill the victim’s 13-year-old brother Abdulla by slitting the boy’s throat, and his 17-year-old sister Hajer by stabbing her.

At her trial, the 30-year-old mother of two from North Cotabato province said she suffered physical and mental abuse from her employer that resulted in "temporary insanity." But the Kuwait Supreme Court upheld her sentence of death penalty by hanging.

Separate appeals made by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro in behalf of the domestic helper apparently influenced the Kuwaiti ruler to spare her life.

Before Vecina, the Kuwaiti ruler in December 2007 commuted the death sentence of Marilou Ranario, another domestic helper who was declared guilty by a court of murdering her employer.

“The government’s triumph in the May Vecina case underscores that hard work and all-out efforts make a difference in protecting the welfare of our OFWs," Villar said in a statement.

But Villar reminded the government that under the Magna Carta for Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (RA 8042), the Labor Code of the Philippines, treaties on international labor and human rights conventions, and the guarantees of the 1987 Constitution on labor, all OFWs deserve the same attention.

“Such tenacity should apply to all others languishing in prisons and awaiting execution abroad," he said.

Villar had earlier filed Senate Resolution No. 421 urging the Senate to inquire into the status of OFWs on death row. The resolution is currently pending at the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources.

Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, on the other hand, filed House Bill 5657 that seeks to amend existing Philippine laws and provide substantial legal services to OFWs who are facing trial or languishing on death row. [See: 59 Pinoys face death penalty abroad]

Most of the cases involve several offenses such as rape, drug smuggling and homicide and are pending in host countries’ courts, said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr.

Conejos said there were a total of 87 Filipinos on death row since January 2006. Of the number, 28 were commuted. He added that 12 Filipinos already returned home after serving their prison sentences.

Ten cases of Filipinos, who allegedly committed crimes punishable by death are still under preliminary investigation, while 49 are pending in courts.

Of the number, the DFA said the government has successfully appealed the death sentences of 24 Filipinos in various countries last year.

The report did not mention how many of the 87 have been executed. - GMANews.TV

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