Like Lanuza, Pinoy seafarer Langamin also wishing for a happy ending


Like Dondon Lanuza, another overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who is on death row in Saudi Arabia is hoping for a happy ending.

Jonard Langamin is appealing to the Philippine government to help him and his family come up with the P4 million blood money needed for his pardon. He said so far they were able to raise P2 million through the help of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

A seaman, Langamin was sentenced to death for killing fellow OFW Robertson Mendoza during an altercation in May 2008.

In an interview with GMA News, Langamin said he could have been a free man as early as March last year if only his family was able to pay the P2 million remaining balance of the blood money.

“Bigla na lang nawalan po kami ng naging contact. Wala pong naging follow-up sa mga sulat namin kay VP Binay” said Langamin.

Langamin admitted that it was through Binay, the presidential adviser on OFW concerns, that he was able to secure an affidavit of forgiveness from the family of his victim and escape the death sentence.

At present, Langamin could only wish that what happened to Lanuza would also happen to him.

Lanuza, also a former death row convict in Saudi Arabia, arrived in the Philippines last Thursday after spending 13 years in jail in the Kingdom. He was saved from death row after paying blood money to the family of the Arab national he killed in 2000 in what he said was self-defense. -- Ronaldo Z. Concha/KBK, GMA News

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