Papua New Guinea considering pardon for Pinoy

The Philippines is beginning to reap the fruits of good diplomatic karma.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) will review the government’s appeal for overseas Filipino worker Pablito Miguel to be granted absolute pardon.

Miguel was convicted last year of bribing a PNG tax official.

In his report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Ambassador to the PNG Bienvenido Tejano said the positive developments in Miguel’s case are the fruits of diplomatic goodwill between the two countries.

"I have been assured by the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea himself that they consider President Gloria Macapagal—Arroyo’s letter of appeal for Mr. Miguel’s absolute pardon as meritorious," he said.

In 1999, during the civil war in the Solomon Islands, Tejano allowed 16 PNG nationals to board a Philippine military plane and had them flown to PNG without cost to their government.

Besides being the country’s official representative to PNG, Tejano has jurisdiction over the Solomon Islands.

At the time of his conviction, Miguel was working as a finance officer for a foreign-owned cement plant based in Lea, PNG.

He was sentenced to four years imprisonment and hard labor after being found guilty of bribing an official of the PNG Internal Revenue Commission with 500 PNG kina, approximately P7,000.

Miguel maintains his innocence and claims he was a victim of a frame-up or gross misunderstanding.

Miguel complained of losing the sight on his left eye during the second month of his prison sentence. A doctor brought by Tejano to examine Miguel diagnosed him as having detached retina, a condition that, had it been left untreated, would have caused him to lose his sight on both eyes.

The embassy immediately made representations with PNG authorities for Miguel to be repatriated for eye treatment on the condition that he would be sent back to PNG to serve out his sentence when he is cured.

Miguel has been undergoing treatment at the Makati Medical Center for almost a year now.