Manila regrets beheadings of 4 Pinoys in Saudi

The Philippines said Tuesday it regrets the beheadings of four Filipinos convicted of murdering a compatriot in Saudi Arabia, but had no complaints about the conduct of the trial.

Hospital workers Miguel Fernandez, Sergio Aldana, Wilfredo Batista and Antonio Alviza were beheaded by the sword Monday in the western Saudi city of Taef, after being convicted of knifing to death in January 2000 co-worker Jaimie de la Cruz and stealing his money.

Another two Filipino co-workers face prison terms of five and seven years for their role in the crime.

"This is a regretful incident and will serve as a reminder here and abroad to follow the rule of law," government spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.

He said the goverment of President Gloria Arroyo had "monitored and assisted all parties since the start of this case" which "underwent several judicial proceedings with the interest of both parties properly represented by their lawyers."

Bunye said the Filipino was murdered "on the very day that he collected a huge sum of money from an underground lottery."

The foreign department meanwhile said it had, at one point, convinced the victim’s family to accept a settlement of three million pesos (55,401 dollars) in blood money that would have spared the lives of the killers in accordance with Saudi law.

"However, the resolution of the case reached an impasse as the parties could not agree on the final arrangements for the payment of blood money," the department said in a statement.

Executions are generally carried out in public in Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict form of Islamic law. The death penalty is meted out for murder, rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking. — AFP