In what could be a last ditch effort to save the life of Marilou Ranario, President Arroyo is expected to meet the emir of Kuwait today to personally seek executive clemency for the convicted overseas Filipino worker.
This, as Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya expressed optimism that the warm welcome awaiting the President could be a positive indication that Ranario would be granted clemency.
Malacañang explained yesterday that all the efforts being undertaken by the government to save the life of Ranario, including the trip of President Arroyo to Kuwait, demonstrates the importance of overseas Filipino workers to the President.
“The life of every overseas Filipino is important,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye quoted the President as saying.
The President is arriving in Kuwait today for a six-hour meeting with Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah over lunch after a state visit to Spain and an official visit to the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Arroyo and the emir will have lunch at the Bayan Palace where she will ask for executive clemency on behalf of Ranario.
The President’s personal plea before the emir could very well be the last chance to secure clemency for Ranario, who was sentenced to death by hanging by the Kuwaiti judiciary.
Presidential Management Staff director general Cerge Remonde, in an interview over government-run dzRB, pointed out that the President treats every OFW as an important member of society, particularly because of their huge contribution to the Philippine economy.
Before leaving for Spain, the President even met with the mother of Ranario in Cebu to assure her that everything is being done to save Marilou.
“A lot of people speak of our OFWs as the unsung heroes of our economy, of our country, and yet they don’t really do anything to demonstrate their respect for the OFWs,” Remonde said in Filipino.
“In this case, the President not only says that she salutes and respects the OFWs but the moment they need the help of the government, she personally attends to their needs,” he added.
Hope springs eternal
Endaya said yesterday that the President’s meeting with the emir of Kuwait and the state banquet that will be given in her honor is a very “positive” indication that Ranario will be given clemency.
“The reception given to President Arroyo is very good. There is a state banquet at 1 p.m. to be given by the emir,” Endaya said in a radio interview over the program “Para Sa Iyo Bayan” of Vice President Noli De Castro.
“The case of Ranario is on top of the agenda of the meeting. We hope something very good will come out of the meeting,” he said.
Reports reaching the embassy said the emir has reviewed Ranario’s case, including the tanazuls (letter of forgiveness) granted by the victim’s family.
Endaya said Ranario has no knowledge about the death penalty verdict that was handed down on her by the Kuwaiti Supreme Court.
He noted that strict prison regulation prohibits any individual from informing a prisoner of the court’s decision imposing death penalty.
“Because of strict prison regulation, we are not allowed to say something. Even her inmates are not allowed to convey the court’s decision,” he said.
Endaya, together with several representatives from the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait and Ranario’s lawyers, have visited her in prison but the Filipina maid was not informed of the Court of Cassation’s decision.
The decision on Ranario’s case was flashed in a computer monitor outside the courtroom and she could not learn about it even if she was inside with her lawyers and embassy personnel, according to Endaya.
Asked when the accused will be informed of the court decision, the Philippine Ambassador said it will be conveyed to her only a week before the actual hanging.
The 34-year-old Ranario, despite a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, went to Kuwait in December 2003 to work as a domestic worker.
On Jan. 10, 2005, Ranario reportedly stabbed her female Kuwaiti employer, Najat Mahmoud Faraj Mobarak, with a kitchen knife and killed her in the process.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, a counsel represented Ranario in every stage of the judicial proceedings.
A total of five top-caliber Kuwaiti lawyers were hired by the DFA to represent her during the trial.
Ranario declared in open court that she killed the victim and the prosecutors presented two eyewitness accounts to substantiate this.
Her defense contended that she was suffering from paranoia, a major mental disorder characterized by auditory hallucinations and delusions.
According to Ranario, her employer maltreated her by humiliating and insulting her in the presence of friends.
She claimed that her delusional belief that her employer had evil plans for her led to the commission of the crime.
The Kuwaiti court ordered Ranario to undergo psychological evaluation for four weeks.
However, the results of the evaluation showed that she was mentally sound.
On Sept. 28, 2005, the Court of First Instance, Criminal Circuit, convicted Ranario of murder and sentenced her to death by hanging.
An appeal was made by the defense before the Court of Appeals but last February, the court sustained the death verdict.
The case was elevated to the Court of Cassation or the Supreme Court of Kuwait, which also affirmed the death penalty last Nov. 27.
Ranario’s life is now in the hands of the emir who has two to three months to decide on whether or not to sign the death warrant.
The Philippine government made high-level interventions through Vice President Noli De Castro, who personally delivered to the emir the letter of the President seeking executive clemency.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo also personally interceded for Ranario with the emir.
Tanazuls or letters of forgiveness signed by the victim’s mother, paternal brothers and sister were already secured and submitted to the emir for request of clemency.
A total of $320,000 was paid to secure the tanazuls.
The lawyer of Ranario is also negotiating with the victim’s estranged husband and maternal brother for tanazul since this would be needed now that the high court has affirmed the death verdict.
The government has raised an additional $70,000 in blood money to be paid in exchange for the tanazul.
A native of Surigao del Norte, Ranario has two minor children with her common-law husband.
Remonde said that the President’s move to personally ask for the life of Ranario effectively sent a message to the entire bureaucracy, particularly those that are related to OFW affairs, to do everything they can to serve the needs of the OFWs.
“The President sent a very clear signal to all government agencies who have roles to play with OFWs, that they need to be as dedicated as her in serving the OFWs,” Remonde said.
Remonde called on all Filipinos to pray for the success of the President in asking for clemency from the emir.
After meeting with the emir, the President would immediately head back to Manila. – With Pia Lee Brago