Noy urged to allocate blood money for convicted OFW in Saudi

MANILA, Philippines - Labor group Migrante yesterday urged President Aquino to allocate funds for blood money to save overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Joselito Zapata from execution in Saudi Arabia next month.

In a statement e-mailed to The STAR, Migrante’s coordinator for Middle East and North Africa John Leonard Monterona said that Zapanta may be executed next month should his family fail to raise over four million Saudi Arabia riyals or around P45 million.

This was the blood money agreed upon with the aggrieved Sudanese family after Zapata in self-defense killed his Sudanese landlord in June 2009.

The Sudanese brutally beat Zapata after he refused to pay his rent for his apartment because his payment was not yet due.

Monterona said that under Shariah law, Diya or compensation to the heirs of the victim is allowed and a well-recognized doctrine in exchange for forgiveness.

“We are calling on P-Noy to share a considerable amount for OFW Zapanta’s blood money. This time he can take it from his billions of special purpose funds,” Monterona said.

He also slammed the Aquino administration for maintaining a “no blood money policy” for OFWs on death row.

“There is no blood money policy, no on-site assistance funds policy for distressed and stranded OFWs, but there are billions of pork allocations and illegal DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program) funds for P-Noy and politicians, both allies and those in the opposition. This is quite revolting,” Monterona said.

He also said that on April 13, 2010, Zapanta called his family and told them that he was given a death sentence by Saudi’s Court of First Instance and was only given until May 1, 2010 to file his appeal before the Appellate Court.

Zapanta also told his family that only two interpreters were present to assist him during the hearings of his case.

“OFW Zapanta is not only a victim of his own deplorable condition under his abusive Sudanese landlord but also of the criminal neglect of the Philippine embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for their failure to provide legal assistance and hire local lawyer for his defense,” Monterona said.

“While we call on our fellow OFWs to share based on what they have for the blood money of OFW Zapanta, the responsibility to raise an amount for Zapanta’s blood money as well as any other assistance being sought is at the hand of the P-Noy administration,” he said.

“We have also a standing call to P-Noy to allocate funds to effect the immediate repatriation, to pay for immigration penalties and documentation of the more than 4,000 stranded OFWs in Saudi Arabia,” he added.

The Philippine embassy in Riyadh, meanwhile, has sought the assistance of the Saudi emir to correct the status of undocumented OFWs whose cases were different from those that have already been rectified to meet the Nov. 3 deadline set by the Saudi government.

The DFA said Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago recently sought audience with His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, Emir of Riyadh, to also thank him for allowing the undocumented OFWs to correct their status.

During the meeting, Tago conveyed the appreciation of the Philippine government and gratitude of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia who benefited from the royal decree of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, granting a correction period from April 6 to Nov. 3, which also allows the transfer of employment or repatriation of affected OFWs.

Tago said that thousands of Filipinos have benefited from the period. As of Oct. 6, at least 2,221 OFWs from Riyadh alone have been repatriated on tickets shouldered by the Philippine government in addition to those who left at their own expense. – With Pia Lee-Brago