MEXICO, Pampanga – Rep. Aurelio Gonzalez urged yesterday the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to appeal to the Saudi Arabian government to review the cases of three Filipinos from Pampanga who were sentenced to death by beheading.
In a letter he personally delivered to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Gonzalez urged the Philippine government to plead for the lives of Eduardo Arcilla and brothers Edison and Rolando Gonzalez, who were condemned to death by the Grand Sharia Court in Jeddah.
The three, all residents of this town, were found guilty by the Jeddah court for the deaths of three other Filipinos from Sta. Ana town in this province.
“We must appeal to the Saudi government to take a second hard look into their cases,” Gonzalez said.
He also met with Gov. Eddie Panlilio and other provincial officials to discuss ways to help the three accused Filipinos, as well as their families.
Relatives of the accused sought Gonzalez’s help, claiming that the three beleaguered overseas Filipino workers were innocent.
Gonzalez asked the DFA and other government agencies to provide legal and other forms of assistance to the accused. He said he has also hired a private lawyer to monitor the case and find out what forms of legal assistance could be extended to the three. – Ding Cervantes