200 OFWs in Saudi get royal pardon

At least 200 Filipinos in Saudi Arabia who were imprisoned for petty offenses were granted pardon and subsequently repatriated to the Philippines since December 2009, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Saturday. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah that endorsed and followed the erstwhile Filipinos’ appeals for clemency with Saudi authorities, paving the way for their release.

The said 200 accounted for 100 males and 100 females.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah started issuing a royal pardon for petty crime offenders on December 11, 2009.

There were 11 more pardoned Filipinos originally scheduled for repatriation to Manila on Monday, March 15.
However, they missed their midnight flight as their group, escorted by Saudi police authorities, arrived late at the airport.

Given the said incident, the Foreign Affairs department argued that contrary to a report that appeared in a newspaper, the responsibility for transporting individuals from jail to the airport belonged to the Saudi authorities, and not Philippine embassy officials and that there can be no transfer of custody over them even at the airport.

As a result, the Philippine Embassy is currently arranging the rebooking for their repatriation at the next available flight.

Earlier, the Philippine Embassy notified and coordinated with the Foreign Affairs department, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and other concerned agencies about the overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) initial repatriation date.

“The DFA remains focused on looking after the welfare of our OFWs, and will continue to do so,” Conejos stressed. –Llanesca T. Panti, Manila Times