Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:41:00 03/20/2010
Filed Under: Prison, Overseas Employment
MANILA, Philippines--Some 200 Filipinos imprisoned for petty offenses in Saudi Arabia have been pardoned and repatriated to the Philippines since December, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
“The Philippine embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine consulate general in Jeddah made vigorous representations on behalf of our Filipinos in jail and endorsed and followed up on their appeals for clemency with Saudi authorities,” said Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr.
The repatriates were beneficiaries of a royal clemency granted by Saudi King Abdullah for petty crime offenders on Dec. 11, 2009, to mark the return of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz from medical treatment overseas.
The royal pardon applied to both Saudi nationals and foreigners not considered to pose a threat to public order, and covered those who were jailed for petty crimes and violations and who had made restitution to their victims.
They included those whose charges were still being heard by the courts.
Conejos said half of the Filipinos pardoned were women.
Eleven pardoned Filipinos originally scheduled to return to Manila last Monday missed their midnight flight as their group, under escort by Saudi police authorities, arrived late at the airport, Conejos said.
The DFA said the responsibility for transporting individuals from jail to the airport belonged to Saudi authorities and not Philippine embassy officials as there was no transfer of custody even at the airport.
He said the embassy was rebooking them on the next available flight.
“The DFA remains focused on looking after the welfare of our OFWs and will continue to do so,” Conejos said.
Cynthia D. Balana
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100320-259918/Saudi-Arabia-has-freed-200-jailed-Filipinos
