Last request

The Cortez family’s concern did not end with Rey’s death however.

Citing a report by United States-based Human Rights Watch, Bragas-Regalado said, foreigners who are beheaded in Saudi Arabia are often buried in “unofficial, secret and unmarked” graves across the kingdom.

She added, “While the Philippine government failed Rey and his family once by not being able to avert his execution, President Macapagal-Arroyo should not fail the family’s last request for his body to be repatriated to the Philippines.”

“If the Arroyo administration allows this to happen to Rey, they will be complicit in intensifying the grief and heartache already suffered by Rey’s family, especially his six children,” said the migrant leader, adding that it would be difficult for the family to have a closure and start healing if Rey’s body is not repatriated.

In a radio interview, Ermita promised that the DFA would extend assistance to “fast-track” the repatriation of Rey’s remains.

However, the DFA admitted that there is no chance to have Rey’s remains repatriated citing that under the Shari’a Law of Saudi Arabia, an executed person should be buried immediately before sunset.

More efforts needed

Rey is the fifth OFW executed abroad under the Arroyo administration. In March 2005, OFWs Sergio Aldana, Antonio Alvesa, Wilfredo Bautista and Miguel Fernandez were beheaded in Saudi Arabia.

These would just be recurring incidents, however, if the government would not take more aggressive efforts, said Bragas-Regalado.

“Dapat may leverage ang deploying country. Ang problema sa gobyerno after lang sa deployment at remittance,” (The deploying country should have some sort of leverage. The problem with our government is that it is only after the deployment and remittances of OFWs.) Bragas-Regalado said. “If they are really sincere in the deployment of OFWs, they will not deploy migrant workers without their protection.”

Bragas-Regalado pointed out that there should be higher level of negotiations in these cases and that the Philippine government should exhaust all venues such as diplomatic protests. To protect OFWs, Bragas-Regalado said, the Philippine government should review its foreign policies and that it should enter into bilateral agreements regarding the protection of OFWs with terms beneficial to both countries.

She also said that the government can even request the United Nations special rapporteur to investigate or even visit migrant workers in jail, especially in urgent cases when OFWs are sentenced to death.

More in death row

Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Esteban Conejos said that there were only 35 potential death penalty cases involving OFWs all over the world when he assumed office in January 2006.

He said that 11 of these cases were commuted from death to life imprisonment through constant monitoring and legal assistance provided by Philippine embassies abroad.

But Bragas-Regalado said that families and OFWs on death row complain that they are not being informed about the developments in their cases. In fact, they said, nobody visits them.

Among the OFWs in death row are Marilou Ranario and Rodelio Lanuza.

A Kuwaiti court sentenced Marilou Ranario, 34, to death by hanging on Sept. 25, 2005 for killing her Kuwaiti female employer in 2004. Her case is now under final appeal with Kuwait’s Cessation court.

Lanuza, on the other hand, was detained on Aug. 15, 2000 for killing a Saudi Arabian national. The Dammam Grand Court in Saudi sentenced him to death by beheading on June 10, 2002.

Meanwhile, Migrante International plans to set up a program for counselling families of OFWs in distress. She said they also plan to include assisting children of executed migrant workers to acquire financial support for their schooling in their services and programs.(Bulatlat.com)

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