This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 17, June 5-11, 2005
MIGRANT WATCH
Another OFW Sent to Death Row As
the “Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995” nears its 10th
anniversary, OFW Reynaldo Cortez awaits his death sentence in a Riyadh jail. His
case highlights how the law has been ineffectual in keeping Filipino workers
from the gallows. BY
ROWENA CARRANZA On May 17, 2002, Reynaldo
Cortez, a car technician in Riyadh, got into a heated argument with a Pakistani
taxi driver. They fought for a knife that he took out of his bag and, after
being stabbed twice on his leg, stabbed the driver in the chest. The driver
died. A Riyadh high court found
the 39-year old Bicolano guilty of murder and sentenced him to death last May
30. Under Shariah law, the
victim's family may pardon the killer and accept blood money, in which case the
death sentence can be annulled. The victim’s family however refused to accept
the 100,000 Saudi riyal or P1.4 million blood money. According to the militant
group Migrante, there was no Philippine embassy representative present during
Cortez’s hearing nor was he given a lawyer by the embassy. Cortez himself reportedly
confirmed that no embassy official was present when he was sentenced.
Belatedly, Philippines
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo instructed June 1 Ambassador Bahnarim
Guinomla of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh to exhaust all legal means under
the Shariah law to save Cortez. He said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
would try to convince the victim’s family to accept the blood money in exchange
for capital punishment. Death row
According to various
reports, there are 5,168 jailed OFWs worldwide. Of these, 1,115 are in Saudi
Arabia. Nineteen of them are on death row, 13 of whom are in Saudi Arabia. Migrate however reports
that four of the 13 on death row have already been executed last March 14. She said their beheading
was deliberately kept from media and that their families are now having
difficulty claiming their bodies. The beheading reportedly
pushed through despite the “amicable settlement” and payment of blood money by
the relatives who reportedly sold all their property and collected donations
from other Filipinos in Saudi Arabia to raise funds. Inutile law “After being enacted at the
height of the Flor Contemplacion death protests in 1995, the said law has not
prevented OFWs from being unjustly jailed, executed and abused. The law is
riddled with so many loopholes that cannot protect and prevent cases like that
of Cortez from happening. It has to be scrapped and replaced with a better law,”
Connie Bragas-Regalado, MSP chair, said. The Act says, among others,
that “free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal
assistance shall not be denied to any persons by reason of poverty.” It orders
the establishment of an effective mechanism that would ensure that the “rights
and interest of distressed overseas Filipinos, in general, and Filipino migrant
workers, in particular, documented or undocumented, are adequately protected and
safeguarded.” The Act also provided for
the establishment of the Legal Assistance Fund to be used “exclusively to
provide legal services to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress.”
It states that the
“expenditures to be charged against the Fund include the fees for foreign
lawyers to be hired by the Legal Assistance for Migrant Workers Affairs to
represent migrant workers facing charges abroad, bail bonds to secure the
temporary release of workers under detention, court fees and charges and other
litigation expenses.” It also declared that the
“protection of the Filipino migrant workers and the promotion of their welfare,
in particular, and the protection of the dignity and fundamental rights and
freedoms of the Filipino citizen abroad, in general, shall be the highest
priority concerns of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Foreign
Service Posts.” The law was promulgated on
June 7, 1995. Meanwhile, Bragas-Regalado
urged Malacañang to immediately move to save Cortez and all other OFWs in jails
worldwide.
© 2004 Bulatlat
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Bulatlat
Cortez is now in New Malaz Jail in Riyadh, awaiting his death sentence.
Maita Santiago, Migrante secretary general, identified those executed by
beheading as Sergio Aldana, Miguel Fernandez Jr., Wilfredo Bautista and Antonio
Alvesa.
The Migrante Sectoral Party
(MSP) said Cortez’ case illustrates the inutility of Republic Act No. 8042, also
known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos
Act of 1995.
“What President Arroyo must do is to personally attend to diplomatic
intervention with the Pakistani and Saudi Arabian governments to save Cortez
from an unjust death and all other governments where there are Filipinos in
jail,” she said. Bulatlat