4-month reprieve for OFW murder convict

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has delayed the execution of Filipino migrant worker Joselito Zapanta by four more months, giving his family more time to raise blood money to settle the case with the family of his Sudanese victim. “The father of two children, who worked as a construction worker was scheduled for execution on Nov. 14,” said Eric Jocson, chairperson of KGS-Migrante, the largest organization fighting for the rights of Filipinos working abroad.
Jocson expressed thanks and gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and senior Saudi officials for giving grace period of four months for raising blood money. “This is very good news,” said Jocson, calling on the Philippine government to arrange for blood money.
He said the family of Saleh Imam Ibrahim, the Sudanese national whom Zapanta killed over a dispute on rent payment, also agreed to reduce the blood money from SR 5 million to SR 4 million. Zapanta, a father of two children, was sentenced to death for killing Ibrahim in 2009. He went on the run with Ibrahim’s mobile telephone but was tracked down and tried for murder by a Saudi court. The court handed down the death penalty.
Zapanta is currently lodged in Hail jail near Riyadh. “The relatives of Ibrahim agreed to waive the sentence in return for blood money, but the amount was too high,” added Jocson, while giving details of the case. Zapanta, a father of two, lost his job as a tile fitter in 2009 after his employer held back six months’ pay. The two men became involved in a dispute over rent soon after and Zapanta killed Ibrahim with a hammer.
The decision to delay the execution came after a Philippines official handed in a written plea to King Abdullah for more time. Raul Hernandez, a spokesman for the Philippine government, also thanked the Saudi government for its support.
Jocson appealed to the Philippine government to arrange the funds. The family of Zapanta has so far raised a tenth of the demand but has also appealed to the Philippine government to help to raise the remainder. However, it is feared that any award from official funds would set a precedent for other cases involving overseas workers.
Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay, who has campaigned on the issue, made a public appeal for donations recently. “The funds are also required in other cases too,” said Jocson, adding that another Filipino worker named Things Nuguid is also on death row. Nuguid, who is languishing in Al-Hasa jail in Eastern Province, needs SR 600,000 to be paid to the families of two Saudi nationals killed in an accident.
In fact, Migrante has repeatedly asked that the Philippine government send a high-level team of diplomats to Saudi Arabia to look into the individual cases and status of overseas workers on death row. “This way, they can come up with legal actions and strategies to improve their efforts at saving the lives of OFWs on death row,” said John Leonard Monterona of the Migrante-Middle East group, in a statement released yesterday.
According to Migrante, there are six other OFWs who are on death row in Saudi Arabia besides a number of workers serving jail terms for petty crimes and major offenses. Saudi Arabia is home for an estimated 1.2 million Filipino workers whose welfare back home has become a progressively larger political issue in recent years.