DAMMAM, 25 May 2003 — Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla yesterday expressed hopes of an early release of two Filipinos who are in a jail here after he raised their cases with Prince Mohammad ibn Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz, governor of the Eastern Province.

Guinomla paid a visit to the governor at his palace yesterday afternoon for discussions on regional and bilateral issues concerning Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.

In the course of their discussion, Guinomla said he appealed to the governor for the release of Rodelio Lanuza and Sarah Dematera, who have been in prison for years.

Lanuza was charged with killing his Arab friend while Dematera was accused of killing her sponsor just four days after she arrived in the Kingdom.

Guinomla did not provide details of the two cases.

He said the governor expressed his willingness to help but the Philippine Embassy must initiate the negotiations and settle amicably with the families of the victims.

Guinomla also took the occasion to personally thank the governor for accommodating about 180,000 Filipino workers and their dependents in the Eastern Region. Also present during the meeting were Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan and Supervising Welfare Officer Sotero Tornea Jr.

Guinomla told Arab News that he had shared the same views of the governor on the need for a “road map” toward peace in the Middle East. “His royal highness condemned acts of violence and international terrorism and he viewed that peace will finally be achieved,” Guinomla said.

He also relayed the news to the governor that the Philippines is no longer in the list of the World Health Organization as one of the countries with high incidence of Severe Accute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). “The governor expressed his thanks and was very happy to hear the news,” Guinomla said.

He sought to clarify news reports by local newspapers of the 1,100 passengers supposedly diagnosed of SARS in the Bahrain-Saudi Arabia causeway, majority were Filipinos.

Guinomla said there is no official report of a Filipino, particularly in the Eastern Region, who had been diagnosed with SARS. He said there were some companies employing Filipino who had opted to go on voluntary quarantine for their workers returning from vacation inside their own camps and premises. But the employees have not been deprived of their salaries, Guinomla said.