Filipinos campaign to save OFW on death row

RIYADH: Janice Azur, an ordinary Filipino worker based in Bahrain, is trying her best to help a fellow Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) on death row for killing a Saudi national way back in 2000 in the Eastern Province. Her goal is to collect the agreed blood money amounting to SR 3 million which would save him from the death penalty.
So for she has collected 10.2 million in Philippine pesos, or less than SR 1 million, while the blood money required is SR 3 million. However, the mother of the accused fears that his liberty is still at stake if he’s not able to come up with the blood money agreed upon with the aggrieved family.
Arab News has learned that if the Filipino family wants to transfer the collected amount to the Saudi family, they need a local account here in Saudi Arabia, which should be done through the Philippine Embassy.
She said all the support, prayers and work that people have done for him would be wasted if in the end he might not come out alive after being unable to meet the target amount.
The desperate mother, who traveled to a number of friendly countries to solicit the amount, appealed to the generous people of Saudi Arabia, including princes, philanthropists, businessmen and charitable organization to help her out in saving her son, who had already adopted Islam as his religion.
She also appealed to her countrymen around the world for their sympathy, prayers and support. “I believe that the Filipino spirit of bayanihan ‘patriotism’ still lives amongst us. When a person is down, good samaritans come. I have been given a glimmer of hope as someone heeded my call and challenged our will to help. This person has pledged that for every dollar that is donated for my son’s freedom, the philanthropist pledges to donate 2 dollars.”
A great number of OFWs across the world have helped in campaigning to save the life of Rodelio “Dondon” Lanuza through various networking sites including Facebook and Twitter.
In her letter of appeal sent to Arab News, Letty C. Lanuza, pleads “I am Letty Lanuza, mother of Rodelio “Dondon” Lanuza who has been incarcerated at the Dammam Central Prison for over twelve (12) years now. He committed a crime that was unintentional and accidental and was sentenced by death penalty.
“In my heart and in my mind, I have expressed my deepest sympathy to the aggrieved family and also have prayed hard to grant my son their virtue of forgiveness. On February 27, 2011,” she continued, “through the assistance of our Philippine Embassy and the members of the Reconciliation Committee through the efforts of Sheik Ali Bin Ali my prayers were heard and answered,”
She said Dondon was forgiven. “However, a blood money amounting to SR 3 million must be paid. It was really a big relief on the burden that I have been carrying for years. I have miseries but also lots of hope because of people who had come to support us in one way or another. A group of Filipino business people led by Fil Am leader Mrs. Loida Nicolas Lewis, a Philanthropist from New York, is one of them,” she wrote.
Arab News was able to contact Dondon or Esa, his Muslim name. He asked me to convey his gratitude and sincerest thanks to all the kind people who had helped him and continued to pray for him. He confirmed the given solicited amount, but told me another SR 2 million was needed.
“I would like to ask you to spare a moment of your time to hear me out. Exactly 12 years from today,” he said, as he was jailed on August 15, 2000, “I have been praying for the family of the bereaved to pardon me with what I have done to them,
“Since Feb 27, 2011, their family has been patiently waiting one year for me to come up with the agreed amount. I have had sleepless nights wondering and yearning if I could ever get out with my sanity intact, more so with my life still existing.” he said.
In a similar case, a Saudi philanthropist has donated SR 17 million to save a Saudi man from execution. The unidentified donor contributed to a campaign to pay off the blood money to help save the young Saudi, who was sentenced to death for killing a Yemeni national.