RIYADH, 21 August 2006 — Abide by the Kingdom’s laws and avoid getting jailed.
The Philippine Embassy yesterday issued this reminder again to Filipinos in the Kingdom as it expressed alarm over a growing number of those in trouble for allegedly engaging in illegal activities, mostly involving immorality and alcohol.
In a press statement, the embassy said it is currently monitoring at least 337 Filipinos “who have been incarcerated for various offenses” in the Central and Eastern Regions alone.
“Of this number, 197 are female, 165 of whom are charged with immorality. Of the male cases, 69 involved alcohol/liquor related offenses followed by 30 cases of various drug related offenses,” said the statement.
While some of the common violations such as those involving alcohol and morality are allowed in the Philippines, the rest of the offenses violate even Philippine laws such as prostitution, prohibited drugs and gambling, it added.
“Restrictions on public interaction of men and women particularly unmarried couples who socialize publicly such as eating in restaurants and shopping together are clearly in violation of local moral laws and therefore run the risk of being jailed, be meted lashes and in extreme cases, deported,” the statement said.
Consul General Nestor N. Padalhin, the chargé d’affaires at the embassy, constantly reminds Filipinos of the pitfalls and consequences of failing to follow local laws and regulations in all his speaking engagements, according to the statement.
The embassy said those who get caught engaging in such avoidable causes of trouble are in effect doing a disservice to other compatriots such as the victims of abuse and maltreatment.
“If every Filipino citizen only adhered to local laws,” it said, “the number of Filipinos in jail would clearly be reduced by more than half, with the Embassy giving its full attention and assistance to major cases particularly of abuse and maltreatment.”
The embassy’s press statement noted that 46 female Filipinos were recently repatriated straight from jail after serving their jail time, meted lashes as provided by law as punishment.
It added that eight male inmates, seven of whom were involved in alcohol related offenses, benefited from a royal pardon which facilitated their early deportation.
Several hundreds of Filipino inmates have also been repatriated on orders of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah early this year as a goodwill gesture when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited the Kingdom last May.
