JEDDAH, 20 August 2007 — Relatives of the three victims in the infamous “chop-chop killings” of Jeddah are willing to talk about forgiveness with the convicted killers and they want the bodies of their loved ones to be sent home, Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor has said.
Villamor said he was not sure if the repatriation of the victims’ remains was a condition, adding it would be made clear only when talks begin.
He said suggestions have been made to tap the help of political leaders in Pampanga province, north of Manila, where the victims and the seven accused are from. “The new governor of Pampanga, Ed Panlilio, could be a big help because he is a priest,” he said, noting the strong influence of religious leaders among their flock.
Three of the seven accused — Edison Gonzales, his brother Roland, and Eduardo Arcilla — were sentenced to death by a regional trial court in Jeddah last month for the April 2006 murder of fellow Filipinos Reno Lumbang, Jeremias Bucod, and Dante Rivero.
The rest of the accused — Victor Alfonso, Omar Basilio, Efren Dimahon and Joel Sinamban — were each sentenced to receive 1,000 lashes and a prison term of eight years.
In an interview two weeks ago, Consul General Lomondot said the four were given a lighter penalty because they were considered only as accomplices.
Citing Saudi police investigation report, which became part of court records, Lomondot said the four confessed their roles in the killings and led police to where some of the body parts of the victims were thrown or hidden.
Arab News learned this week from a Department of Foreign Affairs official in Manila that the DNA samples taken from relatives of Rivero and Bucod matched the samples taken from the body parts.
The samples were taken from the victims’ relatives by the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila and sent to Saudi investigators last May. Lumbang’s identity was readily established and probers deemed that no DNA test was necessary.
As pieced together by Saudi investigators and gathered by Arab News from consulate and community sources, one night in April last year, Lumbang and Bucod were playing a card game at one house in Jeddah’s Industrial area with Gonzales and his cohorts when the killing took place.
In their testimonies, the four who were given light sentences pointed to the Gonzales brothers and Arcilla as the killers and that their only role was to help remove evidence from the crime scene and dispose of the bodies.
One of them also said Rivero was picked up from his apartment on orders of Edison because Rivero knew where his two friends were on that night. Rivero, who works at the Sarawat supermarket, came with Lumbang and Bucod to the gambling house earlier that night but he left early.
Investigators also established that the root cause of the murders was rivalry between two groups illegally engaged in jueteng (a numbers game) operations in Jeddah and nearby places, according to consulate officials.
One group was headed by Edison Gonzales and the other by Lumbang. Gonzales’ group was said to be losing bettors because of the bad experience of some gamblers whose winnings were not paid. Bettors flocked to Lumbang’s group and Gonzales did not like what was happening.
Lomondot said the ruling made so far was just the first and that the death sentence is not going to be carried out so soon.
As in the Philippine judicial system, the Saudi courts have two more layers of appeal for the convicted — its Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, he said.
He said that under Saudi law, there is a chance of the Gonzales brothers and Arcilla escaping death if the aggrieved parties agree to forgive them and accept blood money payment.
“But there is also under Saudi law a provision stating that if the court rules that the offense committed is a heinous crime, the forgiveness by the aggrieved party won’t stop the execution,” Lomondot explained.
Lomondot said the Philippine government is committed to provide support for both sides since they are all Filipino citizens.
Lomondot acknowledged, however, that hiring lawyers for each of the Filipinos involved in the case would be a costly. He said the minimum rate to hire a lawyer for such case is SR100,000.
(What OFWs Say About the Extent of Assistance Government May Give to Death Row Convicts)
Following the imposition of the death penalty on three of seven Filipinos accused in the infamous “chop-chop killings,” Arab News randomly asked overseas Filipinos, some based in other countries, their opinion on the extent of help the government should extend to the convicts, considering that the victims were fellow Filipinos. Below is an excerpt of what they are saying:
Larry Cabago, Yanbu: Our officials should discriminate in providing blood money payment. One of the reasons some of our compatriots willfully violate the laws of the land where they work is that they know our government would help them.
Zenaida Concepcion, International Medical Center, Jeddah: The Philippine government representative has to investigate the root cause of the crime. Blood money for offenders is not encouraged because the convicts are supposed to behave in accordance with law in a foreign land.
Cipriano Gamboa, Jubail: Our government should help every OFW in distress. Every Filipino citizen is entitled to protection and those on death row need urgent action by our officials. However, if the victim is a compatriot, the law of the host country should be followed.
Perla Vega, California: It’s just right that the government helps those on death row, but not to the extent that the system gets abused. But I go with those who say that if the victim of a heinous crime — for which the death penalty is imposed — is a fellow Filipino, we should let the law of the host country take its due course.
Vic Hizo, Taif: By all means, the government should act to save every Filipino on death row, guilty or not. It’s important to save lives to give the accused a chance to reform.
Edison Madrideo, Jeddah: The government should treat all those on death row equally and give them all the help they need, guilty or not.
Noel Pacheco, Riyadh: If the accused is proven guilty in court of a heinous crime, he should be made to pay for it. To bail out everyone from death row, never mind if they are guilty, only encourages the criminal-minded to commit more crimes.
Joro Cantarona, Riyadh: When you talk of blood money, it means the victim’s heirs have already agreed to accept compensation. In that case, our government should intervene, bail out the convicted Filipino citizen and let the legal proceedings continue at home.
Kiel Erida, Jeddah: If an accused has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a proper court, the law should take its course. However, our government should intervene from the very beginning to prevent a possible miscarriage of justice.
Jimmy Villa, Jeddah: The government should help in the legal proceedings to ensure that the accused is accorded all his rights. But if the accused is found guilty, he should be punished.
Efren Rodrigo, Jeddah: There should be no limit to the government’s intervention to help OFWs on death row. If the penalty of one’s crime is death, our government should work to get the penalty reduced at least to life imprisonment.
Ed Dioneda, OFW Community leader in Taif: Life being precious, it’s imperative that our government moves to save every Filipino citizen on death row and give them a chance to reform.
Ador Tañedo, president of the Filipino Community in Jubail: In the case of those convicted of killing their fellow Filipinos the government should not give any help, particularly in raising blood money. What the government may do is ask the families of victims to at least appeal to lessen the punishment of the convicted.
Ali Misuari, an official at the United Muslim Association in Alkhobar: In cases where the offenders and victims are both Filipinos, the government should help both parties. Blood money payment can be done away with if the family of the victim is persuaded to forgive the offender.
Flos Famarin, adviser of the Al-Hasa Basketball Association: In cases such as the “chop-chop killings,” to help the accused escape death by paying blood money would set a bad example that you can get away with murder.
Ariston “Bong” Magno, Qatar: Our government’s help for death convicts should be on a case-to-case basis. If the convict, for instance, killed in self-defense or because of maltreatment, by all means the government should help in the payment of blood money.
Gregg Crisosto, a leader of the Khafji Filipino Sports Organization: The root cause of the Jeddah killings is envy and greed and both the accused and the victims were engaged in an illegal activity. The government should not help any of them. Instead of wasting time and money on them, the government should focus its attention on the thousands of runaways who really need help. But let us not rush into giving blood money. For as long as the victim’s family is not asking for blood money, we should not offer any because such could be misconstrued as adding insult to injury. (From reports of Ronald Concha, Francis R. Salud & Dinan Arana)
