Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Rodelio “Dondon” Lanuza, who has been incarcerated in a Saudi jail since August 2000 for the unintentional killing of a Saudi national, issued his last appeal yesterday to the Philippine government officials through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to immediately dispatch embassy officials to attend and follow up his release with the Saudi authorities.

“I have already lost 13 years of my life. Please give me the chance to finally live a normal life once again and end my suffering. My loved ones are already waiting for me back home,” said Lanuza.

He said, “I would like to plead to the embassy here that the only way for this case to be expedited is if someone from the embassy will make a constant follow up for the release order to be issued.”

He added: “To our honorable embassy and foreign affairs officials in Saudi Arabia, kindly dispatch your staff in Riyadh to attend and follow up my release from Saudi authorities (Governorate office, Dammam Central Jail and Dammam Court).”

Lanuza issued his statement through John Leonard Monterona, MIGRANTE vice chairman and MENA regional coordinator.

Monterona said that “the victim’s family has already issued an affidavit of forgiveness. The information came from a high-ranking official of the Saudi Reconciliation Committee (SRC), a quasi-government agency whose job is to mediate between the aggrieved and offending parties in cases where the death penalty is meted out. The SRC official has been helping Lanuza since 2004.”

In 2011, the SRC succeeded in convincing the victim’s family to accept the offer of blood money in exchange of their forgiveness to Lanuza. The victim’s family had asked for SR 32 million.

Earlier this year, King Abdullah offered to pay SAR 2.3 million of the SAR 3 million blood money, while the rest of the amount was raised by Lanuza and his family, his relatives and friends, and fellow OFWs and OFW groups headed by Migrante-Middle East through a fund raising campaign.