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Saturday, December 08, 2007
Arroyo to appeal death verdict of Pinoy worker in Kuwait
MANILA -- Malacañang said Thursday the planned side trip of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Kuwait to personally appeal the commutation of the death sentence of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Marilou Ranario with the Kuwaiti Emir would finally push through on Sunday.
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Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye made the confirmation following their earlier announcements that the trip had been shelved due to difficulties in setting up a meeting with Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
The initial target was to have the meeting on December 10 on her return from her eighth-day visit to France, Spain, and United Kingdom.
“Yes, she (Arroyo) will proceed,” Bunye said in a text message.
Bunye also said the President is expected to arrive at the Kuwait International Airport for her four-hour visit at 11 a.m. of December 9 (4:30 p.m. in Manila same day).
He said the luncheon meeting of President Arroyo with the Emir had been set for 12 noon. She will leave for Manila at 3 p.m. of the same day.
The President plans to appeal to the Emir for the commutation of the death sentence of Ranario who was convicted for the murder of her female employer. The death sentence was confirmed by the Kuwaiti High Court in November.
She initially tried to contact the Emir by telephone but was unable to reach him. She later tried to send a letter to the Emir to be handed by Vice President Noli de Castro but decided against it as she ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to arrange a meeting with the Emir instead.
Ermita, in an ambush interview at the 62nd anniversary celebration of the Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA), said he does not want to speculate on the possible decision of the Emir, “it suffices to say we did everything we can.”
Asked if the government would pull out OFWs in Kuwait similar to what it did when then OFW Flor Contemplacion was hanged to death in Singapore in 1995 for the death of her fellow Filipino worker Delia Magat, Ermita declined saying it is very speculative.
“We are doing our best to save the life of a fellow Filipino citizen,” he said.
Arroyo returned to Spain Thursday night (Friday midnight in Manila) for a short visit to Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada before flying to Kuwait and later in Manila.
In Sevilla, she first conducted a video-conference at 9 a.m. (4 p.m. in Manila) with her national security Cabinet cluster who were gathered at Makati Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City.
While in Sevilla she is expected to drop by the Plaza (España, Barrio Sta. Cruz, La Giralda Cathedral of Sevilla) and Reales Alcazares where she will have a luncheon meeting with Manuel Chaves Gonzalez, President of Andalucia and Alfredo Sanchez Monteseirin, mayor of Sevilla who would present to her the key to of the city.
Arroyo would then motor to Almonte to meet municipal officials, offer a wreath at the Monument of the Heroes of Baler and inaugurate the Spanish-Philippine Cultural Center of Almonte where a replica of the Baler Church in the Philippines was put up.
She would then return to Sevilla for a private dinner hosted by Benazuza and stay overnight.
On December 8, she would motor to Cordoba to view Mezquita or the Great Mosque and lunch at the El Caballo Rojo and proceed to Granada where she is expected to visit the Banos de Sta. Rosa and the Alhambra Palace before returning to Sevilla for her flight to Kuwait. She is expected to be back in Manila by Monday. (JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (December 7, 2007 issue)
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