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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Official assures help for Pinay death convict
MANILA -- Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said all efforts are being exerted to save a Filipino worker sentenced to die by firing squad for robbing and killing her employer in Taiwan.
Golez said it is the duty of the government to assist Filipinos who are in need wherever they are.
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He denied that the government had been remiss in assisting overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Nemencia Armia, which supposedly resulted in her death sentence.
According to Golez, the Philippine embassies and consul offices in different countries are the first to come to the aid of Filipinos working and living abroad should a need arises.
He said that Armia's conviction was based on the evidence presented against her and the laws in the foreign country that she violated, adding that the Philippine Embassy in Taiwan should answer "point blank... or they can explain what assistance have been extended through the embassy to our fellow Filipino."
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said that it has not received any information about Armia's case. It was Migrante International which reported that the Filipino worker was sentenced to die for the killing of a Taiwanese national last September 12, 2007.
According to the findings presented during the trial, Armia stabbed to death her Taiwanese employer and bought a garbage bag using her employer's ATM card. The bag was used in wrapping the victim's body, which was dumped somewhere in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Armia, however, had denied the allegation, claiming that she was framed and that two Taiwanese were the real killers.
In a television report, Undersecretary Esteban Conejos of the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs said the evidence presented during the trial of Armia's case is quite strong.
However, the undersecretary reiterated Golez's statement that the government is exerting all its efforts to make sure that due process is done to the Filipino worker.
"Our job is to always make sure that due process is done according to the law of Taiwan. That is why there is a remedy open to us which is an appeal, and we are availing of that remedy," Conejos said.
He also explained that speculating that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will make an appeal for clemency for Armia would be too early since the application for it (executive clemency) is done only after all judicial proceeding are completed.
Conejos said that as of the moment, they are still at the appellate stage.
He added that they are always giving updates to the family of Armia on the development of the case.
Conejos and Golez's assurance came amid statements that the government has been doing nothing for the convicted Filipino worker.
The Migrante International earlier said that Armia's case was neglected because the government is too busy with the preparation for the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).
In a television report, Migrante International spokesman Garry Martinez had said the government has been spending more time preparing for the GFMD instead of focusing on the plight of OFWs.
"It seems like the government is too pre-occupied with this forum to give attention to the plight of OFWs. Right now, another OFW was sentenced to death by firing squad in Taiwan," Martinez was quoted as saying.
The case of Armia came on the heels of the beheading of Filipino worker Jenifer Bidoya in Saudi Arabia for the murder of a Saudi national in 2005. (JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (October 18, 2008 issue)
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