Amir to assist 2 OFWs on Kuwait death row

Execution by Hanging in Kuwait

President Aquino has personally appealed to the Amir of Kuwait, who was in Manila for a state visit last week, to spare the lives of 2 Filipino workers on death row, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

In response, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah said a commutation of sentence is possible on the 1st Filipino convict because the family of the victim had already given a tanazul or affidavit of forgiveness.

Regarding the 2nd Filipino prisoner, the Amir assured Aquino that he will look into the matter and that once forgiveness is secured from the family of the victim, pardon will be easier to grant.

The convicts’ identities were not disclosed but 1 of the 2 Filipinos, whose name had been reported previously in the media, is Jakatia Pawa, a domestic helper in her 20s from Zamboanga del Norte, who was found guilty of killing her employer’s 22-year-old daughter.

2 other Filipinos have been meted the death penalty in Kuwait but their sentences are not yet final, the DFA said, adding that their cases were also taken up by the President with Al Sabah.

During the meeting, Aquino thanked the Amir for the compassion he had shown in 2008 and 2009 when two Filipinos previously on death row received a sentence commutation and a full pardon.

As of December 2011, the DFA said, at least 146,505 Filipinos live and work in Kuwait, where most of them work as household helpers.

To strengthen labor cooperation between the 2 countries, the Philippines and Kuwait signed in Manila an agreement that enables both sides to share expertise and knowledge in the field of job creation and employment and to ensure promotion and protection of the 2 countries’ skilled workers in accordance with existing laws and regulations.

Other agreements forged during the Amir’s visit were in the fields of agriculture and fisheries, consular relations and culture. “These agreements illustrate the growing relations between the Philippines and Kuwait and complement the thrust of the Aquino administration of bolstering economic ties and ensuring the safety and welfare of Filipino workers,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

Source: The Daily Tribune, March 27, 2012

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