President Bongbong Marcos said that the Philippine government had been engaged in negotiations for years concerning the case of an overseas Filipino worker executed for murder last week in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“I remember, mga 5, 6 years din. I came upon it when I came into office and they told me it’s an old… And as I said, I guess Saudi tried to exhaust all possibilities. So, did we, but to no avail,” Marcos was quoted as saying in a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) press release on Tuesday, October 8.
The Philippine government has stood by the Filipino, offering support and legal representation throughout the entire process, Marcos said, adding that he had sent a letter to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to appeal for the Filipino’s life.
“Unfortunately, the law there (in Saudi Arabia) is very strict. And apparently the conviction has stood and one of ours has been taken away,” he said during an interview prior to his trip to the ASEAN Summits in Laos.
Marcos extended his condolences to the bereaved family and assured the government’s preparedness in bringing home the remains of the executed Filipino.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, neither the Philippine Embassy nor the family of the OFW was notified before the execution was carried out.
