By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the government had exhausted all legal efforts to negotiate the case of a Filipino who was recently executed in Saudi Arabia.
“Little we had left to do. We had very few options left. We tried everything and for many, many years,” Marcos said in a media interview.
“I remember, mga five, six years din. I came upon it when I came into office and they told me it’s an old [case]… And as I said, I guess [the] Saudi [authorities also] tried to exhaust all possibilities. So did we, but to no avail,” he added.
The President extended his condolences to the bereaved family and assured them that the government will assist in bringing home the remains of their loved one.
“We’ll see what they need. But for someone who dies abroad, an OFW, there are many—we have many procedures for that to bring them back home. So I don’t think that will be a problem,” he told reporters.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) also assured the bereaved family “of all the necessary assistance during this difficult time.”
“Our prayers and thoughts go out to the family of our fallen overseas Filipino worker (OFW),” the DMW said in a statement Wednesday.
“On behalf of the OFW’s family, the DMW requests that they grieve in peace, away from the glare of media scrutiny,” it added.
A Filipino national was executed in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 5, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed. —iro