Senatorial bet Susan Ople on Wednesday urged the government to donate part of the P23-million blood money raised to save Joselito Zapanta to his family and help other overseas Filipino workers on death row.
“Joselito left behind two children, who are only 13 and 11 years of age. His mother, Ramona, is also in need of medical attention. I appeal to our government to provide much needed assistance to the family, especially now that Joselito is gone,” Ople said.
The Saudi Arabian government on Tuesday executed Zapanta, 35, who was found guilty of killing Sudanese national Saleh Imam Ibrahim with a haammer following a rental dispute.
Ople called for a review of the government’s policy on blood money cases as 90 Filipinos are on death row in various parts of the world, with some of them also requiring blood money.
“In Joselito’s case, the government was able to raise P23 million which is now in a bank account opened by the Philippine Embassy for the aggrieved Sudanese family. Since that amount had been rejected by the Sudanese widow thus leading to Joselito’s execution, would the government be amenable to donating some amount to the grieving Filipino family? That is a policy decision that needs to be clarified,” Ople said.
Ople recommended the formation of a special unit to handle death penalty and blood money cases involving OFWs, adding that there should be a more cohesive and transparent mechanism and policy to resolve pending and urgent blood money cases involving OFWs in other countries.
