Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 19) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday addressed the issue raised by some senators on the zero acquittal of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) involved in various cases.
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“When we said there were zero acquittals, that was just for the period of January to June 2022. There were no reported acquittals in criminal cases involving Filipinos during that period,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
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During a recent hearing, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva presented data from the DFA’s report to Congress indicating that from January to June 2022, there were no acquittals in cases involving Filipinos abroad.
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The report showed that 1,278 Filipinos have been convicted with finality in other countries.
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De Vega said this was because trials were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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He noted that the trials only started to resume in late 2021.
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The DFA official noted that most of the cases were not major crimes such as murder and drug trafficking.
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He said these are crimes that are not considered as such in the Philippines, but are otherwise in the location of the OFW, like immorality by drinking alcohol, or Filipino having a partner who is not his or her legal spouse.
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“Right away they get convicted,” De Vega pointed out. “There’s no way to get acquitted from those cases.”
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Still, several acquittals have happened in the past, like the case of Rose Policarpio, who was cleared of murder in 2020 over the death of her lady employer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he noted.
There were also acquittals in the second half of 2022, including five in Jeddah, he added.
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While trials in other jurisdictions will most probably lead to convictions, De Vega said Philippine lawyers are successful in not letting the case go to a full trial.
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“In the Middle East for example, there is a tendency for employers to file bogus cases against Filipinas who ran away from them,” he explained.
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“Running away from the employer is already a crime in Saudi Arabia,” De Vega said. “However, as retaliation, the employers do something worse — they file cases of robbery, theft and other cases.”
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“And by and large, our lawyers are able through negotiations to stop the cases from going to trial and facilitate the repatriation to the Philippines,” he explained.
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If the client will be convicted, Philippine lawyers are able to get them a lower sentence or secure a pardon, he added.
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