Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 2) – A total of 83 Filipinos are facing the death penalty overseas, including 56 in Malaysia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed on Thursday.
Data shared by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Paul Raymond Cortes at the hearing of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs showed that of the 56 Filipinos on death row in Malaysia, 30 males were convicted of murder. 11 men and seven for drug trafficking, and eight for waging war against the Malaysian king during the 2013 Lahad Datu siege.
Cortes said the DFA is working on obtaining pardon for Filipinos on death row in Malaysia since their sentences are final.
He said most of the Filipino convicts were based in Sabah near Mindanao.
“Marami sa kanila nasa disputed territory natin ng Sabah,” Cortes said. “Ito yung mga kababayan natin na [Many of them are in our disputed territory of Sabah. These are our countrymen that] sometimes, they live across the border, leave by banca [boat] and go to the other side. Doon na sila nagkaroon ng kabuhayan [They make a living] and they started having families there.”
“Marami hong [Many are] murder and drug-related,” he also said. “Lahat sila [They are all] final and executory na and the only possible remedy that we can have for them is pardon. This is what we’re working on as well in our embassy in Kuala Lumpur and our legal retainers.”
Next to Malaysia, the country with the second highest number of Filipinos on death row is the United Arab Emirates with six, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with five.
One Filipina, Mary Jane Veloso, is awaiting the death sentence in Indonesia for drug trafficking.
According to DFA data, 15 Filipinos have also been sentenced to death in other countries, including Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, the United States, Japan and Brunei.
Latest data also showed a total of 3,371 Filipinos overseas with pending criminal cases. Most of those facing charges are not detained. Many cases involve illegal drugs, theft, breach of trust, and absconding from work.
Cortes said the leading cause of death of Filipinos overseas in the last decade was COVID-19, with “about 800, 900” dying from the disease in the past two years.
Next to COVID-19, Cortes said many Filipinos also died due to vehicular accidents, natural causes and illnesses such as cancer, cardiac arrest or organ failure.
