RP asks leniency for jailed Filipinos

RP asks leniency for jailed Filipinos

DUBAI (Reuter): The Philippines has appealed to Saudi Arabia
for clemency in the cases of 193 Filipino workers jailed in the
kingdom, the Philippines ambassador in Riyadh said yesterday.

Ambassador Romulo Espaldon said the appeal came in a letter
from Philippines Vice-President Joseph Estrada to Saudi Crown
Prince Abdullah, which he delivered on Sunday.

"The vice-president had a letter for the crown prince
requesting clemency for 193 Filipinos who are in jail. I was
given permission to deliver the letter the day before yesterday,"
he said.

He said there were no Filipinos on death row in Saudi Arabia,
but added that "about 16 are awaiting a decision (on whether they
will be sentenced to death) in cases which have not been
finalized".

There are about four million Filipinos working overseas, many
of them in the Gulf. Around half a million Filipinos work in
Saudi Arabia alone.