OFWs raising P900,000 blood money for Pinoy jailed in Kuwait for 16 years

Kuwait —  Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are raising Kuwait Dinars 6,000 (P900,000) as "blood money" to save Joseph Urbiztondo, a Filipino jailed for the past 16 years in Kuwait.

 

Half of the amount — P300,000 — has been raised so far by different organizations. The amount was turned over to proper authorities by the Catholic Archbishop of Kuwait. Philippine Labor Attaché to Kuwait David Des Dicang witnessed the turnover and counting of the amount. The Filipino community intend to hold another fundraising for Urbiztondo on September 17, hoping that they can send him back to his family before Christmas.

 

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Urbiztondo said he has been seeking the help of Philippine officials since 1996 when he was brought to jail. However, his request was always denied and was told that death sentence cases had priority in the Philippine government's funds for blood money.

“Kuwait has sentenced five Filipina women including Minerva Tayag who admitted murdering her employer, and May Vecina who slit the throat of the four-year-old son and stabbed the eight-year-old daughter of her employer," Urbiztondo said. "May Vecina was sent home in 2009 and so was Minerva Tayag last month. The amount paid for were from OUMWA (Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs) and DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and the amount were in millions. It would have been better if the court sentenced me to death, so I could have availed the help of these departments,” Urbiztondo said.

 

Urbiztondo urged the DFA and OUMWA to review and consider the cases of OFWs on a case-to-case basis.