17 Filipinos still in Qatar police station after holding rally —DFA

Seventeen Filipinos are still in a police station in Qatar after being arrested for holding a political demonstration, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Saturday.

"Mayroong 17 na nasa police station pa... mga one hour from the capital Doha," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(There are 17 [Filipinos] still in the police station... about one hour from the capital Doha.)

"Nag-rally sila... Pinapunta na natin ang ating mga opisyal... We are going to monitor and coordinate," he added.

(They held a rally... We sent our officials already.)

Several Filipinos were arrested in Qatar on Friday for ''suspected unauthorized political demonstrations,'' the Philippine Embassy in Qatar said.

''The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Doha is aware that several Filipino nationals have been arrested and detained early today, March 28, 2025, for suspected unauthorized political demonstrations in Qatar,'' the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy also reiterated its advice to all Filipinos to respect local laws and customs regarding mass demonstrations and expressions of political grievances.

"Lahat ng klase ng political rally, bawal sa Qatar," de Vega said.

(All kinds of political rallies are not allowed in Qatar.)

Asked if the rally held by the Filipinos on Friday was to oppose the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, de Vega said: "Mukhang ganoon po ang dahilan po. At saka alam natin na kaarawan ng dating presidente kaya 'yun ang dahilan kaya nagra-rally sila."

(That seems to be the case. And we know that the former president had his birthday [yesterday] so that is why they held the rally.)

Duterte turned 80 while detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands. He is facing charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court for the extrajudicial killings during his administration's war on drugs.

De Vega said the Philippine Embassy in Qatar will assist the Filipinos who were arrested Friday.

"Palagi tayong may abogado sa embassy doon... Pero ang problema, iba ang justice system doon. Minsan, ayaw nila na may embassy munang kausap hangga't hindi tapos ang imbestigasyon. Pero maraming beses kung harmless, siguro ikukulong nila ng a few days at pakakawalan din," he said.

(We always have a lawyer in the embassy there. But the problem is, the justice system is different there. Sometimes, they do not want to talk to the embassy while investigation is still ongoing. But many times, when harmless, they just detain the persons for a few days then release them.)

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency is also monitoring the situation and providing the necessary assistance for the detained Filipinos.

"At nakatutok naman ang ating embahada. We're working closely with Ambassador [Mardomel] Melicor and our embassy in Doha. And we are monitoring the situation, providing all the assistance that we can. Nagpunta sa police station, sa kulungan, 'yung ating labor attache na abugado," Cacdac said.

(And our embassy is closely monitoring the situation. We're working closely with Ambassador [Mardomel] Melicor and our embassy in Doha. And the DMW is monitoring the situation, providing all the assistance that we can. Our labor attache lawyer already went to the police station.)

"But having said that, paalala sa mga kababayan natin na huwag po kayong lalabag ng host country laws kasi nandiyan naman po kayo para magtrabaho," Cacdac added.

(We remind our countrymen not to violate host country laws because you are there to work.) — -with a report from Jamil Santos, KG/ VAL, GMA Integrated News