Philippines: Migrante, Ranario family picket DFA

An alliance of organizations composed of overseas Filipinos and their families today picketed the Department of Foreign Affairs to demand concrete actions from the Arroyo government to save the life of Marilou Ranario and other OFWs on death row.

Following reports of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo seeking clemency for Marilou Ranario, the OFW on Kuwait’s death row, an alliance of groups composed of overseas Filipinos and their families say that given the limited days left before the final verdict, “it is not enough for Arroyo to issue an appeal that is two year’s late and then sit back and wait”.

“This is the final stage of Marilou’s case. Until now, the family and the Save Marilou Ranario Movement have yet to see a comprehensive and concrete government action plan to save her life. Another problem is the lack of transparency from the DFA and other agencies regarding these types of cases,” says Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante International Chairperson.

Bragas-Regalado noted that during a recent inter-agency dialogue with the family that was organized by the Save Marilou Ranario Movement, the representative from the DFA explained that there was already blood money available but he failed to mention that this had already been refused, as reported by the DFA recently.

Marilou, 35 years old, was sentenced to death by hanging on 28 September 2005 by Kuwait’s Court of First Instance of the Criminal Circuit Court for allegedly killing her employer. Her case is now before the Supreme Court and oral arguments were heard last November 13. The promulgation of the final verdict is set for December 27.

Marilou is among the approximately 35 OFWs on death row with one in Brunei, two in China, one in the US, four in Kuwait, nine in Saudi Arabia and 10 in Malaysia. Under the Arroyo administration, 5 OFWs have already been executed.

“Along with the appeal, it is also high time for the Arroyo administration to review its extremely exploitative Labor Export Policy (LEP). Given that the LEP’s main objective is the commodification and export of Filipinos in exchange for much-needed dollar remittances – the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers will never be truly protected,” she added.

The Migrante leader concluded that, “with only 38 days left before the issuance of the final verdict, we commit to escalating even further the campaign to save her life so that she may soon be reunited with her family.”

During the picket, Migrante presented copies of the Save Marilou Ranario Movement international petition. Already, more than 13,000 signatures locally have been gathered while an online petition has around 1,100 signatures. #

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