Pinoy spared from death penalty in Saudi

MANILA, Philippines - An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia was saved from death penalty after the families of the victims granted the tan azul (affidavit of forgiveness), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Nonito Abono was repatriated to the Philippines Thursday. He made a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to thank the DFA for the efforts to commute his sentence and his repatriation.

The commutation of his sentence was made possible through representations made by the DFA and the Philippine embassy in Riyadh to persuade the families of the victims to grant the tan azul.

The DFA assisted his family in raising the blood money asked by the heirs of the victims. To expedite his release and repatriation, the DFA’s Legal Assistance Fund was utilized to cover the payment of the penalty for the expiry of his iqama (residence permit).

In June 2003, Abono killed his two Filipino co-workers at their company’s premises after a drunken altercation the night before.

The embassy secured Abono’s release after strong representations and that of the Philippine government to spare his life and his serving two-thirds of the sentence. 

The victim’s families also forgave him in exchange for blood money, settling the private rights aspect of the case.