JEDDAH: Some Filipino convicts in the Kingdom who have already completed their jail sentences are still languishing in Saudi prisons because the Philippine government could not immediately repatriate them, a Filipino migrants group revealed on Sunday. Migrante, a Middle East-based group, said various chapters of their organization throughout the Kingdom have been receiving numerous requests for assistance from detained Filipino workers who decried their continued imprisonment despite having completed their sentences. They have blamed the Philippine government for their situation. As many as 200 of these Filipino workers are still languishing in Malaz Central jail in Riyadh, while an estimated 3,000 are detained in various jails throughout the Middle East, according to John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator. “It's a pity that a number of our fellow OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) who have been in jail for violating the customary laws of the host country, though they have already completed their sentences, are still languishing in various jails in Saudi Arabia and in other Mid-East countries,” Monterona said in a statement. He said some of these Filipinos were convicted for petty crimes. “Usually, petty crimes are punishable by six months to one year imprisonment plus a hundred lashes, after which the jailed migrant worker can be sent home,” Monterona said. “If a jailed OFW is still languishing in jail after completing his jail term, then his right for immediate repatriation or deportation has been grossly violated,” he added. However, Philippine authorities said they are doing everything possible to repatriate Filipino workers who have already completed their jail sentences in the Kingdom. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila said on Sunday that they repatriated a Filipina worker on Dec. 9 who had been in a Saudi jail for 10 months after she was convicted of immorality. Esteban B. Conejos Jr., DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, said that embassy officials assisted the woman right after her arrest, at her trial and during the serving of her sentence. “If there was a delay in her repatriation, it was because her employer was not able to apply for her exit visa right away,” Conejos said in a statement.
