An overseas Filipino worker sentenced with life imprisonment for the murder of his partner has returned to the Philippines following his pardon from the head of the Kuwaiti government.
After being detained for almost 13 years at the Sulaibiya Central Jail, the OFW has finally returned to the Philippines last August 30.
OFW Serving Life Sentence in Kuwait Among those Pardoned by Head of State
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday, September 12, revealed that the OFW was among those pardoned by the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, during the recently concluded Eid season, the Philippine Star reported.
Prior to his pardon, the ex-OFW had been initially sentenced to death by hanging by the Kuwait Court of First Instance, which found him guilty of killing his Filipina partner in 2007.
The decision was affirmed by the Kuwaiti Court of Appeals and Kuwait Court of Cassation in 2009. However, in 2013, this was commuted to life imprisonment after the defendant received a tanazul or letter of forgiveness from the family of his late Filipina partner after settling the blood money for the crime.
In line with this, Mohd. Noordin Pendosina Lomondot, chargé d’affaires at the Philippine embassy in Kuwait, expressed gratitude on behalf of President Duterte to the Amir of Kuwait for granting pardon to one of his compatriots.
Lomondot noted that past Philippine presidents, including Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III, personally appealed to the Amir to grant clemency to the Filipino convict.
“Even after his death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in 2013, the Philippine government remained persistent in appealing for the Amir’s pardon, through our letters to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Lomondot.
With this new chance at life, Lomondot expressed his hopes for the ex-OFW to find his path and carry with him the experiences and lessons of the past as he starts his life anew back in the Philippines. He also wished him well in his future endeavors.
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