A female Filipino household service worker was executed on Tuesday after being found guilty of murder in Saudi Arabia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement released today.
The Saudi Supreme Judicial Council ruled that diyaa or blood money cannot be applied to this case. Diyaa is compensation for a victim’s heirs under Sharia Law that could take the place of execution.
No other details about the case have been revealed.
“The Department regrets that it was not able to save the life of the Filipina,” the DFA said in its statement. It also extended its condolences to the woman’s family.
Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto said the Philippine Embassy had given the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) assistance by providing her with a lawyer throughout her trial. They also sent representatives to visit her and updated her family in the Philippines about the case.
“The Department has informed the next of kin who have requested for privacy during their time of bereavement,” the statement reads.
In 2015, 35-year-old overseas Filipino worker Joselito Lidasan Zapanta was also executed in Saudi Arabia after he was convicted of murder and robbery in 2010, Rappler reported.
There were about 2.3 million OFWs around the world in 2017, according to a survey by the Philippines Statistics Authority. Saudi Arabia is the top destination with 25.4 percent of OFWs working there at the time.
