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MANILA, Philippines—Overseas Filipino worker Jose Jonathan Botor Bigas, who should have been sent home after serving his sentence of one year imprisonment and 250 lashes in August 2008, is set to be repatriated, the Philippine embassy in Riyadh said.
Bigas was working as a driver when he was arrested with his Filipino passenger, who unknown to him was carrying illegal drugs.
The embassy “is now working on [his] repatriation,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, which came out following a plea from Bigas’s wife and former labor undersecretary Susan Ople.
According to the DFA statement, the embassy is “making available funds” for Bigas’s repatriation. “The embassy has requested the DFA to disburse funds for Bigas’s repatriation for humanitarian consideration.”
When word on Bigas’s plight broke out, Lito Soriano of LBS E-recruitment Solutions, offered to shoulder the air fare. But with this new development from the Philippine embassy in Riyadh, Bigas’s wife chose to wait for government action.
“As a former OFW in Saudi, I can imagine what it’s like to be in his shoes, to be associated with a criminal, in a country that has zero tolerance for crime. I can imagine how hard it is for him and his family. That’s why as part of [my company’s] corporate social responsibility, I volunteered to shoulder his air fare,” he said. Asked how much the air fare costs, Soriano said about $600 to $650.
“He should have been home last Christmas. Another Christmas is fast approaching and he should not suffer more than he already has,” Soriano said.
Embassy officials explained that Bigas was scheduled to be repatriated last month. But “administrative procedures” between the Saudi court and the Governor’s Office got in the way, keeping Bigas incarcerated at the Dammam Reformatory Jail.
“Embassy officials asked concerned Saudi authorities to inquire into this matter,” the DFA said.
Soriano suggested that to avoid cases, the government should conduct a complete inventory of Filipinos in jails around the world. “There should be tracking and monitoring of these cases,” he said.
After Bigas is reunited with his family and has recuperated, and if he is willing to work abroad again, Soriano said he would like to help. “After all, he is a qualified OFW. He has passed all the tests to be a professional driver in Saudi. If there is no hindrance for him to work abroad again, I would help him.”
