DFA seeks clemency for convicted Pinoys

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said the government would seek clemency for the nine Filipinos convicted and sentenced to death in Malaysia for the attack on Lahad Datu, Sabah in 2013.

“The embassy legal team is now also initiating the appeal for clemency to the King,” the DFA, quoting the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (Oumwa), said.

The DFA said all of the accused had been assisted and represented by Datuk N. Sivanathan, an International Criminal Court-certified lawyer whose services were arranged by the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (KLPE) and paid for by the Philippine government.

The Oumwa also confirmed that the Malaysian federal supreme court has upheld a lower tribunal’s decision to acquit 13 other Filipinos charged with waging war against the king and committing terrorism-related offenses in Lahad Datu from February to April 2013.