5 OFWs jailed in Saudi every week—Migrante

MANILA, Philippines—An average of five overseas Filipino workers are put behind bars weekly for various petty crimes in Saudi Arabia, a migrants’ rights advocacy group said Friday.

According to John Leonard Monterona, regional director of Migrante-Middle East, between May and September this year, they monitored the arrest of 96 OFWs in different Saudi jails.

M-ME is a Filipino migrants’ group that has chapters in Gulf Cooperating Council (GCC) countries.

“The data would mean that on average, there are five OFWs put behind bars weekly,” Monterona noted.

Monterona said that 58 of the offenders were detained for “liquor possession,” followed by drug-related cases with 25 arrests, immorality cases with seven and theft with six.

“Others were charged with physical injuries, seduction of minors, trespassing, road accident and falsification of document,” Monterona said.

He added that 78 out of the 96 inmates were detained at the Malaz Central Jail in Riyadh, Saudi’s capital city; while 10 are in Dammam jail, six  in Al-Hassa jail, three each in Qatiff, Tuqba and Al-Hair jails, and one in Jubail Central jail.

Monterona said majority or 98 percent of the Filipino inmates were still awaiting court decisions though half of them were arrested in May 2011.

According to him, most of the OFW inmates were charged with petty crimes, aside from the 25 who were arrested for alleged drug-related activities.

“Petty crimes are punishable with imprisonment ranging from six  months to one year plus a number of lashes,” Monterona said, citing cases his group had come across previously. “Most of the 96 OFW inmates have been in jail for five to seven months … and no court decision yet on these cases.”

Monterona said he had spoken to some of the OFW inmates in Malaz jail who claimed that the Philippine Embassy did not hire a lawyer or provide legal assistance to them.

He said Philippine  officials in Riyadh must pro-actively represent the OFW inmates in court to hasten the resolution of their cases.

“We would like to reiterate for the nth time our call to the Aquino government through the Department of Foreign Affairs–Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) to consider hiring local Shariah lawyers on retention basis to render legal assistance to all jailed OFWs in Saudi Arabia, including the smooth facilitation of their release and deportation once they’ve completed their respective jail terms,” Monterona added.

He also urged OFWs to avoid committing offenses.

“The commission of petty crimes such as liquor [possession or consumption], theft, and immorality could be avoided. We only need to impose strict self-discipline and be vigilant. We are here to work  for our families and children,” he said.