THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday, November 4, stated that an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) killed a victim in an act of self-defense stemming from a business dispute.
The OFW was executed in Saudi Arabia for murder on October 5. The incident originated from a financial dispute in October 2020.
In a statement, Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said that the confrontation between the OFW and the victim was “more serious than previously known.”
“The OFW was threatened, attacked, and beaten in his own residence by the victim over monetary issues. This prior assault by the victim would later compel the OFW to act in what he believed to be self-defense, resulting in the death of the victim,” De Vega said, speaking to the OFW’s family.
He added that the misunderstanding led to a physical altercation.
“While we cannot undo the heartbreaking outcome, we owe it to the OFW’s family to publicly acknowledge the full context of these events. May this clarification help provide some measure of peace to the family and to all those affected by this tragedy,” De Vega said.
The DFA declined to provide further information for the sake of the family’s privacy.
“The Philippine government provided legal assistance and exhausted all possible remedies, including a presidential letter of appeal. But the victim’s family refused to accept blood money in return for forgiveness of the Filipino, and so the execution proceeded,” according to the DFA.
De Vega said that in October, the Filipino worker filed a labor case against his employer before his execution, where a local court in Saudi Arabia ordered the employer to pay the OFW 52,000 Saudi riyals (P790,000).
“Our lawyers will continue to explore options to obtain the amount directly from the employer and have it delivered to the family.”
