The number of Filipinos on death row abroad has decreased to 38, according to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Cacdac, who shared the update during the Kapihan held at the Manila Hotel on Friday.

Cacdac reported that the number of Filipinos on death row had previously reached as high as 72. By November 2023, during Senate budget deliberations, the figure had already dropped to 44. He attributed the decline to the enactment of Malaysia’s Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act of 2023, which took effect in July of the same year.

This new law allows Malaysian judges to impose imprisonment instead of the death penalty for serious crimes such as murder, treason, kidnapping, terrorist attacks, and drug trafficking.

The majority of Filipinos currently on death row are in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, with many convicted of murder and drug-related offenses. Cacdac said these Filipinos have been provided assistance through the DMW’s legal assistance program.