Following the execution of a Filipino convicted of murder in Saudi Arabia, calls for stronger protection and enhanced legal aid for Filipino migrant workers have reemerged.

This comes as Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Migration Eduardo Jose de Vega confirmed on Tuesday that the Filipino national pleaded guilty to the murder of a Saudi Arabian in 2020.

The Filipino was sentenced to death in 2022, and the Philippine government made several attempts to stop the execution through a presidential appeal.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government had exhausted all possibilities to save the Filipino’s life but to no avail, citing the “very strict” law in Saudi Arabia.

OFW Representative Marissa Magsino, on the other hand, said that the recent execution highlights the need for proper legal representation and support for Filipino migrant workers, particularly in severe cases involving capital punishment.

“While we respect the laws and judicial processes of other countries, including Saudi Arabia, this tragic incident underscores the vulnerability of our fellow Filipinos abroad, both overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and overseas Filipinos, especially those facing criminal charges in foreign countries,” Magsino said.

She added that continued efforts have been made to ensure OFWs’ more robust protection, safeguard their rights, and strengthen diplomatic efforts to safeguard their welfare which includes enhancing legal aid and creating preventive programs that educate OFWs about the laws and customs of their host countries.

Meantime, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac assured that the kin of the executed Filipino will receive assistance from the government. He said that they are already processing, along with the DFA, the immediate repatriation of the Filipino’s body.

As of March last year, the DFA disclosed that 83 Filipinos overseas are on death row, most of which cases are already final and executory. Fifty-six cases are in Malaysia alone, while six are in the United Arab Emirates, five in Saudi Arabia and 15 others in Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, the United States, Japan and Brunei.

Mary Jane Veloso, who was supposed to be executed in April 2015 but was spared at the last minute to testify against recruiters who had allegedly tricked her into heroin trafficking, is the most high-profile instance of Filipinos now awaiting execution.

Meantime, the President expressed his condolences to the family of a Filipino who was executed in Saudi Arabia for the crime of murder.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with them... there is nothing one can do to make it whole,” Marcos said. “It was a terrible tragedy and there was little thing left for us to do. We have very few options left. We tried everything and for many, many years the Saudi government really tried to look and to be sure that the judgement was actually deserved.”