Filipina maid who killed 7 year old returns home after pardon, gets P10,000 cash assistance and P50,000 loan

Tell me if there is anything wrong with Vice President Noli De Castro telling the press that a Filipina maid who killed 7-year-old her ward in Kuwait would be given P10,000 cash assistance and a P50,000 loan.

May Vecina, a Filipina maid who worked in Kuwait, killed her seven-year-old ward out of a fit of anger. She was pardoned by the parents of the child and of course, she had to thank them for giving her a "second life".

Vecina thanked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for intervening in her case leading to the commutation of her sentence and eventual pardon.

Of course, there was no mention of the Philippine government or any other party paying BLOOD MONEY. If ever blood money got paid, did it come from Pag-IBIG Fund too? Or did we beg some Middle Eastern royalty to foot the bill?

Vecina was presented in a joint press conference by Vice President Noli De Castro and Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo at the Department of Foreign Affairs shortly upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

And by this, are we in fact saying that Filipinos who flip out in a fit of rage are supposed to be REWARDED by NO LESS THAN THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNTRY?

Oh! I can be so sure that this PHOTO OPPORTUNITY with an OFW with a sorry tale isn't meant to curry favor among OFWs.

I don't think Vecina should be rewarded because it sends a wrong signal to the world that we condone wrong doings by our countrymen. Granted that the circumstances leading to Vecina murdering her ward and attempting to murder two other children would seem justifiable (in a perverted sense in a nation which has lost all its morals), the second highest leader of our land should have thought twice about presenting Vecina at a press conference.

The Glorified news reader that is Noli De Castro should have spent some of the advertising money of Pag-IBIG Fund on better publicity advice.

Then again, if we want to see a real end to the tons of OFW sob stories, maybe Presidential Survey Front runners and Big Time Political TV ad spenders like Noli Boy De Castro should spend more money in actually helping Filipinos find a better future in their own country.

De Castro is the fourth biggest spender on TV Ads. As Chairman of the Pag-IBIG Fund or the Home Development Mutual Fund, a housing finance agency which receives MANDATORY contributions from PRIVATE SECTOR employees, has paid P45.8 million for TV advertisements showing him urging people to avail themselves of cheap housing loans.

If the P45 Million Noli De Castro spent on TV ADs to advertise his porous face on granting livelihood loans of P50,000 each, he would have probably helped 900 Filipinos get entrepreneurship training as well as provide capital for small businesses.

This is enough reason for PAG-IBIG Fund members to withdraw their contributions or stop paying their contributions ALL TOGETHER. Ginagamit lang ni Noli De Castro ang pera ninyo, na hanggang ngayon hindi makautang sa Pag-IBIG Fund, para pa-pogiin ang sarili niya gamit ang PERANG PINAGHIRAPAN NINYO.

In May 2008, Kuwait's Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) upheld the lower courts' death sentence after finding Vecina guilty of killing Salem Sulaiman Al-Otaib on January 6, 2007 in Mubarak Al-Kabeer.

In her defense during court proceedings, she admitted to killing her victim after she was allegedly subjected by the Otaib family to physical and mental torture. She also attempted to kill the victim's 13-year-old brother Abdulla and 17-year-old sister Hajer.

On July 8, 2008, Emir Sheikh Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, signed a decree commuting May Vecina's death sentence to life imprisonment following appeals from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and De Castro.

The case of Filipino overseas workers on a death row has always been an emotional issue in Manila where one in every 10 Filipinos works abroad. They send home billions of dollars in remittances, which constitute about 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

In December 2007, the death sentence of another OFW, Marilou Ranario, was commuted after a personal appeal by Arroyo to the emir. Ranario was convicted for murdering her female employer in 2005. There are two other Filipinos on death row in Kuwait—Jakatia Pawa and Bienvinido Espino.

Romulo said that Vecina's release was a team effort and assured the same assistance to other OFWs who are similarly situated.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer