MANILA, Philippines—The Kuwait Court of Appeals has upheld the death sentence of a Filipina maid who was sentenced to death for killing her employer’s 22-year-old daughter in January 2007, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo thus instructed the Philippine embassy in Kuwait to save the life of Jakatia Pawa.
He directed Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya to facilitate the filing of an appeal to the Kuwait Court of Cassation within 30 days, in consultation with her lawyers.
Pawa denied the charges against her and told the judge that one of the victim’s family members might have committed the crime.
This decision came a few weeks after the Kuwait emir pardoned May Vecina last June 1. She is expected to return to the Philippines soon.
The DFA also said that in May, the life of another overseas Filipino worker Beinvenido Espino was spared from the death penalty after the department facilitated the grant of a tanazul (letter of forgiveness) from the victim’s family.
Vice President Noli De Castro, presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers, said Pawa was meted a death sentence for the murder of the daughter of her sponsor in Kuwait with whom she worked for over five years prior to the murder.
De Castro dismissed reports that Pawa was neglected by the Philippine embassy, saying that from the start of the case, the government already provided her with legal assistance.
“Our government hired two top-caliber Kuwaiti criminal lawyers to defend her. They are attorneys Khaleel Al Qattan and Mohammed Al Saba. The government was all out in giving her legal representation so her rights will be fully protected,” De Castro said.
He said the government was looking at another option: for Pawa to seek forgiveness from the victim’s family.
He said the embassy was seeking also tanazul from the victim’s family.
“The government is really exhausting all means to save Pawa from death row and we are optimistic that are efforts will be fruitful, just like in the cases of Marilou Ranario and May Vecina whose death sentences were commuted,” the Vice President said.
Online news Kuwait Times, in a report on Tuesday, said that Endaya was disappointed and immediately held a press conference after the verdict to say that Kuwaiti lawyers exerted their efforts to help Pawa and that he personally believed that Pawa was innocent.
"The forensic evidence pointed to the innocence of Pawa. I don't know what happened, but maybe the Court of Appeals has put the burden on the Highest Court,” the report said.
According to the prosecutor, the maid killed the victim and even prepared a knife and plastic glove to prevent her fingerprints from leaving a mark. The prosecutor further argued that Pawa waited for the victim to fall asleep and stabbed her at dawn.
But Endaya, a human rights lawyer, had said the knife that was used in the murder showed none of Pawa's fingerprints and that there was no blood stain on her dress or body that could link her to the murder after the police found the maid lying outside the victim's house.
Endaya further expressed his full trust and confidence in the fairness of Kuwait's judicial system. He expressed hope that Pawa's death sentence would be reversed by the Supreme Court.
"We want to assure our people that we are ready to help Pawa. We would utilize all possible means including methods mentioned in the Sharia Law to save the life of Pawa," Endaya said.
"There is a miracle in prayers. God will not allow innocent person to be hanged," he added. - ByCynthia Balana, Philippine Daily Inquirer/INQUIRER.net, June 16, 2009
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