Philippine bishops mourn domestic helper execution in Kuwait ‎

The Catholic bishops of the Philippines on Wednesday voiced their grief over the execution of a Filipina domestic helper in Kuwait and called on Filipinos to reconsider their stance on the revival of the death penalty in the south-east Asian country.  The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) mourned the execution of Jakatia Pawa in Kuwait on Jan. 25, 2017, saying it should serve as a clear message for Filipinos to reject the capital punishment. “The fact that Jakatia protested her innocence to the end of her life only underscores the abhorrence at the death penalty and the sadness that we feel at Jakatia’s death should make us all advocates against the death penalty,” said CBCP president, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan.  Pawa was accused of killing her employer’s 22-year old daughter in 2007, which she denied.  

While condoling the death of the maid, Bishop Ruperto Santos, who chairs the CBCP’s Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People said restoring the death penalty in the country puts overseas Filipino workers on death row abroad at risk.  “The government should not push through with death penalty. If there will be penalty in our country, we will lose any moral authority and legality to ask clemency for our Filipinos who are sentenced to death,” Santos said.  The prelate also called on the Duterte administration to provide assistance to other overseas Filipino workers who facing execution abroad. “There are still those imprisoned. Government should not be complacent nor rely on last two minutes. They have to act, decisively and swiftly, for those who are incarcerated,” he added.  According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there are still some 88 Filipinos that are in death row abroad. ( Source: CBCPNews)