A Filipino who was executed in Saudi Arabia on October 5 for killing a Saudi national will not have his remains repatriated to the Philippines, as per the country’s existing laws. According to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi government does not permit the return of the bodies of those executed.
“Even if we want to bring them home, previous executions followed the same procedure. They do not allow the remains to be returned to the sending countries,” explained Riyadh Charges d’ Affaires Rommel Romato in a report by GMA News’ “24 Oras” on Wednesday.
The execution followed the Filipino’s conviction for murdering a Saudi national with a hammer after a business-related dispute. The victim’s family refused an offer of “blood money” and declined to forgive the Filipino, a common practice in the region under Sharia law.
Efforts by the Saudi government to delay the execution to allow time for a potential settlement with the victim’s family were unsuccessful, Romato said.
Currently, nine more Filipinos are on death row in Saudi Arabia, one of whom also killed a Saudi national. Philippine authorities are in talks with the family of the victim in this case, hoping for a pardon.
“We’re hoping for forgiveness within the year. However, there’s a risk of execution because it has been scheduled for a long time, and it could happen at any time,” Romato added.
