Zapanta shows photo of Joselito to Gov. Pineda who visited him with Board Member Nestor Tolentino. Photo by Ric Gonzales
BACOLOR, Pampanga – Gov. Lilia Pineda announced on Wednesday that she and the Pampanga Mayors’ League (PML) have started a fund-raising drive to help raise the P44-million blood money for the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) on death row in Saudi Arabia.
Pineda, who visited the house of 32-year-old OFW Joselito Zapanta in Purok 4, Barangay Cabetican, here Wednesday afternoon, said she will urge the 21-member PML to help the provincial government in raising a “big portion” of the 4 million Saudi Arabia riyals blood money (1 Riyal: 10.9 Philippine peso) as part of the latest agreement between the Philippine and Saudi Arabian governments.
Vice President Jejomar Binay called up Pineda over the phone on Wednesday night to inform her about the second postponement of the execution of Zapanta, who was apprehended in 2009 and three years later was found guilty by a Saudi Arabia court of killing his Sudanese landlord with hammer during a dispute over rent.
SECOND EXTENSION
The OFW-mason, who was reportedly not paid six months of his salary before he committed the crime, was originally scheduled to suffer the maximum penalty on November 14 but was moved to December 14 after appeals were made by Binay and President Aquino to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
“We want to thank the president for making the necessary appeal to stay the execution of Zapanta,” said Pineda, who also lauded Malacanang’s decision to give P4 million for the blood money.
Pineda said “now we have enough time until early next year to help our cabalen who needs our collective effort to give him a second life and chance.”
“What Zapanta did was wrong and we have no excuse for committing harsh crimes, notably killing someone.
But now he needs our help and under the laws of the Saudi government, we can save him,” added the first-term governor in the dialect.
She interviewed Jesus Zapanta, father of the OFW-convict, at their residence in Bacolor. The Zapantas lived for 14 years in Mexico, Pampanga but moved back to their native Bacolor town more than a year ago.
The Zapantas left Bacolor after lahar flows spawned by Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption buried their house in Cabetican in 1995.
Jesus, who was also a driver in Saudi Arabia for 12 years, said his son, the eldest among his three children, was sending his earnings to his two children – Jomar, 8 and Maria, 7 — who are now living with their mother in Pandan, Angeles City since he began work in the country and later in Saudi. Zapanta had been separated from the mother of their children.
“My son was not just a good son but a good father too. He also gave a lot to his relatives, notably his nieces and nephews,” said Jesus, who is being offered a job as truck driver at the Capitol by Pineda.
Fourth District Board Nestor Tolentino said Pineda was supposed to seek permission from the provincial board to allot P3 million for Zapanta’s blood money. He said they had been informed by the Commission on Audit (CoA) that their plan “was not allowed by law.”
“We will look into other options allowed by law. But in the meantime, we will ask all to help in the drive called by the governor,” said Tolentino.
Porac Mayor Carling De la Cruz, who invited Pineda and Board Members Salvador “Jun” Dimson, Friztie David-Dizon and Trina Dizon to their Binulo Festival Thursday, said “the call of the governor is most welcome and we (with Vice Mayor Dexter David) will look into it.”
FATHER’S LOVE
Jesus, now 56 years old, said he sought Pineda’s assistance through the Pampanga Action Center for OFW concerns (PACOC) last November 12. He added that he had to wait for the necessary documents from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Pineda, who established the first-ever OFW assistance office among the provinces in the country in 2008 and has served 2,611 OFWs until last week, asked her provincemates to avail themselves of the services of the PACOC headed by Eliza Rey Yap-Munoz.
