00:00 The death of overseas Filipino worker, Julie B. Ranara, was charged with 15 years in prison.
00:07 According to the Foreign Affairs Department, a juvenile court sentenced the 17-year-old, Turkey Ayed Al Azmi,
00:16 the son of Ranara's boss in Kuwait, to murder.
00:20 Al Azmi was also charged with one year in prison for driving without a license.
00:26 According to the DFA, the sentence was lower because he was a minor.
00:32 Al Azmi was sentenced to 30 days in prison for eating apelah.
00:37 Ranara's body was found burned and swollen in a desert last January.
00:44 It was reported that the OFW was being chased and based on an autopsy, Ranara was found dead.
00:52 The family of Julie B. Ranara's request for a heavier sentence was the most severe.
00:59 In the program "The Source", the mother and sister of Julie B. were released from the hospital after the court's decision.
01:07 We are now in a mixed emotion.
01:12 We are happy and a little sad because we did not expect such a sentence.
01:20 It was not enough to bring justice.
01:24 According to Mark, they never thought of settling the matter.
01:30 And if possible, they want to appeal that they hope that Julie B. will be sentenced to life in prison.
01:38 We want to hire the person who will be the penalty.
01:45 If ever possible, we want to hire him.
01:50 Because now, like we said, an eye for an eye.
01:55 15 years is too short because he is alive and he did a lot to us.
02:03 He has four children here and he does not deserve that.
02:09 We will talk to the Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega. Good afternoon, Usec.
02:16 Good afternoon.
02:18 Usec, the sentence was 15 years in prison for the death of Julie B.
02:24 In the opinion of the DFA, is this punishment enough?
02:28 For anyone, not just the DFA, if you killed someone, it is not enough for 15 years.
02:39 You know, I killed my father when I was a child and he died after 15 years.
02:48 It is not enough.
02:50 But if that is what is in the law of the Kuwait, because he is a minor and the maximum is 15 years,
02:58 then at least there will be justice.
03:01 So, we have to acknowledge the efforts of the Kuwaiti government because they promised to speed up the case.
03:12 And there is not even one year, the decision has already been made.
03:16 There is a ruling and he is guilty. There is no whitewash. It has not been absolved.
03:22 Naturally, the accused can appeal, the convicted now, but even if he is a minor, that is what is in the law of Kuwait.
03:34 So, we cannot ask for a package.
03:37 We will get a full report from our embassy, including explanation and hopefully as soon as possible the decision itself.
03:46 Because we do not have the decision. We do not have a copy of the decision.
03:51 Of course, there are still issues about the damages that the convicted accused should pay.
04:05 Yousef, the family wants a life sentence, but you said that this is the law of Kuwait, the maximum sentence for a minor is 15 years.
04:15 But can the government do something to make the sentence heavier or will you just ask for damages?
04:22 I think just for damages because normally, you do not appeal for a decision, you are the prosecution.
04:36 But if the victim will appeal, we can look at what can be done.
04:45 But in our opinion, because that is the law of Kuwait, it is only 15 years.
04:53 So, well, let's think about it. As long as there is a sentence and it is not released.
05:05 Because many are afraid, even the family, that it might be whitewashed.
05:09 So, that did not happen.
05:11 They know from the beginning that the law is different for the minor.
05:17 In fact, in our law in the Philippines, the minor is a general rule, exempt from criminal liability.
05:27 So, we have been in touch with the family. We have been in touch with them every time, as long as there are hearings.
05:33 And now, the question is the damages and permissions.
05:37 I contacted our ambassador to check this and what is the decision to go there.
05:46 Usec, it has been almost 8 months since the tragic passing of Julie B.
05:51 Will the government continue to provide assistance to her family, aside from the legal assistance you've been giving?
05:58 Well, it will continue in the sense that I'm always visiting them, giving them moral support.
06:07 But in terms of financial support, what will happen now, if not now, maybe tomorrow,
06:14 Tony Hans Capda and the administrator of the DMW and the administrator of the OAS, will have a meeting with the family.
06:25 I'm sure they will look at what assistance they can give.
06:29 I promised them house and lot. I'm still checking if they received it.
06:37 Before, the mother and the son, Mark, were together. But now, they are not together.
06:44 The mother is in another place. Maybe they got the house and lot.
06:48 We are going to see how else we can help them.
06:53 I know that they are being given educational assistance for their children to go to school.
07:00 Usec, after the killing of Julie B. in another OFW, how will we strengthen the protection for the Filipinos who work abroad?
07:12 Well, Kuwait is a special case. In other countries, we are always accepting, either DFA officials, OR, DMW,
07:26 we are always consulting with our local lawyers and we are always consulting with the Filipino community leaders
07:34 to ensure that they know their rights and if they have a problem, especially if there is violation of their rights,
07:46 especially the rights as workers, you will reach us.
07:53 Now, regarding Kuwait, let's remember right now, we don't have a deployment in Kuwait.
07:59 Our government is suspending the sending of households since the killing of Julie B. in January.
08:11 What Kuwait did, they said, well, in fact, they banned all workers because we are thinking that skilled workers are still allowed.
08:19 But Kuwait said, never mind, there are no workers now.
08:22 Those who can go to Kuwait, those who have contracts, visas, those who will return, those who will have vacation here, will return to Kuwait.
08:30 There are almost 275,000, but no new deployment.
08:34 So that's one way that we show that we are protecting their rights because we will not simply lift the suspension,
08:43 although we hope to talk to Kuwait so that now, because this decision is made and the summer is over, where can we move forward.
08:55 But the important thing is to strengthen the current labor agreement because that's what we should talk about before the killing of Julie B.
09:07 There is a regular assessment of the implementation of the labor agreement.
09:13 So let's see how it goes.
09:15 But we will make sure that we will fight for maximum protection for our countrymen and we will not simply send them.
09:27 If it's hard for Kuwait, there are other markets.
09:31 As a part of the DFA, we are not promoting overseas work. We just need protection.
09:38 DMW will decide about deployment.
09:41 Right now, we are not sending them to Kuwait.
09:46 Kuwait does not want that.
09:48 But I suppose we could say that this justice right now, according to Kuwaiti law, this is a positive development.
09:58 Very well, Yusef. Thank you very much, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.
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