A Roman Catholic bishop in the Philippines on Monday launched a fund-raising campaign for a Filipino worker he said has been sentenced to die in the Saudi Kingdom for the killing of a Nepalese man.
The labor department said Primo Gasmen, a production supervisor at a factory in the kingdom, has been sentenced to be beheaded in January 2003 for the 1998 killing of his Nepalese co-worker Khim Bahadur Gurung. Bishop Ramon Arguelles said Filipino embassy officials are negotiating with the victim's family to accept 15,000 dollars in blood money, instead of the 100,000 dollars they had reportedly demanded.
"As we need all prayers and support of the various sectors in society, we also appeal for their kindness and sense of compassion by donating some of their earnings to spare (Gasmen) from death," the Church leader said at a press conference at a labor department office in Manila, according to AFP.
"Any amount will definitely mean a big thing to the Gasmens. A new hope. A new beginning. A new life. Indeed, a light at the end of the tunnel for the poor family of an OFW (overseas Filipino worker), heralded as the country's modern-day hero."
Gasmen, a father of three, began working in Saudi Arabia in the year 1995, said Arguelles, the chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. The commission is run by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
