Dubai: Appeals have poured in for authorities to grant the acquittal of a Filipino expatriate, a mother of two children, who is on death row in the UAE, as a local court is set to announce its verdict today.
The Court of Appeals in Al Ain Judicial Court has scheduled to issue its verdict today, March 27, on the appeal against the death sentence handed to Jennifer Dalquez, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in 2015.
Dalquez landed behind bars in December 2014, after she was convicted of killing her employer, a policeman. The expat had said that her boss attempted to rape her and that she had accidentally killed him while defending herself.
The death sentence was issued by the Al Ain Court of First Instance on May 20, 2015.
The OFW and her family have appealed to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and authorities to help overturn the ruling.
“My daughter called me yesterday urging me to seek help from President Duterte to help secure her acquittal and be sent back as soon as possible to the Philippines,” her mother, Rajima, said in a video released this year.
Officials at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi have confirmed that they have been working with Dalquez to help her secure the acquittal.
Several organisations have also joined the expat and her family in rallying support for her acquittal.
Migrante International, an alliance of overseas Filipino organisations, scheduled a vigil on Monday in Manila as they await the results of the CA hearing. “We will be joined by families of OFWs on death row and in jail,” the group said.
The members of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, in an open letter dated March 23, said Dalquez is not alone in her search for justice.
“At the end of February of this year, another OFW named Jakatia Pawa was hanged to death in Kuwait for allegedly killing her employer’s daughter. On March 17, 1995, another OFW named Flor Contemplacion was sentenced to death in Singapore, for allegedly drowning a young boy under her friend’s care.”
“The time is now to call for OFWs like Jennifer to benefit from safe working environments and improved legal processes before further trials and death penalty convictions in other countries. “
The Filipina arrived in the UAE in November 2011 and later worked as a housemaid. Her employer reportedly attempted to rape her in March 2012, so she was forced to leave.
In 2013, she landed a job at a restaurant and later as a part-time assistant for a doctor. To augment her income, she decided to do cleaning services for households.
It was in December 2014 when she got a call to clean the house of a policeman, according to a factsheet posted on a Facebook page called “Save Jennifer Dalquez,” which has been created to spread awareness on her case.
