4 days Ago
Vice President Sara Duterte said that her office will provide assistance for the Filipinos who were arrested for holding a political demonstration in Qatar last week. Duterte said that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will coordinate with other agencies to discuss what kind of assistance they can extend to the arrested Filipinos, according to Mariz Umali's report on Unang Balita on Tuesday. Malacañang also assured that the Philippine government would not abandon the arrested Filipinos and would give them assistance.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega has clarified that 20 Filipinos were arrested for holding a political demonstration in Qatar, and not 17, as earlier reported. De Vega had said the arrested Filipinos participated in a rally which may have been held to oppose the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte due to crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC). He also pointed out that if charges are filed against the arrested Filipinos, the Philippine Embassy in Qatar will give them legal assistance since they may be imprisoned for three years.
Of the Filipinos still in detention, five are women while the remaining 12 are men. Three children who were among the detainees have been released, but their parents remain in custody, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News.
