The Kuwait Court of Cassation will decide on the fate of domestic helper Marilou Ranario next month as the Philippine government stepped up efforts to obtain pardon to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment.
Ranario was charged with the murder of her Kuwaiti employer on Jan. 11, 2005.
On Tuesday this week, the court heard the oral arguments on Ranario’s behalf given by Kuwaiti defense lawyers Ahmad Qurban and Abdel Majid Khuraibet. The Philippine government commissioned the two to defend Ranario.
The court set the promulgation of its decision for December 27.
In a statement, the Philippine embassy in Kuwait said that throughout her detention and the judicial proceedings Criminal Circuit Court to the Appellate Court and the Court of Cassation, consular officials spared no effort to assist Ranario and her family.
It said embassy officials regularly visited and counseled her and attended court proceedings. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the embassy assisted Ranario's parents in their travel to Kuwait in April 2006 to visit her at the Sulaibiya Central Jail.
Ranario's two children are provided counseling by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. They were also given scholarships by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Five seasoned and highly respected Kuwaiti lawyers have so far been provided by the government to defend her.
Arroyo vows helpRepresentations to Kuwaiti authorities for clemency have been made on Ranario's behalf by President Arroyo, Vice-President Noli de Castro and DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo.
DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos and Ambassador Ricardo Endaya are personally overseeing efforts to save the life of Ranario.
Two months ago, de Castro said the Philippine government is on its way of obtaining forgiveness for her and said they had hired a top-notch legal team to ensure that her appeal for life imprisonment instead of death is approved.
He said the lawyers have so far failed to obtain forgiveness for Ranario from the victim's mother and two siblings.
De Castro also said that Mrs. Arroyo promised to help raise "blood money" required for the victim's family. He added that the emir of Kuwait has vowed to help.
Ranario, 33, a former teacher, was found guilty of murdering her employer. A criminal court sentenced her to death by hanging.
The Filipina has one last chance to appeal her case before the ruling becomes final. She admitted that she only meant to "harm" the victim who had abused her.
Under Kuwaiti law, a convicted murderer may be granted pardon, provided the family of the victim accepts the blood money being offered.
abs-cbnnews.com
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