MANILA, Philippines — A Filipina domestic helper, who has been acquitted of murder in the United Arab Emirates, boarded her flight home on Thursday evening after spending almost four years in prison.
Jennifer Dalquez arrived in Manila on Friday morning along with 86 undocumented Filipinos who availed of the UAE's three-month amnesty program, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Related Stories
In a handwritten note to the Philippine Embassy, Dalquez expressed her gratitude to the government for getting her out of death row.
"Taos puso po ako nagpapasalamat sa embahada na tinulugan po ako nila sa kaso ko hanggang makalaya at sa gobyerno ako po'y taos pusong nagpasalamat sa inyo sa tulong na ginawa nyo sa akin," Dalquez said.
Ambassador to UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana reported to the DFA that the acquitted Filipina was grateful to the Philippine Embassy for ensuring that she would return home to the Philippines.
"Jennifer was indeed very thankful for all the assistance, the support, and most especially the prayers that she said led to the reversal of the death sentence that was meted out on her three years ago," Quintana said.
Quintana talked to Dalquez on the phone before boarding her flight to Manila as the latter did not have the chance to personally thank the Philippine envoy.
In 2014, an Abu Dhabi court found Dalquez guilty and sentenced her to death for stabbing her employer to death. The incident happened after the employer threatened to kill the Filipina after refusing to have sex with him, the DFA said.
The Philippine Embassy immediately appealed the court decision, which was later on overturned by a local court in 2017.
The DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs has provided Dalquez with a lawyer since her case first started in March 2015, Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said.
“Jennifer’s acquittal underscores just how serious the Duterte Administration is in promoting the rights and protecting the welfare of our people abroad,” Arriola said.
Aside from legal assistance from the Philippine government, Dalquez also received assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. — Patricia Lourdes Viray