Consul meets with relatives of missing OFWs

Officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have met with the relatives of the three missing Filipino workers and discussed the status of the ongoing police investigation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Consul General Pendosina Lomondot reported yesterday to the DFA that he and his consular staff talked with relatives and informed them that seven Filipino workers allegedly admitted to the Janoobiyah Intelligence Police their involvement in the killing of three Filipino nationals.

Police have detained the suspects for further investigation.

Lomondot also relayed the request of the relatives not to disclose the names of the missing OFWs to respect their right to privacy.

Meanwhile, Lomondot said 14 OFWs arrested in connection with the discovery of dismembered human body parts and the case of the missing Filipinos have been released by the Janoobiyah Intelligence Office to their respective employers or sponsors.

The 14 OFWs were released after interrogation showed that they had no involvement in the crime.

Lomondot is also communicating with the employers or sponsors of the seven OFWs suspected of committing the crime.

Sources at the DFA said the Saudi police are closely looking at reports that locals there are also among the financiers of the lottery operation in Jeddah and are the rivals of some Filipino workers who are also operating the illegal numbers game.

The official, who asked not to be named, claimed that overseas Filipino workers are not the only ones who bet in the lottery, saying workers from Thailand and Bangladesh also take part.

Saudi authorities are also investigating the phone card scam involving Filipino workers.

The Jeddah police continues to investigate the killing of the three OFWs and the discovery of dismembered bodies found inside plastic garbage bags last April 4 in the Sina’alayh District, south of Jeddah.

Lomondot also indicated in his report that one of the three victims operates a lottery in Jeddah in competition with the lottery operation of one of the seven detained suspects. The police investigators informed the Philippine Consulate that the motive for the killing could be due to a rivalry in lottery operations in Jeddah.