20 Pinoys in Saudi jail need help

GUAGUA, Pampanga — Truck driver Nelson Serrano, who arrived here last week from Saudi Arabia where he was jailed for months and hospitalized for lashes inflicted upon him inside the Al Hasa central jail, urged the government yesterday to work for the release of 20 other jailed Filipinos.

Serrano was jailed after the Saudi police found liquor in the cargo truck he was driving enroute to Bahrain. Since he could not pay the fine, he was slapped with a two-year jail sentence with 300 lashings.

"I did not know there was contraband in the shipment I was transporting. When the police inspected the shipment at the boundary in Bahrain, they found bottles of liquor in the pillows and clothing materials," he told The Star. He worked as driver for the Aburami Transport Corp.

A month ago, Serrano’s wife Leonila sought the help of Councilor Divine David-Tulio, who coordinated with Sen. Lito Lapid and his son Gov. Mark Lapid, to appeal to the Saudi government to grant clemency for her husband.

Last week, jail officials told Serrano his two-year sentence was cut in half and that he could already go back to the Philippines.

Serrano, however, remains worried over the fate of 20 other Filipinos from various parts of Luzon who, like him, were charged with minor offenses and are detained at the Al Hasa central jail.

Serrano said most of the other Filipino inmates were only charged with light offenses and could be granted clemency if Philippine officials would appeal in their behalf.

He brought home the complete names and home addresses of his former jail companions, hoping that the government would also seek their early release.

He recalled that his Filipino companions in jail also had to be hospitalized after lashings. "I was supposed to get 300 lashings, but this was reduced to 150. I was lashed 50 times every other Friday until I completed the 150 lashings," he said.

Serrano was initially recruited to work as driver in Saudi by a licensed recruiting firm, but later moved to another employer without going back to the Philippines. He said that since he was jailed a year ago, all his five children had to stop schooling.