Filipino saved from UAE death row returns home

MANILA, Philippines — A 29-year-old Filipina domestic helper who was saved from the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates returned home yesterday.

Jennifer Dalquez of General Santos City was met by her parents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon her arrival from Abu Dhabi.

“I would like to thank President Duterte for his help. The government and the Philippine embassy did not abandon me,” Dalquez told reporters.

She was sentenced to death by an Abu Dhabi court for killing her employer in 2014.

Dalquez argued that her employer threatened to kill her after she refused to have sex with him.

The Philippine embassy in Saudi Arabia appealed her conviction.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Court of Appeals in Abu Dhabi acquitted Dalquez of murder in June 2017.

The DFA said Dalquez was ordered released on Oct. 25 after serving a prison term for theft.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola welcomed the release of Dalquez.