By Roy Mabasa
Jennifer Dalquez, the Filipino household worker who was facing the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates for killing her employer in December 2015, is now free and is scheduled to return to the Philippines on Friday.
Jennifer Dalquez
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi is now coordinating with UAE authorities for Dalquez' flight back to Manila tonight. Dalquez, a native of General Santos City, flew to the UAE in December 2011 to work as a household worker, leaving behind her two young children. On December 7, 2014, her employer, an Emirati policeman, tried to rape her at knifepoint. She managed to get hold of the knife and accidentally killed her employer. "Napatay ko po ang aking among pulis dahil tinangka niya po akong gahasain at patayin. Sinunog po niya ako. Pinalo, sinuntok, at sinara niya po ang pintuan palabas at doon niya po ako pinalo ng bote sa mukha sa bandang taas ng mata,” Dalquez said in a portion of an audio recording she previously sent to pro-OFW group Migrante where she appealed for the Philippine government’s help. It was on May 20, 2015 when the Al Ain Court of First Instance handed down the death penalty sentence to the Filipina OFW. In January 2017, Dalquez sent an appeal to President Duterte to save her from the death penalty, saying that she was only trying to defend herself. "Nagmamakaawa po ako sa mahal nating pangulo na tulungan niya po ako na makauwi na sa bansa natin. Kayo lang po ang aking pag-asa na makalabas po dito sa kulungan," she said. The UAE appeals court acquitted Dalquez following the failure of the victim’s two sons to appear before the court on two consecutive sessions, to swear to Allah 50 times and attest that there was no other person inside their house at the time of the incident except for the OFW who could possibly have killed their father. In a brief statement on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed the release of Dalquez from UAE prison shortly after it received the information from the Embassy in the Emirates.
Jennifer Dalquez(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi is now coordinating with UAE authorities for Dalquez' flight back to Manila tonight. Dalquez, a native of General Santos City, flew to the UAE in December 2011 to work as a household worker, leaving behind her two young children. On December 7, 2014, her employer, an Emirati policeman, tried to rape her at knifepoint. She managed to get hold of the knife and accidentally killed her employer. "Napatay ko po ang aking among pulis dahil tinangka niya po akong gahasain at patayin. Sinunog po niya ako. Pinalo, sinuntok, at sinara niya po ang pintuan palabas at doon niya po ako pinalo ng bote sa mukha sa bandang taas ng mata,” Dalquez said in a portion of an audio recording she previously sent to pro-OFW group Migrante where she appealed for the Philippine government’s help. It was on May 20, 2015 when the Al Ain Court of First Instance handed down the death penalty sentence to the Filipina OFW. In January 2017, Dalquez sent an appeal to President Duterte to save her from the death penalty, saying that she was only trying to defend herself. "Nagmamakaawa po ako sa mahal nating pangulo na tulungan niya po ako na makauwi na sa bansa natin. Kayo lang po ang aking pag-asa na makalabas po dito sa kulungan," she said. The UAE appeals court acquitted Dalquez following the failure of the victim’s two sons to appear before the court on two consecutive sessions, to swear to Allah 50 times and attest that there was no other person inside their house at the time of the incident except for the OFW who could possibly have killed their father. In a brief statement on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed the release of Dalquez from UAE prison shortly after it received the information from the Embassy in the Emirates.