Senator Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla on Tuesday, January 24, appealed to the public not to link Islam to the gruesome murder of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara,
In his manifestation in response to the privilege speech of Senator Jinggoy Estrada on the Ranara killing, Padilla - a Muslim - said killing is never a part of the teachings of Islam.
"As we join cries for justice for Mrs. Ranara and the speedy solution of the case, I ask everyone not to link the Islam faith to the murder, especially because killing goes against our faith," he stressed.
"Killing is not part of our faith," he said.
"Killing is a violation of Islam. I am making this clarification because most of the people in Kuwait are our fellow Muslims," he added.
Padilla pointed out as well that the Qu'ran's teachings indicate the killing of an innocent person is a serious offense.
The lawmaker noted he was heartbroken after learning of the brutal killing of Mrs. Ranara, whose remains were found in a desert in Kuwait.
Also, he appealed to authorities to make sure that none of the 50,000 Filipinos working as household domestic workers in Kuwait would suffer the same fate as Mrs. Ranara.
In a related development, Senator Raffy Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, associated himself with the speech of committee vice-chairman Senator Estrada.
"The death of another one of our heroes should never be taken lightly. One life lost is one too many,’’ he said.
Tulfo commended the efforts of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration(OWWA) in their support and immediate action regarding the case of Jullebee and for the needs of her family.
‘’I have been informed that they will be given by OWWA a guaranteed financial aid of P220,000 and an additional P800,000 from the life insurance provided by the agency,’’ he said.
Tulfo told his colleagues that he got in touch with the mother of Jullebee.
‘"Kanina po nakausap ko ang mother ni Jullebee at nagkwento niya sa akin ang pangyayari at ako po ay naawa at nagpaabot po ako ng personal kong pera na P50,000 sa isa kong staff para tulong sa kanya (I was able to talk to Jullebee’s mother who narrated the incident and, pitying her, I gave P50,000 through my staff)," he said.