Special Envoy to the Gulf Cooperation Council Amable R. Aguiluz V (middle) conveying a status report to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (right) on the case of Sarah Dematera, an overseas Filipino worker who was scheduled for execution by beheading in Damam , Saudi Arabia . However due to the intercession of Ambassador Aguiluz, Dematera, who was convicted of murdering her employer Loloa Saileh Al Humaidi, was saved from death row. He was able to convince the murdered victim’s family to accept blood money and grant forgiveness through constant back channeling and negotiations. The Ambassador personally donated from his own pocket 175,000 Saudi Rial (2.45 million pesos) on top of the current 325,000 Saudi Rial for the initial payment of bloodmoney, which stayed the order of execution of Dematera. This momentous event capped a very successful state visit of President Arroyo in the oil-rich Kingdom which includes the commutation and pardon of hundreds of Filipino convicts and the pledge of Saudi’s ruler King Abdullah to strengthen trade and investment relations between the two countries. Looking on are (left) Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio Bunye who accompanied the President during her last stop to Damam.
