MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Pardoned domestic helper May Vecina on Tuesday said she regretted having killed her seven-year-old ward in Kuwait and thanked the victim's family for giving her a second lease in life in the Philippines.Vecina was presented in a joint press conference by Vice President Noli De Castro and Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo at the Department of Foreign Affairs shortly upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. "Pinagsisihan ko siyempre may anak din ako (I regret it of course because I also have children)," Vecina said, referring to her two children aged nine and four. Vecina said she has no plans of going abroad again and would rather work in her hometown in Davao to be with her children, who have been assured scholarships by the government. De Castro said that Vecina would be given P10,000 cash assistance and another P50,000 loan if she wanted to put up a small business. Vecina said one lesson that she learned from this sad episode in her life was not to seek greener pastures abroad when you already have a good job in the Philippines. "Huwag ng pumunta sa ibang bansa. Kung may kaunting hanapbuhay dito sa ating bansa, dito na lang tayo. Kasi pag nasa ibang bansa ka, ang isang paa mo nasa bingit ng kamatayan. At iyon namang may magandang amo na napasukan sa abroad, sana ay lalu nilang pagbutihin (Don’t leave for abroad. If there’s some livelihood here, let’s stay here in our country. In another country, we’re always in danger. For those who have great jobs abroad, do good work)," she said. Vecina said she committed the crime out of anger but is now truly sorry for it. "I thank God and all the people who helped me get a pardon. I thought I'd never be able to return to the Philippines. I want to go back to my family and enjoy my second life with them," she said at the airport. Ambassador Endaya, for his part, said he and Vecina's legal team had all but given up hope when the victim's father agreed to forgive Vecina in April 2008. "It was a great miracle," he said. From the OFW lounge at NAIA, Vecina went to the DFA for debriefing and further assistance, she is set to return to her home in Davao. Vecina landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 8:49 a.m. via Qatar Airways QR648 accompanied by Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya and welcomed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator Carmelita Dimzon. Vecina thanked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for intervening in her case leading to the commutation of her sentence and eventual pardon. Migrante International, a global alliance of migrant workers, welcomed Vecina’s return, but said that the government should also pay attention to the plight of the 20 Filipina workers allegedly being raped by their recruiter in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. “Will the 20 Pinays being raped by Abu Khalid have to wait for two years before they can have the same red carpet treatment from Vice President Noli De Castro? Do they also have to thank the government for failing to give them decent jobs here in the Philippines and become sex slaves abroad?” said Garry Martinez, chairman of Migrante. The group claimed that five of the 20 reported domestic helpers being held in Maqpoon Belahodood General Service Company’s office in Dammam, Saudi Arabia are allegedly being raped every night when they are summoned by the agency’s owner, Abu Khalid.
In May 2008, Kuwait's Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) upheld the lower courts' death sentence after finding Vecina guilty of killing Salem Sulaiman Al-Otaib on January 6, 2007 in Mubarak Al-Kabeer. In her defense during court proceedings, she admitted to killing her victim after she was allegedly subjected by the Otaib family to physical and mental torture. She also attempted to kill the victim's 13-year-old brother Abdulla and 17-year-old sister Hajer. On July 8, 2008, Emir Sheikh Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, signed a decree commuting May Vecina's death sentence to life imprisonment following appeals from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and De Castro. The case of Filipino overseas workers on a death row has always been an emotional issue in Manila where one in every 10 Filipinos works abroad. They send home billions of dollars in remittances, which constitute about 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. In December 2007, the death sentence of another OFW, Marilou Ranario, was commuted after a personal appeal by Arroyo to the emir. Ranario was convicted for murdering her female employer in 2005. There are two other Filipinos on death row in Kuwait—Jakatia Pawa and Bienvinido Espino. Romulo said that Vecina's release was a team effort and assured the same assistance to other OFWs who are similarly situated. | 
