Ayon sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), ito ay kasunod ng ipinagkaloob na clemency ni His Highness The Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah kay Bienvenido Espino.
Hinatid ni Philippine Embassy sa Kuwait Chargé d’Affaires at Consul General Mohd. Noordin Pendosina Lomondot si Espino sa Kuwait International Airport para sa repatriation nito noong August 30.
Pinangasiwaan ng embahada ang repatriation ni Espino pauwi ng Pilipinas.
“On behalf of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, my deepest and most profound gratitude goes to His Highness The Amir for granting clemency to OFW Bienvenido Espino, and for giving our kababayan a chance to start a new life in the Philippines,” ayon kay Lomondot.
“The Philippine government, through the Embassy, had been asking the Kuwaiti government to pardon OFW Espino. No less than then-Presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno S. Aquino III personally appealed to His Highness The Amir to grant clemency to OFW Espino. Even after his death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in 2013, the Philippine government remained persistent in appealing for the Amir’s pardon, through our letters to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” dagdag pa nito.
Tumagal ng 13 taon nang makulong ang OFW sa Sulaibiya Central Jail.
“Espino received a tanazul or letter of forgiveness from the family of his late Filipina partner after settling the blood money for the crime,” pahayag naman ng DFA.
Dahil dito, mula sa death sentence, ibinaba sa life imprisonment noong 2013 ang hatol kay Espino.
Mesahe naman ni Lomondot sa OFW, “I hope that OFW Espino will carry with him the experiences and lessons of the past as he starts a new life in the Philippines. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”