2 months ago
15
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Helen Flores - The Philippine Star
April 8, 2025 | 12:00am
Visitors gather at the FIFA World Cup countdown clock in Doha on October 30, 2022, ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup football tournament.
AFP / Jewel Samad
MANILA, Philippines — The Qatari government will no longer pursue legal action against the 17 Filipinos detained for participating in an unauthorized rally in support of former president Rodrigo Duterte, President Marcos announced yesterday.
“I’m happy to share with you that Qatar has confirmed it will not pursue charges against the 17 Filipinos who were earlier detained for illegal assembly… They will not face any penalties and will be allowed to return to work,” the President said in a post on social media.
According to Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, Qatari Ambassador Al-Homidi informed Marcos of the development during a meeting at Malacañang.
“Earlier, President Marcos met with Qatari Ambassador to the Philippines Al-Homidi. The Qatari ambassador said that the 17 arrested in Qatar have been released and the cases against them have been dismissed,” Castro said at a press briefing.
The Palace press officer said the Qatari envoy described the release of the overseas Filipino workers as “a reflection of the good and strong friendship between the two countries.”
She also credited the outcome to the President’s directive to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to exhaust all possible remedies to secure the release of the detained Filipinos.
The 17 individuals, composed of 12 Filipino men and five women, were arrested for allegedly staging demonstrations without a permit to protest the arrest and turnover of Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Under Qatari law, those found guilty of participating in unauthorized protests face penalties of up to three years imprisonment and fines of up to 50,000 Qatari riyals.
Duterte is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC in connection with his controversial war on drugs, which has claimed the lives of thousands of suspected drug offenders.
