The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan on Saturday shed light on the case of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who allegedly killed and robbed a Taiwanese national last year.

 

MECO Managing Director Antonio Basilio said the death of the victim referred to as “Mrs. Chui” was a result of her unresolved debt with tutor Cecilia Alcaraz alias Nemencia Panaglima Armia.

 

“In a confession signed by Armia, as well as in evidence presented by the court, it was said that Armia had a row with a Mrs. Chui, the Taiwanese broker that she allegedly killed. Money was the main reason behind their dispute as Chui failed to settle her debt with Armia. Emotions got in the way as Chui pushed Armia who eventually stabbed her to death with a vegetable knife,” Basilio said in a DZMM interview with Vice President Noli De Castro.

 

Basilio said that based on the findings presented during the trial, Armia took Chui’s automated teller machine (ATM) card to buy a garbage bag which she used to wrap the victim's body. He said that Armia then dumped the body somewhere in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

 

“The disposal of Chui’s body the day after she died was caught on tape. Footage from a security camera actually showed a person throwing Chui’s body in a corner. It was later on found out that the motorcycle used in the incident belonged to Armia’s Japanese friend, which eventually led to her residence. The police then discovered that across the street where she lives, there is a store selling garbage bags and ropes, which eventually led to the questioning of Armia and her boyfriend David,” he said.

 

Basilio added that security camera caught Armia attempting to withdraw twice at a nearby ATM using the victim’s card.

 

“Court records say that she succeeded eight times out of her twelve attempts,” he said.

 

He said that David, Armia’s boyfriend and an English professor, was also detained as he was also considered a suspect to the crime. 

 

“Nemencia’s boyfriend David who is an American teacher was detained for around four months during the investigation to see whether he participated in the crime. He was already subjected to a lie detector test, DNA evidence and fingerprint test given his alibi that he was not at the scene of the crime. David was said to go home at 4 a.m. while the crime took place at around 7-8 p.m.,” he said.

 

 

Although she initially admitted her guilt, Armia eventually said that two Taiwanese were responsible for Chui’s death. Basilio added that Armia claimed she was forced by the two Taiwanese to retrieve money at the ATM using Chui’s account.

 

Armia, however, failed to provide names and physical evidence that the two Taiwanese were present at the scene of the crime, causing the court to disregard her statement.

 

“Evidence such as fingerprints, video surveillance, and polygraph tests led to the judge’s conclusion that it was Armia who killed Chui,” he said.

 

 

Basilio made it clear that the court in Taiwan has sentenced Armia to death by a single bullet from a pistol, and not by firing squad as was initially reported.

 

“After Nemencia was found guilty, her lawyer filed an appeal and that hearing will begin on October 24. The appeal usually takes about three months. We hope that it would succeed, if it doesn’t it will automatically go to the Supreme Court (SC)…But it’s not yet final at the moment,” he said.

 

Armia, he said, actually has two lawyers. One was provided by the government and the other was granted by the Taiwan Alliance for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, a non-government organization (NGO). The lawyers represented Armia during the trial and the appeal.

 

 

Meanwhile, militant women’s group Gabriela, together with Migrante International will be joining Armia’s family in a dialogue with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday to discuss her case.

 

"The only way OFWs can get any help from the government is when their families and concerned groups relentless push DFA to take action," Gabriela said.

 

In a statement, Gabriela spokesperson Joms Salvador said the government's lax attitude on Armia’s case might result to another case of "too little, too late" as with the case of Jenifer Bidoya in Jeddah.

 

"After the death of Venancio Ladion alias Jenifer Bidoya in Jeddah, we fear for the life of Cecilia Alcaraz alias Nemencia Armia, a mother of four, who worked as a tutor in Taiwan before she was arrested for allegedly killing a Taiwanese national," she said.

 

The women’s group voiced dissatisfaction over DFA’s response to the situation, saying that the government seems to have neglected the country’s so-called modern-day heroes.

 

"The case of Armia started a year ago and we did not hear anything from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) until today when the death sentence was handed down," Salvador said.

 

Salvador said Armia’s case is another illustration of the sad plight of millions of OFWs especially women who are forced to leave the country because of poverty despite the many cases of injustices against migrant workers in foreign countries.