THE charges against 17 Filipinos arrested in Qatar for participating in an unauthorized public demonstration have been officially dismissed.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with Qatari Ambassador to the Philippines Ahmed Saad Nasser Abdullah Al-Homidi at Malacañang on Monday morning.
At the meeting, the ambassador informed the President that the cases against the detained Filipinos had been dropped.
“According to Ambassador Al-Homidi, this decision reflects the strong and enduring friendship between the Philippines and Qatar,” Castro said during a press briefing.
The 17 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)—12 men and 5 women—were arrested for participating in a rally in support of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte is currently in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, facing allegations of crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s war on drugs.
Last Friday, the Philippine government announced that it had secured the provisional release of the OFWs, following President Marcos’ directive for concerned agencies to pursue all legal and diplomatic avenues to assist the detained Filipinos.