BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
In exchange for the release of its two convicted citizens, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) returned 95 Filipino prisoners to the Philippines, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said Thursday.
“We were the ones who made a demand,” said DoJ Undersecretary Markk Perete during an interview over DZXL.
DoJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier revealed that the administration of President Duterte has pardoned 135 Filipinos and four foreigners including two UAE nationals.
Meanwhile, Perete credited the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for the prisoner swap deal with the UAE.
“May listahan tayo na hiningi, na ito ating hihingin sa prisoner swap,” he said.
The undersecretary noted that the 95 Filipinos returned to the Philippines in two batches.
Perete noted that all the 95 convicted Filipinos had been serving prison sentences in the UAE for various crimes. (Jeffrey Damicog)