Philippines cuts OFW death row cases from 60 to 25

Dubai: The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) facing the death penalty abroad has been 'drastically reduced,' dropping from up to 60 cases in previous years down to just 25. The reduction is largely attributed to legal reforms in Malaysia that allowed for the commutation of capital punishment sentences.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac revealed the promising figures during a Senate hearing on the proposed 2026 budget for the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

'It used to be in the neighborhood of 50 to 60, but now we’re down to 25,' Secretary Cacdac told the Committee on Finance sub-panel.

He highlighted that the significant drop was made possible through the coordinated, sustained efforts of the DMW and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The biggest factor in the reduction, according to Secretary Cacdac, was a policy shift in Malaysia.

'This has been drastically reduced because in Malaysia, they have a new policy,' Cacdac explained. 'They became flexible in terms of commuting the sentences of our death row cases. Our embassy there applied for the commutation.'

The Secretary also noted the high-level involvement of the President in the effort. 'The President is also very concerned about the death row cases,' he said. 'And we have been working quietly to hold the executions at bay.'

The general legal strategy, he added, is a three-pronged approach: 'The general legal strategy is to hold the executions at bay; first level, second level to commute, and third level, our countrymen will be released.'

In total, 116 OFWs have been convicted of various crimes overseas, with the 25 death row cases representing the most critical situations.

The discussion on the DMW’s budget for 2026 brought its crucial legal assistance program, the AKSYON Fund, into sharp focus.

Senator Raffy Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, commended the DMW for its interventions, which have already resulted in several OFWs being absolved or having their sentences reduced.

However, several senators stressed that the budget allocated for the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) needs to be increased significantly to match the scale of services needed by millions of OFWs, who are considered the nation’s 'bagong bayani.' (new heroes)

For 2026, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has proposed a combined budget of P10.2 billion for the DMW and OWWA. While this is a 17 percent increase from their current budget, it remains 44 percent lower than the amount the agency initially requested.

The DMW initially sought P2.4 billion for the AKSYON Fund next year, but the proposed amount was cut to P1.2 billion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Senator Rodante Marcoleta strongly advocated for a massive boost to the legal aid fund. 'Your AKSYON fund should be a minimum of five billion. You know why? This is really where the problem of our OFWs lies… they need legal assistance most of the time while they’re there,' Marcoleta asserted.

Secretary Cacdac agreed, stating a higher fund would help the DMW hire more lawyers. The agency aims to expand its external legal partners by up to 50 percent and double its in-house lawyers by 2026.

Senators Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, along with Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, expressed their intent to amend the departments’ budget to reinstate the cut funds, recognizing that the P10.2 billion proposal is minuscule compared to the approximately P2.2 trillion in OFW remittances recorded in 2024.