15 July 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Manama, Bahrain reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that they are assisting Ms. Grace T. Nodalo, a Filipino cashier who worked for the Bahrain Financing Company (BFC) and is now facing charges and a possible prison sentence for faking her own abduction.  The Embassy said that they are doing everything possible to ensure that Ms. Nodalo’s rights and welfare under the Bahraini criminal justice system are protected.

In connection with the Embassy’s assistance, Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Eduardo Pablo M. Maglaya reported that upon his recommendation and subsequent approval by the DFA, legal assistance funds had been disbursed for the legal services of the defense.  The Embassy continues to coordinate with Julio, Grace’s husband, on the progress of the case.

Ambassador Maglaya said that these actions came as a result of a Bahraini court decision released on 05 July 2005, sentencing Ms. Nodalo to six months imprisonment and deportation for providing false information to police authorities on the circumstances surrounding her 11-day “abduction,” which lasted from 14 to 25 June 2005.

The Embassy’s assistance-to-nationals officer Mr. Ramon Nerida and Ms. Nodalo’s lawyer Atty. Mohamed al-Motawa filed an appeal on the sentence on the same day.  Ambassador Maglaya further said that in order to further assist the Filipino national, Mr. Nerida met with the presiding judge of Ms. Nodalo’s Case Judge Ebrahim Sultan.  The Judge informed the Embassy’s representative that his decision rested mainly on the results of the court’s medical forensic examination of the wounds that Ms. Nodalo’s purportedly sustained from her abduction.

The Judge disclosed that medical findings revealed that (i) Ms. Nodalo’s injuries in her arms and shoulders were caused by colliding with a hard surface (edge) and not from the hands of her supposed attackers; (ii) wounds on her neck, shoulders and other parts of the body were superficial and appears to have been sustained just one or two days before her recovery at Marina Park in the Hoora District in West Riffa, Manama; and (iii) her injuries were self-inflicted or were sustained through the assistance of someone.

Ambassador Maglaya earlier reported that the missing Ms. Nodalo, who was feared to have been abducted by unidentified elements, was found alive and safe on 25 June 2005 by a Bahraini national after she was left early morning in a spot at the Marina Park by her alleged abductors.

Prior to her disappearance, Ms. Nodalo was being investigated in connection with the disappearance of a sizeable amount of money from the BFC, which employed her.  According to the Embassy’s report, two meetings had been conducted to find out who was responsible for the missing money and that both meetings failed to prove any connection between Ms. Nodalo and the missing money.  On 14 June, the day Ms. Nodalo disappeared, a third meeting was supposedly scheduled by the BFC at 9:00 in the morning.  (For background please see official DFA press release no. SFA-AGR-431-05 dated 27 June 2005.)  END
 
 

/jay