On April 8, a Filipino Norly Abordo was condemned to...

On April 8, a Filipino Norly Abordo was condemned to death in Saudi Arabia for killing a Thai co-worker. President Estrada formed a committee with Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Magdangal Elma to carry out the review of the death sentence on three robbers, Archie Bulan, 24, Dante Piandong, 27 and Jesus Morallos, 32. They were sentenced to death in November 1994 for killing a police officer during an attempted robbery on a minibus in Manila. The Supreme Court had confirmed their death sentences in February 1997. Church and human rights leaders welcomed the 90-day reprieve that had been granted. "You can't go on killing because it debases one's self. There is a limit to killing a fellow man," Archbishop Cruz said. The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) in a letter to Estrada had appealed for clemency for the three condemned men, reminding him of a statement he made that he might be compassionate to people driven by poverty to commit crime.