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Donations sought to save Filipino worker on Saudi death row

MANILA, April 18 (UPI) -- The Philippines government is asking the public for more donations to rescue a Filipino worker on death row in Saudi Arabia for killing his landlord.

The call was issued after Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz extended the deadline to raise the $1 million in "blood money," Gulf News reported.

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Joselito Zapanta was sentenced to death after being convicted of the 2009 death of his landlord in a rent dispute. Zapanta, a tile worker, said he killed the landlord in self defense.

The Saudi government gave Zapanta a three-month reprieve from execution on March 13 to give his family time to raise the money demanded by the victim's relatives.

The deadline has now been extended to Nov. 3.

In issuing the call for donations, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said only $136,540 had been raised.

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