By: L.N. Reklai
Beth Adelbai a.k.a. Lilibeth Ann Garcia Sison, a Filipina convicted of various crimes such as Conversion of Public Funds and Property, Obtaining a Government Issued Identification Document Under False Pretense, People Smuggling, Exploiting Trafficked Person, Aiding and Abetting Travel Document Fraud and Aiding Abetting Forgery is seeking Executive Clemency.
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Adelbai was sentenced to serve one-year imprisonment for her crimes and was ordered to be deported once her jail term is completed on March 23, 2018. Adelbai then seeks not to be deported pending the decision of her request.
In her application for Executive Clemency, Adelbai requests for full pardon including commutation of her sentence, remission of her fines and complete expungement or complete erasure of her criminal records.
Adelbai’s request for Executive Clemency, states that her contribution to Palauan community as well as the Filipino community during her 28 years in Palau had over all positive effect.
It also states that during Adelbai’s time as General Manager for Lucky Gem Construction, a position she held for 29 years, she helped repair houses for members of both the Palauan and Filipino communities including churches and the hospital such as building the memorial chapel at Belau National Hospital and supplying labor at cost.
The same document states that charges that were brought against Beth Adelbai stemmed from her efforts to manage the Lucky Gem by herself after her husband passed away.
“Perhaps out of inexperience” the requests states, Sision failed to pay Social Security fees for the company which led to the charge of Conversion of Public Funds and Property.
The same request states that Adelbai admits her involvement in the cases of Exploiting Trafficked Person, People Smuggling, Aiding and Abetting Travel Document Fraud and Aiding and Abetting Forgery as lapse in judgment and moral wrong. Request state that at their base, her intentions were to “help her company, workers and local individuals in securing assistance for themselves…”
It also states that crimes she was convicted of were not crimes of violence directed at individuals.
The request states that Adelbai is “somewhat a victim of Plea Bargaining Process, that she had plead guilty to lessen charges of Exploiting a Trafficked Person or face possible trial for her initial charge of People Trafficking which carries higher imprisonment penalties and fines.
Adelbai allegedly felt the “intense pressure to accept the prosecutor’s plea agreement for fear of spending the rest of her life in jail,” the request states.
Adelbai also expressed that she has been deeply affected by her incarceration that she is unlikely to reoffend.
Many individuals have submitted letters of support for her request for Executive Clemency including prominent current and former politicians. She had, in the past, received certificates of appreciation for various assistance she gave including one from Philippine Embassy in 2007 that appreciated her efforts to assist “a number of Filipinos who were either victimized and deceived by illegal recruiters or lost employment.”
Adelbai had obtained 717 names and signatures supporting her request for Executive Clemency. [/restrict]