MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno S. Aquino III Thursday said he sent a letter of appeal to Chinese President Hu Jintao to seek the commutation of sentence for a 35-year-old Filipino, who has been meted the death penalty for drug trafficking.
“Kahapon po eh sumulat tayo kay President Hu Jintao at nag-aapela tayo na kung pwede ma-commute yung sintensya ng bibitayin nating kababayan [Yesterday, we wrote a letter to President Hu Jintao and we made an appeal to commute the death sentence of our fellow Filipino],” Aquino said.
“’Di ko alam kung kelan makakarating ang sagot sa atin na humihingi tayo ng commutation [I do not know when he will give us an answer, to our plea for a commutation],” he said.
“Problema lang nga ho, drugs na naman po ang involved, halos one and a half kilos of heroin ang nagiging ebidensya ng na-sentensyahan nating kababayan [the problem is, it involves drugs anew, almost one and a half kilos of heroin was used as evidence for the death sentence of this Filipino],” Aquino said, noting that China imposes the death sentence on drug trafficking.
The Chief Executive said Filipinos need not resort to drug trafficking to incur more money, noting the efforts being done by government to improve the economy.
“We are strengthening the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. We have asked for certain discussions to amend certain provisions of our laws, and we’re increasing our ability to interdict them, especially within our shores going out and coming in,” Aquino said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will not reveal the identity of the convicted Filipino. “(The) family wants privacy, and we would like to respect the request,” said DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez, when asked if the agency will disclose the Death Row convict’s name.
On Wednesday, the DFA broke news of impending execution of a 35-year-old Filipino national on Thursday, December 8.
The Philippine Consulate-General in Guangzhou relayed word to the DFA that the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing affirmed a lower court’s decision to carry out the death penalty on the Filipino. The conviction was not given a deferral period.
The convicted Filipino family, in a statement released through the DFA, said that they were “devastated” by the turn of events. “On behalf of our entire family, we would like to request all media to refrain from contacting any of us during this sensitive time. This is a private matter and we hope that the media would respect our wishes,” the statement read. The kin instead asked the people to “pray with our family”.
Aquino also thanked Vice President Jejomar Binay for his efforts to save the Filipino worker in peril. Binay is the Presidential Adviser for OFW Concerns.
“Concerned ang bise presidente sa ating OFW community… pasalamatan natin si Vice President Binay [The Vice President is concerned with our OFW community, we should be thankful to him],” he said.
He, however, recalled that although the Vice President’s efforts raised hopes for the commutation of three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) then on Death Row last March, the Chinese government still proceeded with the executions.
“Last time, alam niyo naman yung nangyari, na-delay pero at the end of the day, nagsalita na yung Korte Suprema nila na i-execute ang ating mga kababayan [Last time, you know what happened, there was a delay in the execution but at the end of the day, itsr Supreme Court decided to push through with the execution],” he said.
Three alleged Filipino drug mules were executed in China last March.
The 35-year-old Filipino being appealed for commutation by President Aquino was convicted for smuggling 1.495 kilos of heroin in Guangxi. He was arrested on September 13, 2008 at the Guilin International Airport from Malaysia, after authorities found the heroin in his possession. His death penalty will be carried out on Dec. 8.
China strictly imposes tough penalties on persons caught in possession of prohibited or dangerous drugs. Drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of highly-dangerous drugs like heroin may be punishable by 15 years in prison, life imprisonment, or death.
China is known for stringent laws against drug offenders. On March 30, it carried out the executions of convicted Filipino drug traffickers – Ramon Credo, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, and Elizabeth Batain – by lethal injection.
As this developed, a Filipino migrants’ rights group urged the Aquino administration and DFA to intensify its efforts in saving the Filipino convicted of drug trafficking in China. Migrante-Middle East (M-ME) pressed for the formation of an inter-agency task force that would attend specifically to Filipinos placed on death row abroad.
“We are still praying and hoping that the execution will be halted, although Chinese authorities really adhere to its strict implementation of anti-drugs policy,” said John Leonard Monterona, M-ME regional coordinator.
Monterona called it a “sad, bitter reality” for the Philippines, especially since there are over a hundred OFWs on death row in various countries. “We hope that our calls for the Aquino government to work hard to save the lives of other OFWs on death row must be met with all seriousness, with a pro-active stance on the part of the present administration,” he added.
M-ME also appealed for the formation of a high-level, inter-agency task force that would find ways to commute Filipinos’ death sentences and eventually spare them from execution. The Saudi-based group also renewed its call for an intensified campaign by the government to prevent Filipino migrants from being victimized by international drug traffickers and syndicates.
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