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OFW group slams DFA ‘double standards’ over Singson drug case


A migrants’ rights group has scored the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for its alleged double standards when it offered assistance to Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, detained over drug-related charges in Hong Kong, while other overseas Filipino workers are languishing in jails with no legal aid from the government. In a statement, Migrante International lamented that while the DFA only advised overseas Filipino workers in Chinese prisons in a similar situation to “behave in prison to be pardoned," the department has been quick to offer assistance to the detained lawmaker. “How the DFA treated our OFWs is a far cry from the special treatment being given now to Singson. To add insult to injury, (DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban) Conejos seems to be appealing to Singson to accept their services. Was this kind of vigilance and attention granted to our OFWs when they so requested and required?" Migrante chairperson Garry Martinez asked. Singson was arrested on July 11 at the Hong Kong International Airport for allegedly possessing 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of prescription medication Valium, a depressant used mainly for treating anxiety. (See: Singson entered HK using regular passport, DFA clarifies) Martinez said they first asked the DFA to provide legal assistance to 195 OFWs jailed in China for possession and trafficking of illegal drugs, but they were turned down. Migrante’s records showed that of the 195, 10 were sentenced to death without reprieve while 56 were given a two-year reprieve. At least 30 others were meanwhile sentenced to life imprisonment, while 44 were sentenced to 15 years in jail. The remaining 55 are still undergoing court hearings without legal assistance from the DFA, said Martinez. The DFA, however, earlier said it is extending full legal and other assistance to 102 OFWs sentenced to death as of July 2010 in different countries, 74 of whom are in China. (See: Help assured for 102 Filipinos on death row abroad — Palace) At least 16 others are in the Middle East facing death penalty on charges of murder or homicide, including rape and robbery with murder. In his letter to the DFA dated July 27, Martinez asked the department to reconsider its decision not to extend legal assistance to three OFWs in the Middle East sentenced to death also over drug-related charges. He said the cases of Edmar Aquino and Rose Jane Mahilum in Iran, and Jason Pineda in Saudi Arabia, were endorsed to the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) by the Philippine Embassies in the two countries. According to Martinez, they were informed, however, that “it is the DFA’s policy not to provide legal assistance to cases of OFWs who are involved in prohibited drugs." Martinez urged the DFA to provide other jailed Filipinos the same assistance it offered to Singson. “We do not want to be under the impression that the OUMWA’s reaction to the more popular case of Rep. Singson, contrary to how it handled the case of the above-mentioned OFWs, is mere grandstanding," Martinez wrote in his letter. Calls and text messages to Conejos’ phone to get his side on the issue went unanswered.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV

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