DFA: Hostage tragedy won’t worsen Pinoy death-row cases in China

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday assured that the Manila hostage tragedy will not jeopardize the fate of five Filipinos who are currently on death row in China. DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said he is sure that the appeal of five Filipinos now facing the death penalty in various prisons in China will not be affected by the bloody hostage-taking last August 23, which killed eight Hong Kong residents. "I'm sure that both countries will look at cases separately and will decide on the basis of the good relations that we have with China," Conejos said after attending a Senate hearing on human trafficking on Wednesday. During the Senate hearing, Conejos said that five Filipinos, four of whom are women, are facing the death penalty for smuggling illegal drugs into China's territories. The DFA official said he was confident that China would not "link" the loss of Chinese lives on August 23 to the situation of the five Filipinos on death row. "We respect and [recognize] the legal processes of China," he said. Senator Loren Legarda, head of the Senate foreign relations committee, agreed with Conejos. "I think we should look at [the death-row drug cases] as a different case altogether," she said after the hearing. Conejos said the DFA asked the Chinese Supreme Court to lift the death sentences if the Philippine government is able to pinpoint the mastermind of the drug smuggling, since the recruitment of the drug smugglers reportedly also involve Filipinos. "Apparently, [our offer is] getting resonance in the Supreme Court," Conejos said. He likewise said that they are appealing on grounds that the five Filipinos were victims rather than perpetrators of these offenses. Filipinos are usually duped by foreign syndicates into smuggling drugs into other countries for a hefty sum. Conejos said their cases might be decided in two to three weeks. No ‘abnormality’ Conejos, meanwhile, said he hasn't received any report that Filipinos are being abused in Hong Kong or elsewhere in China because of last week’s hostage tragedy. He likewise said that he does not see any "abnormality" in the country's relationship with China and its territories, adding that the country should focus on coming out with a credible, comprehensive, and thorough review of the hostage incident. "All of Philippines and China (are) very eager to get this thing past us," he said.—Kimberly Jane T. Tan/JV, GMANews.TV