Govt wants fair deal for 5 Pinoys on death row in China

(Updated 8:12 p.m.) The Philippine government is closely monitoring the cases of five Filipinos facing the death penalty in China to ensure that they are given fair treatment, a Malacañang official said on Thursday. “I think the Department of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the situation and would like to avail itself of diplomatic channels that would ensure a fair and just treatment of our Filipino nationals," Presidential Communications Operations (PCO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. said at a press briefing. The DFA said these Filipinos were arrested for allowing themselves to be used as “drug mules" by international drug syndicates. Overseas-bound Filipino workers have fallen prey to drug syndicates recruiting couriers, also known as mules, to transport illegal drugs inside their luggage or shoes or fabric buttons. More recently, syndicates have come up with more dangerous ways of smuggling prohibited substances, like stuffing or even surgically sewing narcotics inside the bodies of Filipino couriers. ‘China’s laws must be respected’ Coloma, however, said laws in China must be ultimately respected. He made the statement amid tension between the Philippines and China following the August 23 hostage tragedy in Manila that resulted in the deaths of eight tourists from Hong Kong, a Chinese administrative region. “Sinusubaybayan nang masinsinan ng ating Department of Foreign Affairs ang pangyayaring yan ngunit dapat din nating alalahanin na kailangan galangin din yung mga processes ng ibang bansa especially if this involves violations of laws by our citizens," he said. (The DFA is closely monitoring the situation, but we must also remember that the legal processes in other countries must be respected especially if this involves violations of laws by our citizens.) Coloma said the Philippine government trusts the Chinese officials’ assurance that there is no anti-Filipino sentiment in China as a result of the Manila hostage tragedy. On Wednesday, DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said he is sure that the appeal of the five Filipinos — four women and a man — in various prisons in China will not be affected by the hostage incident. “I’m sure that both countries will look at the 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. Citizens Action Against Crime chair Teresita Ang-See, who is a member of the government body investigating the hostage tragedy, said she agrees with Conejos that the hostage incident will not affect the cases of the five Filipinos on death row in China. “I don’t think the tragedy has something to do with it. These are only five of the 72 Filipinos on the death row, matagal na yan (it happened before the hostage tragedy)," she told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Ang-See will represent the Filipino-Chinese community in the government investigation on the hostage tragedy. According to the DFA, the majority of the 302 Filipinos facing drug-related cases in Asia are in China (205 cases), followed by Hong Kong (26) and Malaysia (17). It said 221 of these cases involve women. Bigger picture In China, drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of illegal drugs is punishable by 15 years in prison, life imprisonment or death. In Muslim countries, drug trafficking is punishable by death, according to Shariah law. Coloma said the DFA is looking at the “bigger picture" and finding ways to prevent the involvement of Filipinos in international criminal activities. “Hindi naman po katanggap-tanggap na makikita ang ating mga mamamayang lumalabag sa batas ng ibang bansa dahil dito rin po sa ating bansa ay mahigipit ang pagbabawal natin sa mga ganyang activities," he said. (It’s not acceptable to see our citizens violating the laws of other countries when the Philippines itself is very strict about this kind of activities.) The DFA had earlier reiterated its warning to Filipinos traveling overseas against possession or trafficking of illegal drugs. Among the drug-related cases in China, five have been meted the death penalty without reprieve, and 70 with death penalty with two-year reprieve. In 35 cases, the offenders were given life imprisonment sentences. Fixed-term imprisonment was the sentence in 68 cases, while 27 cases remained pending. Under China’s criminal law, a capital punishment with a two-year reprieve means convicts are given two years to undergo “reform through labor," after which the sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment if the convicts are deemed to have shown genuine repentance for their crimes. Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson (1st district) is facing charges in Hong Kong after he was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport for allegedly carrying cocaine and prescription medication Valium.- with Sophia Regina Dedace and Jerrie M. Abella/KBK/JV, GMANews.TV