China rejects VP Binay's visit to appeal for clemency

UPDATED 4:00 p.m. - Vice-President Jejomar Binay will no longer be pushing through with his trip to China to appeal for clemency for the three Filipinos sentenced to death for drug trafficking. In a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday, Binay said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) received word from Beijing that the Vice-President's visit is not appropriate as of now. "I just talked with Undersecretary Esteban Conejos that they received a message from the embassy in China that time is not appropriate for me to go to China," Binay told reporters on Thursday. Binay was supposed to go to China to bring a letter signed by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in a last-ditch effort to plead for the lives of three Filipinos facing execution for drug-related offenses. Binay’s spokesman Joey Salgado said the letter is an appeal to Chinese authorities to defer the execution of the three, and commute their sentences to life imprisonment. Saddened by the decision Binay said he was saddened by China's decision. "Might as well say na nalulungkot dahil baka mamisinterpret yung disappointment natin. Nalulungkot kasi me batas sila dun e, yun ang mangyayari sa batas nila," he said. Despite this, the Vice-President remains optimistic that China will still change its decision. "Kung ako gusto ko, optimistic. Meron pa hangga’t hindi pa nangyayari yung event. Isipin natin baka sakali pa kesa naman magraise tayo ng white flag na it’s over. Hangga't hindi pa nangyayari, may pag-asa pa," Binay said. He even asked the public to pray for the commutation of the death sentence. "Sumama na kayo sa pagdarasal. They always say nga miracles can happen. so this is an instance where we have to ask miracles to happen," Binay said. "Baka naman makuha pa sa dasal na hindi matuloy ang execution," he said. He reiterated that the Aquino administration is doing "all our best formal and informal way of appealing for the stay of the execution." However, Binay did not elaborate on the formal and informal appeals that the government is undertaking. President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Wednesday said he will be sending Binay to China “to stress how important it is for us to have the death penalty be commuted to life imprisonment as we are doing here." China court affirms death sentence On Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of the People’s Republic of China has sustained the death sentence on the three Filipino suspected drug traffickers after a judicial review. In a press statement, the embassy said, "The death sentence on the three Filipino drug traffickers is the final verdict by the Chinese judicial authorities in accordance with law. As criminals of death penalty, their legitimate rights and interests have been protected in accordance with law." The embassy said, "The Chinese side has informed the Philippine side of the SPC’s decision through diplomatic channels." "The Chinese law prescribes that any person, no matter that he or she is a Chinese citizen or a foreigner, who commits crime shall be brought to justice in strict accordance with law. No one is privileged to transcend law," the embassy said. The embassy said drug-related crimes are "bitterly detested by the international community, China and the Philippines included." "China follows strict judicial procedures in applying death penalty. A death sentence should be meted after two-tier trial and subject to review and approval by the SPC," the embassy explained. Miriam: China not likely to downgrade sentence Meanwhile, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said on Thursday it is unlikely that China will downgrade the death sentence meted on three overseas Filipinos workers given the country's strong position against drugs. "Malabo. (It is unlikely.) I have to be realistic," Santiago said on the sidelines of the public hearing on Charter change, when asked if she thinks that the death sentence against the three may still be commuted to life imprisonment. "China is very strong about its position because it wants to emphasize to the whole world its grim determination to keep drugs away from China," Santiago added. She does not believe, however, that impending execution of the three Filipinos is a test of the relationship between China and the Philippines, as Aquino said. "These are extreme views. That's like putting China on the spot so to speak. It's not a test of our relationship (but a matter of the) collective will of the world to abolish the death penalty," the senator said. Santiago, who chairs the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws, likewise noted that she has taken a personal position against the death penalty. – with Jerrie Abella/VVP, GMA News