DFA helping Pinay drug mule in Thailand

The Philippine government is helping a Filipina jailed in Thailand for being a "drug mule," with a Philippine official visiting her at her Bangkok jail last week and presenting her with at least two options. Department of Foreign Affairs Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) executive director Enrico Fos said they are waiting for "drug mule" Flory Talaban to decide what course of action to take. In an interview posted on news site Visayan Daily Star, Fos said Talaban's parents can write the King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej and appeal for clemency, which is allowed under the Thai criminal justice system. Fos said a second option is to apply for prison transfer to the Philippines where she can serve out the rest of her sentence. Talaban, 28, is now serving a life sentence at the Correctional Institute for Female Offenders in Bangkok, Thailand, for possession of illegal drugs. Fos said a DFA representative in Thailand visited Talaban last week and presented her with the two options. According to Fos, a transfer to a Philippine prison is allowed under a Philippine agreement with Thailand that has been in existence since 2002. On the other hand, he said the Philippine Embassy in Thailand was aware that Talaban was jailed in Bangkok but she had requested not to let her parents know because she was concerned about the health of her father. Fos said that when Talaban's parents first approached the DFA for help, they thought she was still in China but it turned out she was in Thailand. Also, Fos said they are also working on how they can assist Talaban’s parents Florentino and Nede of Bacolod City so they can visit her in Thailand. Meanwhile, Rep. Neri Colmenares reiterated his appeal for the DFA to urgently act on Talaban’s case and to send a representative to meet with her parents in Bacolod. Colmenares also filed House Resolution 858 calling for a congressional inquiry into the case of Talaban and the proliferation of Filipino drug mules in various countries. “This is an attempt to find ways to arrest the increase of Filipinos getting involved, wittingly or unwittingly, or used as drug mules by drug syndicates," he said. For their part, Talaban's parents reiterated their call to President Benigno Aquino III to help in seeking the release of their daughter, so she can come home. They said they lost contact with her on May 3, 2009, a day after her birthday and had been searching for her, until Protestant missionaries from Negros found her in the Correctional Institute for Female Offenders in Bangkok in November 2009. “We have not spoken to our daughter since May 2, 2009 and have been trying to call the prison where she is staying but cannot get through," Nede said. Talaban was arrested on May 3, 2009 after Thai police found 2.6 kilograms of heroin hidden in the front and back cover of books inside a plastic bag that she was carrying at the time. An additional 2.8 kilograms of the same drug were found in a Bangkok apartment where she voluntarily led the Thai police. — LBG, GMA News