Aquino: There is limit to what govt can do for Pinoys facing death in China

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Friday admitted there is a limit to what the government can do to stop the execution of three convicted Filipinos in China. "There is a limit to what we can do… we are still trying to get them [Chinese authorities] reduce the penalty because we don’t have death penalty [in our country]," the President told Malacañang reporters. The three Filipinos, scheduled to be executed on March 30, have been convicted of drug smuggling in China. Aquino said that, actually, the admission of the crime during their testimonies did not help the three in their cases. "They admitted that they were doing something illegal, they just don't know then what they were smuggling," he said. Ramon Credo, 42; Elizabeth Batain, 38; and Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, 32 were originally scheduled to be executed last February 20 and 21. The executions were put on hold following the humanitarian visit to Beijing of Vice President Jejomar Binay. Ordinario-Villanueva was convicted for smuggling 4,110 grams of heroin on Dec. 24, 2008 into Xiamen, while Credo was convicted for smuggling 4,113 grams of heroin on Dec. 28, 2008 in Xiamen. Batain, meanwhile, was convicted for smuggling 6,800 grams of heroin on May 24, 2008, in Shenzhen. Under the Chinese criminal code, smuggling of 50 grams of heroin or any narcotic drug into China is punishable by death. — LBG, GMA News