DFA: Kin of 2 Pinoys on death row arrive in China

(Updated 7:49 p.m.) Relatives of Sally Ordinario and Ramon Credo, two of the three Filipinos who are scheduled to be executed in China on March 30, arrived there Sunday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Relatives of Elizabeth Batain, the third Filipino who will be executed over a drug-related case, are scheduled to arrive in China on Monday, the DFA said. In a statement, the DFA said Ordinario and Credo’s relatives arrived at the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport at 10:53 a.m. Sunday (China time) after leaving the Philippines early Sunday morning. The DFA, however, did not say if the family members will be able to see their sentenced kin before the execution. Ordinario’s relatives carried with them a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao, which they hope to personally deliver, appealing for clemency in behalf of the three Filipinos.
Officials from the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen met the family members of the sentenced Filipinos, the DFA said. The Supreme People’s Court of China affirmed the death sentences of the three Filipinos last February 11 for drug trafficking. The executions were originally scheduled last Feb. 20 and 21, but it was put on hold following Vice President Jejomar Binay's humanitarian mission to Beijing. The DFA, however, announced last Wednesday that their executions will push through on March 30. The Philippine government has vowed to exhaust all means to seek clemency for the three Filipinos. Binay, in his capacity as presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns, said he will keep seeking clemency for the three Filipinos. Binay's letter Malacañang said Binay had already sent China a letter seeking last-minute clemency for the three, although it was not aware if China had sent a reply. “I’m not aware na sumagot na ang Chinese government sa sulat ni Vice President Binay. Pero kapapadala lang ng sulat ni Vice President, so let’s give it a few more days," said Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office secretary Ramon Carandang on government-run dzRB radio. (I’m not aware if the Chinese government already responded to Binay’s letter. But Binay just sent his letter recently so let’s give it a few more days.) Part of Binay's letter read: “On humanitarian grounds and on the basis of the strong friendship and cooperation between our two countries and peoples, I once again appeal to Your Excellency to grant clemency to these three Filipinos." Carandang also downplayed the chances of Philippine-China relations deteriorating if the execution of three pushes through. Binay, for his part, asked Filipinos for prayers as he made a final appeal to China to spare the three Filipinos. Binay said that while the Philippine government does not condone drug trafficking, it believes the three were victims of international drug syndicates. “Let us pray for another miracle, that the lives of our kababayans will be spared. Let us not lose hope," Binay said. - KBK, GMA News