Kin of 3rd Pinoy drug mule on their way to China

Relatives of the third Filipino who is scheduled to be executed in China on Wednesday are already on their way there, a radio report said Monday. The relatives of Elizabeth Batain, who was convicted for smuggling drugs to China, also brought with them a priest, according to a report by radio dzBB's Denver Trinidad. Batain's relatives declined to talk to media before taking their flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Monday morning. Relatives of the two other Filipino convicts, Sally Villanueva and Ramon Credo, arrived in Beijing on Sunday. Like Batain, the two are also scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for the same case. Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya said the three may have a last chance to see their loved ones moments before their execution. “Ang araw na tinakda para sa carrying out of the sentence ay sa 30. Ang abiso sa akin ay magkakaroon sa umaga sa 30 ng promulgation ng sentence. Tapos ng promulgation ng sentence magkakaroon ng pagkakataon para sa kaanak makita ang mahal sa buhay," he said in an interview on dzRH radio. (Based on the advice we got, the sentence will be carried out early Wednesday. Once the sentences are promulgated, the three Filipinos will have a chance to meet with their loved ones for the last time.) He also said the kin of the three will have the option to have the remains of their loved ones repatriated to the Philippines, or cremated. 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.– KBK, GMA News