Remains of drug courier Sally buried in Isabela

Two weeks after her execution in China, the remains of convicted Filipino drug courier Sally Ordinario Villanueva on Thursday was finally laid to rest in her home province of Isabela. A report on GMA News TV Live said Villanueva's remains were buried at the Tupac Cemetery in Jones town around 10 a.m., even as her mother, Edith Ordinario, openly poured out her anger on Tita Cacayan, the recruiter who allegedly duped Villanueva into transporting drugs to China.
The 32-year-old Sally was executed on March 30 after being convicted for smuggling 4,110 grams of heroin on Dec. 24, 2008 into Xiamen. Two other other Filipino drug-smuggling convicts – Ramon Credo, 42; and Elizabeth Batain, 38 – were also executed through lethal injection on the same day Sally was sent to a death chamber in China. "Hindi ito puwede. Pinatay nila na walang kalaban-laban [ang anak ko]. Pinatay niya [Cacayan] ang anak ko. Dapat lang [makamit ang hustisya]," a crying Edith said in a separate radio report. Cacayan remains under the protective custody of the National Bureau of Investigation after turning herself in to authorities. The NBI doesn't consider her a detainee yet because her case is still at the preliminary investigation stage. Cacayan is facing a string of charges of kidnapping, grave coercion, transportation of illegal drugs, and illegal recruitment. The radio report said Sally's relatives placed inside her casket chicharon (fried pork rinds) and cornik (corn nuts), her favorite snacks, which the family tried but failed to give to her on the day of her execution. Sally's remains arrived in the Philippines on April 6, and was brought to her parents' residence in Batasan Hills in Quezon City to allow relatives, friends, and supporters in Metro Manila to pay their last respects. Two days later, her remains were brought to her hometown of Echague, where neighbors and relatives shed tears as she was being brought in. The burial was in Jones, the hometown of her husband. Villanueva's burial came four days after Elizabeth Batain was laid to rest in her home province of Quezon, where relatives and friends released white balloons into the air during the burial rites. Meanwhile, Ramon Credo's family had chosen to have their loved one's remains cremated right after the execution last March 30. — LBG, GMA News