CHINESE SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE OF 3 FILIPINOS
[PHOTO COURTESY OF ABS-CBN - One of the convicted Filipina, Sally Ordinario Villanueva, in China. Her mother, Mrs. Edith Ordinario said she can hardly sleep and is deeply concerned about the fate of her daughter]
MANILA, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 (CANADIAN PRESS) Chinese supreme court upholds death sentence for 3 Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking The Canadian Press By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – Tue, 15 Feb, 2011 9:00 AM EST
The Philippine government said Tuesday that China had upheld death sentences for three Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking, and theh mother of one of them appealed to the president to help her "victimized" daughter.
The foreign affairs department said it received information on Friday that the Supreme People's Court in Beijing had reviewed and rendered its decision on five cases of Filipinos sentenced to death by courts in Fujian and Guandong provinces. The court gave two-year reprieves for two of the Filipinos — such reprieves are usually commuted to life in prison — but upheld the death sentences by lethal injection for the three others.
The department said it was disappointed and saddened by the decision and continued to seek lesser sentences for the two women aged 32 and 38 and a 42-year-old man.
Edith Ordinario, the mother of one of the convicted women — 32-year-old Sally Ordinario-Villanueva — tearfully appealed on ABS-CBN television to President Benigno Aquino Jr. to "help my daughter who was just victimized by a drug syndicate."
Villanueva, a mother of two, was convicted of smuggling more than four kilograms of heroin to Xiamen on Dec. 24, 2008.
Ordinario said her daughter went to China thinking she had got a job as a cellphone dealer, and was given a bag by her recruiter in the Philippines to give to the boss when she arrived there. The bag turned out to have drugs hidden inside, she added.
She said the foreign affairs department had told her that her daughter was scheduled to be executed on Monday.
"As ordered by our president, our engagement with the Chinese authorities continues," said Foreign Undersecretary Esteban Conejos on television.
Smuggling at least 50 grams of heroin or other drugs is punishable by death in China. The Philippines has no death penalty.
Under Chinese law, a death verdict may be commuted to life imprisonment if the prisoner displays good behaviour in jail.
The foreign affairs department warned citizens against carrying luggage for strangers and agreeing to carry items for individuals befriended through the Internet.
Corruption among law enforcers and officials and vast stretches of unpatrolled coastline make the Philippines an attractive narcotics source and transshipment point.
China: No one is above the law By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated February 17, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (34) View comments
MANILA, Philippines - The Chinese embassy in a statement yesterday said the death sentence on three Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking is final and that "no one is privileged to transcend law."
"The Chinese law prescribes that any person, no matter that he or she is a Chinese citizen or a foreigner, who commits crime shall be brought to justice in strict accordance with law. No one is privileged to transcend law," the embassy said.
It added that drug-related crimes inflict "appalling harm" on societies and is a recognized "scourge" around the world.
President Aquino yesterday vowed to exert all efforts to save the three Filipinos sentenced to death in China for drug trafficking.
Aquino admitted that though his appeal to save the three Filipino death convicts last year was ignored, he would pursue the case with his counterpart Chinese President Hu Jintao to commute the sentence.
"We are trying to set up a phone conversation with President Hu Jintao to make an appeal for commutation. I think we have very good relations with them, in relation to the ones we deported," he said.
The President was referring to the 14 Taiwanese nationals who allegedly belong to an international crime syndicate that the Philippine government deported to mainland China.
The deportation triggered an uproar from the Taiwanese government, which imposed a freeze hiring on Filipino workers.
Aquino said he is planning to send Vice President Jejomar Binay to be the country's emissary to China in the effort to commute the sentence of the three Filipinos to life imprisonment.
"I'm meeting the Vice President, so I might send him as an emissary to stress how important this is for us, to have the death penalty be commuted to life imprisonment," Aquino told reporters following a command conference at Camp Aguinaldo.
Aquino though admitted it would be difficult to dissuade the Chinese government from carrying out the execution of the three Filipinos, considering the offense of drug trafficking is also a global concern.
"Drugs is a worldwide problem and we have to respect their (China's) sovereignty," he said.
"To a degree it might be hard to convince the Chinese government. In China, they are very strict with regards to (illegal) drugs… unfortunately, we have not been very successful," Aquino added, referring to his August 2010 request.
Nonetheless, Aquino said he would still make a last-ditch effort to save the Filipinos from death.
"Normally in our country, there are so many Chinese getting caught for illegal drugs but we haven't put them on death row… and this is because we have already done away with capital punishment," Aquino said.
"We're hoping (for) some reciprocity. I think our request is very reasonable. And we have improved bilateral ties with China. This will be a test," he said.
"Presently, we are not yet successful but we will not stop (until we are)."
Binay, for his part, cited humanitarian reasons in appealing the case of the three Filipino death convicts.
"We do not question the decision of the Chinese courts in meting the death penalty to the accused," Binay said.
Binay, presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) concerns, said the three Filipinos were taken advantage of to carry illegal drugs in exchange for easy money.
He said the accused Filipinos should not be the principals in the case.
"Drug trafficking, pushing, manufacturing and use are not their main occupation. They are ordinary Filipinos who left the country hoping for a better life for their families in the Philippines. They were taken advantage of by another person or group of persons and made to carry illegal drugs in exchange for easy money," Binay said.
Binay urged the Chinese government to re-evaluate the death sentence on the three Filipinos.
'In accordance with law'
The Chinese embassy said that while preserving death penalty according to law, "China follows strict judicial procedures in applying death penalty. A death sentence should be meted after two-tier trial and subject to review and approval by the Special People's Court.
"As criminals of death penalty, their legitimate rights and interests have been protected in accordance with law. The Chinese side will render their relatives assistance and facilitation as necessary to visit the inmates in China," the Chinese embassy said.
The Chinese side expressed hope that all foreign nationals in China observe Chinese laws and refrain from engaging in drug trafficking and related crimes.
"Otherwise, they would be punished by the Chinese judicial authorities in accordance with law," it added.
The embassy said it appreciates the Philippines' role in the fight against illegal drugs and that China "is willing to deepen cooperation with the Philippine side in a relentless effort to eradicate transnational drug-related crimes."
China gives great importance to its friendly ties with the Philippines, based on 36 years of diplomatic relations, the embassy said.
For his part, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile admitted he doubts any change in the ruling by the Chinese court is forthcoming.
He said the last resort for the Philippine government to save the three Filipinos facing death row would now be an appeal by President Aquino.
"That's all he can do. The President, as far as China is concerned, is just a member of humanity and while they'll probably be very respectful diplomatically, nonetheless you cannot demand on a country," Enrile said.
He said the fate of the appeal would all depend on Chinese law, "whether they have the flexibility to accommodate the request of a sovereign nation like the Philippines."
Enrile said China is very different from countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that granted amnesty to several Filipinos on death row in the past.
He said the Chinese people are quite serious about implementing their criminal laws, particularly against illegal drugs.
"They (Chinese) will execute their own people (just) to enforce their laws," he pointed out.
Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago added it is not an easy task to demand the deportation of the Filipino death convicts.
Santiago said there is no treaty for this purpose between China and the Philippines.
She said there are diplomatic remedies that can be availed of, including having President Aquino beg for the lives of the three Filipino convicts.
"We can personally send our Secretary of Foreign Affairs or as what happened some times in the past with past presidents, even President Aquino could go there and beg for the lives of these people," Santiago said.
"But basically all we can do is appeal. There is no legal remedy that will make possible for them to lift the death penalty," she added.
Santiago said this should serve as a lesson to all Filipinos to avoid any involvement in the illegal drug trade, particularly in other countries.
Sen. Loren Legarda said the DFA should pursue efforts to have the death sentences commuted, possibly to life imprisonment or lower penalties.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), on the other hand, assured the families of the three Filipino death convicts of assistance.
Social Welfare Undersecretary Celia Yangco said they would provide financial assistance and stress debriefing to the families of the convicts.
"If the families are found to be poor we can also extend financial assistance for their immediate needs as borne out of assessment of family status by social worker," Yangco said.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), through Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Severino Gaña, the country's representative to the China-ASEAN Prosecutor General's Association, said he would try to ask help from the chief prosecutor of China in stalling the execution.
"I know the prosecutor general of China, Mr. Kaw Ming, personally. I will try to appeal if I can make a call to stall the execution. I'll see what I can do being a member of China-ASEAN prosecutor general's association. If I have to go to China to save those to be executed I'll do it," Gaña said.
Gaña said he would cite "humanitarian reason" in appealing the execution.
A mother of two children
DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said this would be the first time that Filipinos are executed in China for drug-related offenses.
Malaya noted 72 cases of Filipinos in drug-related cases in China were given two-year reprieves.
Most Filipinos convicted there were caught as drug mules of international drug syndicates.
Under Chinese law, the original verdict may be commuted to life imprisonment if the prisoner displays good behavior while incarcerated.
Under Chinese law, smuggling of 50 grams or more of heroin or equivalent drugs is punishable with the death penalty.
Although the DFA did not identify the three Filipinos, its website described them as a 42-year old male and two females, aged 32 and 38.
The male was convicted for smuggling 4,113 grams of heroin on Dec. 28, 2008, in Xiamen.
The 38-year old female was convicted for smuggling 6,800 grams of heroin in May 2008 in Shenzhen.
On the other hand, the 32-year-old female was convicted for smuggling 4,110 grams of heroin on Dec. 24, 2008 in Xiamen.
It was gathered that the 32-year-old female convict is Sally Ordinario Villanueva, a mother of two.
Her family went to Camp Aguinaldo to seek an audience with President Aquino in a last ditch appeal to save her from execution.
"We are appealing to President Aquino to exert all efforts to save my daughter from the firing squad," Basilisa Ordinario said.
Jayson said his sister Sally had been befriended by her recruiter Tita Cacayan to act as a drug mule. He claimed Cacayan was a key contact of an international drug ring operating in the Asia-Pacific region.
After Sally's contract as a domestic helper in Macau had expired, Cacayan reportedly convinced her to put up a buy and sell business with electric gadgets and cellphones from China.
Sally reportedly agreed with Cacayan to buy the gadgets from China on an all-expenses paid trip on Dec. 25, 2008.
"So on Dec. 25, 2008 my sister was all set to fly to Xiamen when Cacayan gave her a stainless steel briefcase, saying that she can use it," Jayson said.
He said Cacayan had specific instructions to Sally to turn over the metal briefcase to someone upon arrival in China.
Cacayan reportedly told Sally that she only wanted to return the metal briefcase that she had borrowed from a friend in China.
Upon arrival at Xiamen, the Chinese immediately placed Sally under arrest after they discovered four kilos of heroin neatly hidden at the casing of the metal briefcase. –With Edu Punay, Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy, Jose Rodel Clapano, Helen Flores
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