INJECTION / 7,200 PINOYS IN JAIL ABROAD
[PHOTO - Prayers: Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul
Hernandez (right) joins officers and staff members in a mass for a Filipino
executed in China for drug trafficking.]
CHINA, DECEMBER 9, 2011 (MALAYA) BY ANTONIO DE LOS REYES
- CHINESE authorities yesterday executed a Filipino convicted for drug
trafficking despite appeals for a commutation from the Philippine government.
Vice President Jejomar Binay said lethal injection was administered on the
35-year-old Filipino at 12:30 p.m. in Liuzhou County.
"The subject was very calm, but his family was crying," Binay said.
He said the Filipino met with his two siblings and two cousins who traveled
to southern Guangxi province before and after the death sentence was read at the
Guilin Municipal Intermediate People's Court.
He said an English translation was provided to the convict.
He said a priest was able to give the last rites and communion.
Binay said the convicted Filipino's family and the Philippine Embassy
officials were barred from witnessing the execution.
He said the remains of the executed Filipino will be in the Philippines by
Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
The drug mule was the fourth Filipino executed this year after the Supreme
People's Court of China upheld the original verdict given by the lower courts.
The convict's kin said they were devastated by the development.
[PHOTO - Department of Foreign Affairs employees attend a mass for a
Filipino man executed in China for drug trafficking in Manila on December 8,
2011. A 35-year-old Filipino drug trafficker was executed in China after
repeated pleas by the Philippine government]
The Filipino was caught by Chinese authorities in 2008 at the Guilin
International Airport with 1.5 kilos of heroin from Malaysia.
Although China went ahead with the execution despite President Aquino's
appeal for clemency, government officials have said they respect China's
judicial system and that the execution would not hurt bilateral relations.
The head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Jose Gutierrez Jr.,
earlier said authorities were hunting the recruiter of the executed drug mule,
who is suspected to be a member of an African drug trafficking syndicate.
He said the man convicted in China had previously engaged in drug trafficking
and was paid $4,000 to $6,000 for every smuggling operation.
On the streets, reaction was mixed.
"On the one hand, if he really did it and is deserving of that punishment,
then this is all right," said construction worker Edwin Cruzado. "But if a
person is innocent, that is very sad."
He said that poverty is no excuse for a crime. "But their punishment in China
is a bit harsh," Cruzado added.
China is the world's biggest executioner, according to Amnesty International.
– With Jocelyn Montemayor and AP
FROM GMATV NEWS
VP Binay, DFA chief meet with kin of Pinoy facing execution
in China December 2, 2011 9:20am
Vice President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del
Rosario on Thursday with the kin of the Filipino who faces execution in China on
December 8 for drug trafficking.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Raul Hernandez said on Friday
the two officials relayed to the relatives the Philippine government's sorrow
over the looming execution.
"Kahapon si Vice President Binay at Secretary of Foreign Affairs nakipagkita
sa family ng ating Pilipino na nasa Guangxi. Pinahatid nila ang kalungkutan ng
pamahalaan lalo ng Pangulo. Gusto niya magapela para pababaan ang hatol from
death penalty to life imprisonment," Hernandez said in an interview over radio
dwIZ.
Binay is the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers' (OFW)
affairs.
Hernandez said the DFA is arranging to have at least four relatives of the
Filipino go to China.
[PHOTO - Getty Images Department of Foreign
Affairs Spokeman Raul Hernandez announces the execution of a Filipino man in
China for drug trafficking during a press conference in Manila on December 8,
2011. A 35-year-old Filipino drug trafficker was executed in China after
repeated pleas by the Philippine government for mercy were rejected, Vice
President Jejomar Binay said.]
The DFA is now facilitating the processing of their passports and visas, he
said.
"Anytime pag matapos itong proseso pati na rin ang go signal ng Chinese
government, aalis sila papunta Guangxi," he said.
Hernandez also said they are now arranging for the repatriation of the
Filipino's remains if the execution pushes through.
On Thursday's meeting, Hernandez said the Filipino's family asked Philippine
officials anew to respect their loved one's privacy and not publicize his
identity.
"Irespeto ang privacy at ayaw nila ibanggit ang pangalan ng kapatid. Pati
kung saan sila galing, anong probinsya, kasi baka matukoy ng media. Kahapon uli
nung nakipagusap sila kay VP at Secretary, inulit na naman ito sana huwag sila
abalahin ng media at gusto nila magdasal na lang at bigyan ng pansin itong
kanilang problema kasama ang pamahalaan na ine-expect nila na tutulong sa
kanila," Hernandez said.
Last Wednesday, the DFA said the Filipino, who was arrested after yielding
heroin in China in 2008, has been scheduled for execution on December 8.
China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) in Beijing had affirmed the death
sentence for the 35-year-old Filipino, who was convicted for smuggling 1.495
kilos of heroin in Guangxi.
Hernandez said the Philippine government already wrote an appeal to Chinese
authorities, and is waiting for the go-signal from Beijing for Binay to go there
and make an appeal for the Filipino. - VVP, GMA
News
FROM MANILA STANDARD
7,200 Filipinos in jail abroad by Maricel Cruz
MANILA STANDARD
House leaders on Wednesday expressed alarm over the rising cases of Filipinos
landing in jail abroad, with their number exceeding 7, 200.
The House committee on overseas thus urged the Aquino government to come up
with a plan to set free thousands of Filipinos jailed for various offenses,
ranging from violation of immigration laws to drug trafficking.
In House Resolution 1979, lawmakers stressed the need for the State to step
up its campaign to go after drug syndicates that victimize migrant workers.
"Perhaps the most controversial issue today confrontingworkers is the growing
number of those involved in drug trafficking cases abroad," the resolution read.
The filing of the resolution came as a 34 year old Filipino drug mule is
scheduled for execution Thursday.
Early this year, three Filipino workers were executed by lethal injection in
China for drug-related cases.
The committee chairman Walden Bello of Akbayan and Kaka Bag-ao authored the
resolution.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara cited Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
reports as of December 2010 that a total of 7,209 Filipinos who were either
imprisoned or had pending cases in courts in six continents as of December 2010.
"If Filipinos are scattered all over the world, so are those who are in jail.
The inconvenient truth is that many of those who have joined the great Filipino
Diaspora have ended up in a drab, dark and dirty foreign prison," Angara said.
"Our poor fellow Filipinos were behind bars or in the dock in 66 countries,
from up in the Andes, where 35 alleged Filipina drug mules were awaiting their
fate in Peru, to deep in Africa in Tanzania where 8 Filipinos were battling for
their freedom in court, to strife-torn Syria where 27 domestics were up for
trial or deportation, to China where 157 Filipinos were in prison for drug
trafficking, 60 of whom had been meted with the death penalty."
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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