China/Philippines: Kin to hand-carry letter pleading for drug mule’s life

The family of 1 of the 3 Filipino drug mules scheduled to die by lethal injection in China next week will hand-carry a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao begging for the life of 32-year-old Sally Ordinario-Villanueva when they fly to China on Sunday.

"We ... beg for her life and humbly ask that she be granted clemency by Your Excellency," the letter, addressed to Chinese President Hu Jintao, the letter reads.

"Your Excellency, death penalty is too severe a punishment for an unknowing housewife, merely used by criminal syndicates," it says.

The Ordinario family said they realize that the government's diplomatic appeals for clemency in behalf of the three Filipinos might already have been exhausted.

"This appeal is not a diplomatic move ... This time we are making a personal appeal by the family," said the Ordinarios' lawyer Jeremiah Belgica, who called a press conference at the Manila Yacht Club on Saturday.

Edith Ordinario, Sally's mother, said the family was grateful to the government, particularly Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Department of Foreign Affairs, for their efforts in trying to save the lives of the 3 Filipinos on death row.

Binay, upon the instructions of President Aquino, on Friday wrote President Hu to make a "last appeal" for clemency. On Saturday, the Vice President made a call for prayers.

"Let us pray for another miracle, that the lives of our "kababayans" (compatriots) will be spared. Let us not lose hope," Binay said in a statement.

Edith, her husband Geronimo and two of their children will fly to China on Sunday for a last chance to see Sally.

"The DFA said we had the option to watch (the execution) but I said no... It was the family's decision. We don't want to see her die," he said.

Sally and Ramon Credo, 42, will be executed in Xiamen, and Elizabeth Batain, 38, in Shenzhen. They were arrested separately in China in 2008 for carrying several kilograms of heroin, and convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in 2009.

The three were originally scheduled to be executed on February 20 and 21, but a visit to Beijing and appeals for clemency by a high-level Philippine delegation led by Binay moved China to postpone the execution.

On Wednesday, the DFA announced that the execution would happen on March 30.

The Ordinarios' letter cited the efforts by the family to catch who they called the real perpetrators in Sally's indictment, including her brother Jayson's successful undercover attempt to track down the recruiter who allegedly tricked her into smuggling drugs into China.

They insisted that Sally was not a member of a drug syndicate but a victim. Their letter detailed how the family set out to uncover members of the syndicate who allegedly victimized Sally.

"2 years ago, our beloved Sally left for China with high hopes for a bright future for her family: she would be buying and selling cellular phones from China to the Philippines. Her recruiter gave her luggage to put her clothes in, without knowing it contained 4.1 kilos of heroin. This led to her apprehension and death sentencing in your country, your Excellency," they said.

The family narrated further how Jayson, desperate to prove his sister's innocence, approached Sally's recruiter for a job, pretending not to have known what happened to her.

This led Philippine authorities to the arrest and indict eight members of the drug syndicate, the Ordinarios said.

"We believe that by our family's actions and sacrifices, we have contributed to your country's battle against the international illegal drug trade," they said in the letter.

"We only ask your Excellency to reduce her sentence in accordance to your country's law and let her live. Our whole clan will be forever grateful to you and we will continue to fight this evil of drugs," they said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 26, 2011

Prayer vigil for Pinoys on China death row

Police officers practise executing prisoners
with a shot to the head during a police
drill in Nanning, Guangxi, southern China

Filipinos offered prayers and lighted candles to appeal for clemency for the three convicted Filipino drug couriers facing execution in China. Migrante International started a week-long action to save the lives of Filipinos in China death row.

The “The Fujian People’s Court and Guangdong High People’s Court upheld the execution through lethal injection of Sally Ordinario-Villanueva,32, Elizabeth Batain, 38, and Ramon Credo, 42. The execution will be carried out on March 30.

The three were originally scheduled to be executed last February 20 and 21 but the Chinese government granted temporary reprieve after Vice President Jejomar Binay relayed the Philippine government’s official appeal last month.

Binay who is also the Presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) concerns, said he will keep seeking clemency for the three Filipinos. He assured the relatives the convicts that he will continue to work to get the sentences commuted.

Migrante expressed hoped that the convicted Filipinos will be spared and instead a lesser penalty will be considered by Chinese authorities. “We are still hoping, though a chance of another postponement of execution is very slim,” said Migrante coordinator John Leonard Monterona.

The group further said the three drug smugglers are “victims of syndicates and victims of poverty and hopelessness."

“If only our Philippine authorities have been more watchful over the plight of Filipinos here and abroad and have provided them much-needed assistance, they would not be forced to engage with drug syndicates,” Garry Martinez, Migrante chairman said in a statement.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, "we will try to (appeal) but we have to respect the decision of the Chinese authorities on that matter. Again, it was unprecedented that they granted us a stay... and this was the 1st time that they did it for an ally."

President Benigno Aquino III earlier said that there is a limit as to what the Philippine can do for Filipinos facing death in China. Migrante said if the execution is carried out next week “it will be blood on the hands of Aquino."

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the government provided all possible legal and consular assistance to the convicted Filipinos. “Manila will respect the final ruling of China’s high tribunal,” DFA spokesman Ed Malaya Jr. said.

The week-long activities for the appeal will culminate in a vigil at the Plaza Miranda in Manila on March 29, the eve of the execution. On March 30, OFWs, families and other sectors will march to Mendiola.

Credo and Villanueva are set to be executed in Xiamen while the death penalty on Batain will be carried out in Shenzhen.

Villanueva, Batain and Credo are among the 227 Filipinos jailed for drug-related offenses in China. Of the total, 72 have received the death penalty with possible commutation, 38 meted life imprisonment, 78 sentenced to 15 years in prison and 35 currently on trial. Only 6 cases have reached the Supreme Court - 2 sentences overturned, 3 affirmed and 1 still being reviewed, according to a report.

125 OFWs are also facing death sentences abroad. Out of the 125, 85 cases are drug-related with 79 OFWs imprisoned in China jails while the rest are in Middle East, Malaysia and Thailand.

Source Philippine Online Chronicles, March 26, 2011

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