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| Execution by shooting in China |
A Chinese court has upheld the drug trafficking conviction of a Filipino man and set his execution for next week despite appeals for clemency from the Philippine president, officials said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old man, who was not identified, was arrested in September 2008 at Guilin International Airport in southern China while trying to smuggle 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) of heroin into Guangxi province from Malaysia, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Smuggling more than 50 grams of heroin or other drugs is punishable by death in China.
Philippine officials based in China were told Monday that the Supreme People's Court in Beijing had upheld a lower court's decision to impose the death penalty on the Filipino man and that a Dec. 8 execution date had been set, the department said.
The Philippine government provided all possible help to the condemned man and made "sustained and exhaustive representations with the Chinese government at all levels," including an appeal from President Benigno Aquino III to his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, to try to have the death sentence commuted to life in prison, officials said.
The foreign office expressed "its sadness at this turn of events" and said the convicted man's family has been told of the Chinese court's decision. Arrangements were being made for family members to immediately leave for China to meet with the condemned man.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the Philippines respects China's judicial system and that the planned execution would not hurt bilateral relations like when three other Filipino drug offenders were executed by Chinese authorities in March.
"It was done in compliance with their legal processes — we respect that," Lacierda said in a news conference. "This should not cause a hiccup in Filipino-Chinese relations."
The condemned man's family members said they were devastated by the court's decision and asked Filipinos to pray for him. In a statement released by the foreign affairs department, they asked the media to refrain from hounding them at this time.
"It is a very difficult time for us and we are trying our best, through prayers, to cope with the situation," the family said.
The plight of Filipino workers overseas is an emotional issue in the Philippines, and ensuring their safety and welfare, often in conflict zones and countries with starkly different cultures, is a cornerstone of Philippine foreign policy. About 10 percent of the country's 94 million people work abroad to escape widespread poverty and unemployment at home.
In March,
China executed three Filipino workers who were convicted of smuggling heroin despite last-minute appeals and political concessions by Philippine leaders. The three were arrested in 2008 and convicted and sentenced in 2009.
Aquino sent at least three letters to Hu and deployed his vice president to appeal, prompting China to postpone the executions of the three by a month. The Philippine government said it was able to prove that a drug syndicate had taken advantage of the Filipino workers.
Migrante, a group that works for the welfare of Filipino workers, urged the Philippine government to continue efforts to save the convicted man in Guangxi.
Vice President Jejomar Binay's spokesman, Joey Salgado, said Binay was ready to leave for China anytime to make a final appeal if a meeting with top Chinese officials can be arranged.
Migrante also renewed its call for the formation of an interagency government task force that would focus on efforts to have the death sentences of Filipinos abroad commuted.
"This is a sad, bitter reality confronting us as a nation, especially if we know that there are more than a hundred of them still on death row in various countries," the group said in a statement.
Palace respects China's decision
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang respects the decision of the Chinese government to carry out the death penalty sentence imposed on a 35 year-old Filipino convicted of drug trafficking.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Filipino’s case went through the process and that the Philippine government has “exhausted all efforts” to appeal for clemency.
President Aquino has sent a letter of appeal to Chinese President Hu Jintao requesting commutation of the Filipino’s death penalty sentence to life imprisonment, but the appeal apparently went unheeded.
The execution is scheduled to be carried out on December 8, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Lacierda believes that the execution would not affect the relations of the Philippines and China, coming at the heels of the President’s state visit to China last August.
“We recognize the decision of the judicial authorities in China. It was made based on the evidence that the Filipino national was carrying [1.495] kilos of heroin. And therefore based on their law, it was subject to the death penalty. It was done in compliance with their legal processes. We respect that and I believe that in the same manner that three Filipinos were previously executed, this should not cause a hiccup in Filipino-Chinese relations,” Lacierda said.
Aside from the President’s letter, DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario also made representations with the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines to convey the appeal.
Former Philippine Ambassador to China Francisco Benedicto also conveyed to a top official of the Supreme People’s Court of China the government’s appeal to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment.
Lacierda cited that the penalties of two other Filipinos have been commuted by the Chinese high court from death penalty without reprieve to death penalty with two-year reprieve. This is the last death penalty conviction without reprieve on a Filipino concerning drug trafficking in China’s High Court.
“Number one, it is not for us to comment kung anong klaseng merong sistema ang China. The fact is dumaan ‘yun sa proseso nila. We respect the process that it went through. Number two, meron tayong na-reduce na sentence from death penalty to death penalty with reprieve. That was also done prior to the visit of the President. This other case was undergoing review by their judicial authorities. This should not be seen in any way as a slap to the Philippine government,” Lacierda said.
Three Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking were executed last March.
The government once again issued an appeal to all Filipinos not to allow themselves to be used by drug syndicates and act as drug couriers.
“We appeal to all Filipinos, especially OFWs, not to allow themselves to be victimized by international drug syndicates and to be extremely cautious when dealing with strangers in airports and other areas of transit. We would like to stress that vigilance is the first major step in combating the modus operandi of international drug traffickers. We urge all our citizens to be on alert at all times in order not to be victimized by drug syndicates,” the DFA said in a statement read by Lacierda.
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