MANILA, Philippines?He didn?t ask and they didn?t tell.
China did not say how long the stay of execution on the three Filipinos on death row would hold, and Vice President Jejomar Binay said he didn?t ask. But he added that he hoped Beijing would eventually spare their lives.
Emerging from a meeting with President Benigno Aquino III Monday following his lightning trip to China on Friday, Binay admitted that he did not ask the Chinese officials, including the chief justice, what was meant by the stay of execution being ?within the scope of Chinese law.?
?I have to admit we didn?t bother. We were overwhelmed by the fact that there was a stay of execution,? Binay told reporters in Malacańang.
The vice president said he was also supposed to hand over a personal letter to the Chinese chief justice in which he made his own appeal for the lives of the three Filipinos, but he no longer gave the letter lest belaboring the point might backfire on him.
?Kung papahabain pa ang usapan baka magkapikunan pa. OK na yun kahit papaano (If we talked at length they may have gotten sore. It was OK the way it was),? he said.
He said President Aquino did inquire in their meeting about what the Chinese officials meant by the stay of execution being within the scope of Chinese law.
He said he did not know Chinese laws so he could not explain what they meant.
Still, Binay told the reporters that he remained optimistic about the fate of the convicted Filipinos, the same way that he felt when Chinese officials allowed him to go to Beijing to make a last-minute appeal for their lives.
?I?m still optimistic because in the history of China, there has been no delay in the execution of foreigners. This was the first time. So that gives you a sense of optimism, that there is still hope,? he said.
He did not want to raise the expectations of the people, however, so ?let?s pray for the commutation of their sentences,? he said.
Defer to China
Palace officials said they would defer to China for the explanation on the stay of the execution for the Filipinos who were convicted of drug trafficking.
?We will leave it to the Chinese authorities (to explain). We cannot speculate whether it will be commuted to life imprisonment. It?s up to them to say so... let us not preempt the Chinese government on that,? Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters.
Lacierda made it clear that no concessions were made for China?s deferment of the executions, saying that Binay had been ?very categorical? about this.
Asked if the government had no expectation of a payback in the future, he said: ?Yes, categorically, because we gave no concessions to them. It?s a ?gesture of goodwill and friendship as also enunciated by their diplomatic officials there.?
For some senators, however, China?s stay of execution for the three convicted Filipinos will come at a price.
?You can?t expect China to simply suspend the execution of Filipinos just because we said so, and we said it very nicely and very sweetly,? Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said.
?You cannot just say ?please? in diplomatic relations or in political affairs. You have to show that there is some indication of your willingness to go halfway,? she told reporters.
China would ?ask for trade-offs,? such as the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, and subsequently the holding of joint military exercises between Filipino and Chinese troops, Santiago said.
Big break in policy
With respect to the dispute on the mineral-rich Spratly islands in the China Sea, Beijing would probably ask Manila to be ?quiet? on its claim, Santiago said.
Sen. Edgardo Angara agreed, saying ?that postponement is a big break in policy. It would not be surprising if China asks for a quid pro quo.? He said any agreement should be made public.
Sen. Franklin Drilon, however, said that suspicions that China would ask for concessions were ?mere speculations.?
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said, ?I don?t think the Chinese people are doing these things to exact any concession from us. They are too big for that. The fact is, our people violated their laws. In the same manner that if their people violated our laws, we will have to punish them.?
Sen. Francis Escudero proposed that the government initiate prisoner exchange treaties with countries hosting overseas workers.
?We should pursue this treaty, especially since we have more citizens in foreign jails rather than the other way around,? he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), however, dismissed as ?baseless? and ?idle talk? insinuations of a quid pro quo for the stay of execution for the three Filipinos.
Foreign Assistant Secretary J. Eduardo Malaya, also the DFA spokesperson, told the Inquirer that ?the postponement of the executions was the product of sustained round-the-clock and vigorous representations made by the Philippine government, culminating with the visit of Vice President Binay to Beijing on Feb. 18 and 19.? With a report from Jerry E. Esplanada
