Philippines to appeal for clemency for Filipino drug mule in China

The Philippine government will appeal for clemency from China on behalf of the only Filipino convicted of drug trafficking who remains on China’s death row.

Raul Hernandez, the new spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), said the Philippine embassy in Beijing would make high-level representations this week with top officials or the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The case of the Philippine national, whom Hernandez did not identify, is pending review before the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) in the Chinese capital.

Hernandez, former head of the DFA’s American affairs office, assured that the embassy “continuously provides legal and consular assistance whenever a kababayan is in need.”

DFA files showed that 74 other Filipinos were actually convicted of drug trafficking in China but were only meted death penalties with two-year reprieves.

Good behaviour

Under Chinese law, the original verdict may be commuted to life imprisonment if the prisoner displays good behavior while in jail.

Among those meted the death penalty with a two-year reprieve is a “Filipina teacher” who was “arrested for drug smuggling sometime in October at the Guangzhou International Airport for carrying 1,996 grams of heroin in her checked-in suitcase.”

The case of the Filipina, who had been legally working in China since 2005, “will be elevated to the Guangdong High People’s Court for automatic review,” said the consulate.

Earlier, the DFA said there were originally six death penalty convictions without reprieves that have reached China’s highest tribunal, including the three executed in March—Filipino drug mules Ramon Credo, Sally Villanueva and Elizabeth Batain.

Two other cases were lowered by the SPC from death penalties without reprieves to death penalties with two-year reprieves.

In a statement, the DFA said the case of the Filipina “drug mule” in Guangdong province “indicates that even professionals are lured into the criminal activity due to the temptation of easy money.”

“Drug-trafficking syndicates entice their victims by convincing them that by becoming so-called ‘viajeras,’ transporting both legal and illegal goods from a jump-off country into China, large amounts of money can be earned,” the DFA said.

On Wenesday, the DFA reiterated its call to overseas Filipino workers and other Filipino travelers to avoid accepting offers from individuals or groups to carry illegal drugs in their luggage in exchange for money.

“Harsh penalties await them in their destinations,” it warned.