MANILA, Philippines – Inanunsyo ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) nitong Sabado, Disyembre 2, na dalawang Pinoy na convicted sa drug trafficking offenses ang binitay sa China.
Sa pahayag, sinabi ng DFA na ang dalawang Filipino ay binitay noong Nobyembre 24, ayon sa pagkumpirma ng Philippine Consulate General sa Guangzhou.
“We offer our most sincere condolences to their families and loved ones. We respect the wishes of their families for privacy, and as such are withholding the identities of the two Filipinos,” saad sa pahayag ng DFA.
“The Department likewise, deferred from immediately announcing this sad development pending receipt from the Chinese side of the formal notification of their execution,” dagdag pa niya.
Anang kagawaran, ang dalawang binitay na Pinoy ay inaresto noong 2013 matapos na mahuling may dalang 11 kilo ng shabu na itinago sa DVD player.
Kamakailan ay sinamahan ng mga opisyal ng DFA ang mga kaanak ng dalawang convicted Filipinos patungong China para sa “compassionate visit” sa mga ito.
Ibinigay naman ng kagawaran ang lahat ng kailangang tulong kabilang ang legal assistance funding, sa pamamagitan ng Philippine Consulate General sa Guangzhou at Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs mula sa kanilang pagkakaaresto hanggang sa hatol ng Chinese court.
“The Government of the Republic of the Philippines further exhausted all measures available to appeal to the relevant authorities of the People’s Republic of China to commute their sentences to life imprisonment on humanitarian grounds. There were also high-level political representations in this regard,” ayon sa DFA.
“Our repeated appeals were consistent with the laws and values of our nation, which put the highest premium on human life. In the end, the Chinese government, citing their internal laws, upheld the conviction, and the Philippines must respect China’s criminal laws and legal processes,” dagdag pa nito.
Sa kasalukuyan ay mayroong 92 Filipino ang may death penalty cases sa China, at sa nabanggit ay isa ang may kaugnayan sa droga.
Sa 92 kaso, dalawa ang hinatulan ng life imprisonment, at 86 ang ibinaba sa fixed term, habang apat ang pending pa sa death penalty cases.
Kasabay ng dalawang Filipino na binitay, mayroon pang dalawang death penalty cases ang pending sa final review o sa pag-apela ng pamahalaan.
Dahil dito, hinimok ng DFA ang publiko na maging alerto laban sa mga sindikato ng droga na nag-rerecruit ng “unwitting travelers as drug mules, and to refuse to carry any package that you have not personally packed and thoroughly inspected.”
“While the Philippine government will continue to exhaust all possible avenues to assist our overseas nationals, ultimately it is the laws and sovereign decisions of foreign countries and not the Philippines which will prevail in these cases,” pagpapatuloy ng DFA.
Labis na nalungkot ang pamahalaan sa pagbitay sa dalawang Filipino.
“Illegal drugs trade remains a scourge that we as a nation must confront. Drug syndicates claim as their victims not only drug addicts, but Filipinos whose socio-economic conditions render them vulnerable to the lure of these criminals,” ayon pa sa DFA. RNT/JGC
