Pinoy executed in China

MANILA, Philippines - For the fourth time this year, a Filipino drug mule has been executed in China.

The 35-year-old Filipino sentenced to death for drug trafficking was given lethal injection in the southern province of Guangxi yesterday as the Philippine government hoped this was the last tragedy to befall its nationals.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, also the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns, and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Raul Hernandez reported that the execution was carried out at 12:30 p.m. in Liuzhou.

“The life of every Filipino is valuable and we mourn with the family. We empathize with the family’s pain. We do not want other Filipinos to go through the same experience,” the DFA said in a statement read by Hernandez during a press briefing.

“We call on our countrymen to be vigilant against drug syndicates. Drug trafficking is a criminal act in the Philippines and all over the world. We pray that this is the last time that a tragedy like this befalls any of our countrymen,” the DFA said.

Hernandez said the relatives of the Filipino, the fourth Filipino executed in China for drug smuggling, visited and talked to him for about 50 minutes before the promulgation of the sentence in the Intermediate People’s Court in Guilin.

“The promulgation of the sentence lasted for about 20 minutes. It affirmed the decision of the lower court and immediately ordered his immediate execution. After that he was brought to Liuzhou about two hours away from Guilin and at 12:30 in the afternoon he was executed,” he said.

The relatives did not go with him to Liuzhou and instead stayed in Guilin.

Binay said as per information relayed to him, “the subject was very calm, but his family was crying.”

The remains of the executed Filipino will be repatriated in four to six days.

Security guard in Macau

The family told DFA officials that the executed Filipino often went to Macau as a tourist and was able to find work there as a security guard.

But before he went to Macau, the Filipino enrolled in computer and nursing aide courses but was not able to finish them.

The 35-year-old Filipino was convicted for smuggling 1.495 kilos of heroin to Guangxi and his conviction was upheld by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, China’s high court.

According to the DFA, the High People’s Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region informed the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou that China’s high court affirmed the lower court’s decision on the carrying out of the death penalty.

The convict was arrested in September 2008 upon his arrival at the Guilin International Airport from Malaysia.

Sources had said the convict was a confidential assistant of a Bataan politician but decided to try his luck in Macau after his boss lost in the elections.

Final, executory

The Philippines had made repeated pleas for the death sentence to be commuted to life in prison, which Chinese authorities rejected.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said there was no response from the Chinese side on President Aquino’s letter to President Hu Jintao appealing the case of the drug mule.

The embassy said China already conveyed last week to the Philippines that the sentence is final and executory.

China reminded the Philippines that it is a country under the rule of law and the Chinese judicial authority has passed a sentence on relevant Philippine drug trafficker in accordance with law.

Hernandez said the execution of the Filipino is the last case in death row for drug trafficking.

The DFA said there are 70 Filipinos who have been sentenced to death with two years reprieve, meaning after two years the sentence could be changed to life imprisonment, depending on their behavior while in detention.

According to Hernandez, a total of 208 Filipinos are involved in drug-related cases in the whole of China, including Macau and Hong Kong.

“The lesson we learned is we have to be vigilant against drug syndicates and that we have to ensure that we will not be fooled by international drug syndicates. We should always be aware and very much conscious of our safety because there are people who might choose us to carry the drugs for them to other countries,” Hernandez said.

In February, China stayed the execution of three Filipinos following appeals from the Philippine government, only to carry it out a month later.

Holy Mass offered

Meanwhile, a Holy Mass was celebrated on Wednesday at the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur for Filipinos facing capital punishment overseas, especially for the Filipino executed yesterday.

The Mass, officiated by Rev. Fr. Ravi Alexander, was attended by Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya and other embassy personnel, as well as members of the Filipino community.

The embassy asked the Filipino community in Malaysia to continue praying for fortitude for Filipinos as well as eventual freedom for other Filipinos behind bars.

A Mass was also offered yesterday at the DFA for the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception and the executed Filipino. – With AP