Two Filipinos executed in China for drug trafficking

Two Filipino nationals were executed in China after being convicted for drug trafficking, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Saturday, Dec. 2.

​DFA withheld the identities of the two nationals for their privacy, but it said they were arrested in 2013, convicted in 2016, and executed on Nov. 24.

The agency said the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou and the Office of the Undersecretary of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) provided necessary assistance to the victims, including legal aid.

Their families were also assisted by the government during their compassionate visit to where they were incarcerated in Guangzhou.

The Philippine government also appealed to relevant authorities of the People's Republic of China to commute the sentence from execution to life imprisonment "on humanitarian grounds" and even held high-level political representations to no avail.

"Our repeated appeals were consistent with the laws and values of our nation, which put the highest premium on human life," the DFA said in a statement.

"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," it added.

"Saddened" by the outcome of the case, the DFA said the government's resolve is strengthened to  continue its efforts in ridding the country of drug syndicates preying on the vulnerable, including those seeking better lives for themselves  and their families.

"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," it said.

According to DFA, 92 Filipinos in China were facing death penalty sentence. The case of only one of them is not related to drugs.

Out of the 92, two cases were already commuted to life imprisonment, while 86 cases were reduced to fixed-term sentences.

The remaining four were given the death penalty, including the case of two Filipinos who were already executed.

The DFA reminded Filipinos travelling overseas to be vigilant of the modus operandi of drug syndicates that recruit unwitting travelers as drug mules as well as to refuse to carry any package that is not personally packed by them 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," DFA said.