“President Benigno S. Aquino III has written a letter of appeal to Chinese President Xi Jinping, requesting a commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment,” DFA said.
“The letter of appeal was sent today through the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in Manila,” it added.
This comes amid territorial disputes with China over Scarborough, Panatag Shoal and West Philippine Sea.
In a statement, DFA said the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing affirmed a lower court decision, which sentenced a 35-year old Filipina for smuggling 6.196 kilos of heroin in China in 2011.
“It is with deep regret that we inform the public that... the death penalty will be carried out anytime between today, June 27, and July 02,” the statement read.
The department said the unnamed Filipina was apprehended with a Filipino male companion, who was caught carrying 6.171 kilos of heroin in his own luggage at an international airport.
DFA clarified the Philippine government gave necessary assistance to ensure her legal rights were observed during her trial.
It clarified a legal counsel represented the Filipino convict at all levels of proceedings, from the Intermediate People’s Court up to the Appellate Court.
In a press conference, DFA spokesperson Raul Gonzales said the Filipina’s family has already been informed.
Gonzales noted arrangements are being made for the Filipina convict’s family to depart for China “at the soonest possible time, in order to visit and see their loved one.”
Citing records, Gonzales said there are a total of 213 drug-related cases involving Filipino nationals in China as of June 2013.
He added 28 of these cases resulted in death penalty convictions with two-year reprieve, including the Filipina convict’s companion.
The figure, Gonzales added, also includes, 67 others in life imprisonment, 107 in term imprisonment and 10 still pending at the courts.
“The Philippines respects Chinese law and the verdict of the SPC on the case. The Philippine Government itself has a strong anti-illegal drug policy, and is closely cooperating with law enforcement agencies in China and in other countries on efforts against drug trafficking,” Gonzales said.
“We appeal to all Filipinos not to allow themselves to be involved in drug trafficking and to be extremely cautious when dealing with strangers in airports and other areas of transit. We call for personal vigilance and responsibility on the part of Filipinos who travel abroad,” he added
0 comments:
Post a Comment