Filipino drug smugglers' death sentences upheld
China says verdict is intended to act as a deterrent
Manila: China's Supreme People's Court has upheld the death sentences of three Filipino drug mules.
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao said on the embassy's website the death sentences were the final verdict by the Chinese judicial authorities in accordance with the law.
In mid-February Manila had asked China to commute the sentences to life imprisonment from execution by lethal injection which was imposed by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Ramon Credo, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva and Elizabeth Batain.
The three were found guilty of smuggling between four and six kilos of heroin into China in 2008. They were to be executed at the end of February.
11th-hour appeal
In an 11th hour plea President Benigno Aquino sent his vice-president and presidential adviser Jejomar Binay to Beijing on February 18 to meet top Chinese officials.
"I am appealing to the government of the Republic of China to commute the death penalty of the three OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) to life imprisonment for humanitarian reasons," Binay said, echoing the call of Aquino.
Beijing eventually agreed to give the case another look — deferring the late February execution.
But nearly two months after giving a reprieve, China said it would proceed to carry out the death sentence.
The Chinese envoy promised it would ensure the rights of the three were protected.
"No one is privileged to transcend [the] law. Drug-related crime, doing appalling harm to our societies, has been universally recognised as a scourge by the whole world. The drugs are bitterly detested by the international community, China and the Philippines included.
Meting out the death penalty to drug-related criminals perpetrating extremely serious crimes serves deterring and preventing drug-related crimes," Liu said.
The execution of Credo, Ordinario-Villanueva and Batain will be the first for Filipinos in China. Dozens of their compatriots are imprisoned in Chinese jails for drug smuggling-related charges.
The presidential palace in Manila, for its part, said China's decision to push through with the execution is an unfortunate development.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Philippines cannot do much but to continue hoping and praying for the three.
