Don’t be tricked, Aquino tells would-be drug mules

President Benigno Aquino III

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday renewed his warning to Filipinos not to allow themselves to be used to smuggle illegal drugs into other countries like China.

Mr. Aquino aired the warning as he confirmed writing a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao seeking commutation of the death penalty imposed on a Filipino man who was caught trying to bring 1.5 kilos of heroin into China. The letter is to be hand-carried by Vice President Jejomar Binay should the latter’s trip to China push through.

The Filipino, whose family in the Philippines asked that he not be identified, is scheduled for execution on December 8.

“We don’t stop issuing warnings to those who could be deceived, for instance, into becoming drug mules. In China, they really consider drugs as a very huge problem and the death sentence is quite in existence there,” the President told reporters in Malacañang.

Mr. Aquino said his administration was taking steps to improve the lives of Filipinos so that no one would find the need to smuggle drugs.

“But drugs is a problem worldwide,” he noted.