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MANILA, Philippines?Lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Aquino administration to do all it can to save the lives of five Filipinos in death row in China for drug-related cases.
At the same time, they asked Malacanang to increase to budget of the Department of Labor and Employment intended to provide legal assistance to all overseas Filipino workers in distress in different parts of the world.
Representative Angelo Palmones of the party-list group Alyansa ng mga Grupo ng Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mamamayan (Agham) said the current budget of P50 million for this was not enough to cover all expenses for legal assistance to OFWs.
The case of the five Filipinos?a male and four female?was raised by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos during the hearing of the committee on OFW affairs headed by Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello.
Bello said the five OFWs badly needed assistance to reverse the ruling on their case and save them from the death chamber.
The Filipinos, now detained in Beijing, were arrested and sentenced for acting as drug couriers.
Palmones said he hopes Chinese authorities will consider the recent arrest of the two leaders of the drug ring in the Philippines who allegedly victimized these five Filipinos to peddle drugs.
On Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs reiterated its warning to Filipinos travelling overseas against carrying or trafficking illegal drugs.
"We warn our countrymen (to refrain) from carrying drugs when travelling overseas and especially not to accept packages which they suspect contain drugs, and also to be wary of the modus operandi being used by drug-trafficking syndicates. If they are caught, they will face very dire circumstances," Conejos said.
In Asia, there are a total of 302 drug-related cases involving Filipinos. Most of the cases are in China (205), Hong Kong (26), and Malaysia (17). There are also more female victims (221 cases) than males.
Most of the Filipinos caught were lured to act as "drug mules" by international drug syndicates.
Among the drug-related cases in China, five have been meted the death penalty without reprieve, and 70 with death penalty with two-year reprieve. There are 35 cases given life imprisonment sentences, 68 with fixed-term imprisonment, and 27 pending cases.
In China, drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of illegal drugs is punishable by 15 years in prison, life imprisonment, or death. In Muslim countries, drug trafficking is punishable by death, according to Shariah law.
In May, the Drug Couriers Task Force (TFDC) scored a victory with the neutralization of an international drug syndicate victimizing Filipino drug mules. ?Operation Homerun? resulted in the arrest of nine male Nigerians, one female Thai, one female Malaysian, and two Filipinas, as well as the seizure of two kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of heroin in China.
The PDEA-led operation took place in the Philippines and neighboring Asian countries.
The TFDC is composed of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as chair; the DFA as co-chair; and the Department of Labor and Employment, the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Customs, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Information Agency, the Manila International Airport Authority, and the Philippine Tourism Authority as members.
The DFA has requested PDEA to continue its operations and redouble its efforts in light of the increasing involvement of Filipinas as drug mules.
"The country is doing everything to arrest the drug menace, and with the cooperation of all, we hope that we can eradicate it once and for all. But ultimately, our people must take full responsibility for their actions by always being on guard against the inducements," Conejos added.
