Church calls for more prayers for 3 Filipino drug mules

MANILA, Philippines—The Catholic Church is “storming the heavens” with prayers to save the three Filipinos sentenced to be executed Wednesday in China for drug trafficking, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said Tuesday.

Fr. Edwin Corros, executive director of the CBCP Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said the Church would also hold a moment of silence and a prayer vigil at the Ermita Church in Manila for convicts Sally Villanueva, Elizabeth Batain, and Ramon Credo.

“We are knocking on all doors. We are trying to storm the heavens for a change in the fate of what will happen on (Wednesday). I think the best weapon we can still think of so far is still prayers,” Corros said.

“We can only ask for a miracle. We will also have a moment of silence … definitely or an immediate Mass,” he added.

The church official added that it would be up to individual bishops to decide if church bells would ring out at the time of their execution.

Corros also said that all the spiritual needs of the three Filipino convicts would be provided before they are executed.

“The Church has never been remiss in providing for the spiritual needs of its flock. Rest assured that the Church is doing something. The best that we can do now is to keep on praying,” Corros said.

“We have been offering Masses for the three. Their families are also being looked after. I just cannot reveal the details because this is a very sensitive issue,” he added.

Corros said that the Church was also working to save the lives of other Filipinos who are on death row in China.

“Hopefully, we will be able to surpass this … Even now, we are already in contact with some people whom we believe can be of help to us in terms of securing the life of those others who on death row in China,” Corros said.

“It boils down to our problem of poverty. They always hope to escape from this to the extent that they are being exploited by syndicates as what happened to the three Filipinos,” he added.

Filipinos in Hong Kong were also scheduled to hold an ecumenical prayer service in Charter Road early last night for the commutation of death sentences of the three Filipino convicts.

Members of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong-Migrante and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente HK Mission Council held a candle-lighting ceremony and an ecumenical prayer service together with members of other church in the former Crown colony.