DFA says two Filipinos executed in China for drug-related offenses
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed the execution of two Filipinos for drug trafficking offenses in China in the previous month.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs regrets to inform the nation that two Filipino nationals were executed in China on 24 November 2023 for drug trafficking offenses, as confirmed by the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou," the DFA said in a statement.
Their names were not revealed by the DFA.
"We offer our most sincere condolences to their families and loved ones. We respect the wishes of their families for privacy, and as such are withholding the identities of the two Filipinos. The Department likewise, deferred from immediately announcing this sad development pending receipt from the Chinese side of the formal notification of their execution," it added.
According to the DFA "there are 92 Filipino death penalty cases in China" and out of the 92, "two cases have been commuted to life imprisonment; 86 cases have been reduced to fixed term and initially four pending death penalty cases."
The DFA stressed that "from the time the two Filipinos were arrested in 2013, to their criminal trial , and on through their various appeals of the lower court’s judgment of conviction in 2016, the Department provided all possible assistance, including legal assistance funding, through the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou and the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs."
"The Government of the Republic of the Philippines further exhausted all measures available to appeal to the relevant authorities of the People’s Republic of China to commute their sentences to life imprisonment on humanitarian grounds. There were also high-level political representations in this regard," it stated.
The DFA noted that while they "are saddened by the execution of the two Filipinos, their death strengthens the Government’s resolve to continue our relentless efforts to rid the country of drug syndicates that prey on the vulnerable, including those seeking better lives for themselves and their families."
"Illegal drugs trade remains a scourge that we as a nation must confront. Drug syndicates claim as their victims not only drug addicts, but Filipinos whose socio-economic conditions render them vulnerable to the lure of these criminals," the DFA said.
"The Department issues this urgent reminder to all Filipinos wishing to travel overseas to be vigilant of the modus operandi of drug syndicates in recruiting unwitting travelers as drug mules, and to refuse to carry any package that you have not personally packed and thoroughly inspected. While the Philippine government will continue to exhaust all possible avenues to assist our overseas nationals, ultimately it is the laws and sovereign decisions of foreign countries and not the Philippines which will prevail in these cases," it added. Robina Asido/DMS
