The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed on Friday that it has received assurances from the Chinese government that there will be no implementation of the death sentences meted out against five Filipinos for drug-related offenses in China in the next 2-3 weeks.

DFA Spokesperson Ed Malaya said most of the cases will still pass a thorough review to be conducted by the Chinese Supreme Court.

And though the decision on the case of two of the Filipinos is final, Malaya said the Philippine government is continuing its high-level intercession to save them.

“Even if the Supreme Court in China upholds the death sentences, it is still a different thing with regards to carrying out the sentences so we can assume that there will be no execution within the next 2 to 3 weeks," Malaya said in a television interview.

Malaya said because of the right of privacy of the individuals, their names are still being withheld “until we get their consent”.

The five Filipinos – four women and a man – were recently sentenced to death without reprieve.

One of the five Filipinos on death row was found in possession of 4,110 grams of heroine.

Under Chinese laws, the trafficking of 50 grams or more is punishable by 15 years imprisonment, life imprisonment or death.

Malaya, likewise, said the bloody August 23 hostage incident which resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists will not affect the five death penalty cases.

“Generally our relations with China remain vibrant, stable, and quite good. Our assessment with what transpired Monday last week would not affect cases like this. We have made representations to the Chinese government at various levels and our approaches to these cases are the same as those we have made in the Middle East,” Malaya said.

The DFA spokesperson further pointed out that purpose of DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. in mentioning the said cases before the Senate and the Lower House is to serve as a “wake-up call” for Filipinos.

“In a sense not all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) do these kinds of things, only those who succumb to the lure of money in exchange for becoming drug mules,” Malaya said.

In Asia, there are a total of 302 drug-related cases involving Filipinos. Majority of the cases are in China (205), Hong Kong (26), and Malaysia (17).

There are also more female victims (221 cases) than males.

Majority 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.

Conejos earlier said the Philippines is undertaking comprehensive and proactive measures to address the ‘drug mules’ issue and to prevent the further victimization of Filipinos by international drug syndicates.

In a related development, Ernesto San Pedro, husband of one of the five Filipinos facing death penalty in China, personally appealed to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to help his wife Myra by seeking reprieve from the Chinese government.

He admitted in a radio interview that no one from the government has ever talked to him yet and he only learned about the status of his wife from the news that came out several days ago.

Low-profile gov’t approach
President Benigno S. Aquino III, meanwhile, said the government would rather keep a low-profile in its efforts of saving the lives of the five Filipinos facing execution this month in China.

In a press briefing at the Convergys Corp.'s contact center in San Lazaro, Manila, Aquino said talking about the issue would not help the situation.

Nonetheless, he assured that the DFA is availing of backchannel means to save the lives of the five Filipinos.

“If I remember correctly, the advice of the DFA is that it is better to do it through backchannel means and less…to keep a low-profile which we are not helping by discussing it right now. Keeping a low profile has been the established way of effecting…because China values its sovereignty like we do. They do not like to be told what to do with their own affairs. I guess it’s the message that has been transmitted to them. So we are gonna employ the same strategy that resulted in successes in the past. Let us not discuss that further,” Aquino said.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma earlier said that the government is cautious in its efforts to save the lives of five Filipinos facing execution this month over drug-related offenses because it has to respect the judicial processes of other countries.

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello last Wednesday announced that five Filipinos – four females and a male – were recently sentenced to death without reprieve for allegedly working as drug mules for international drug syndicates. (JC Bello Ruiz)