Family granted access to Filipina drug mule on death row

The family of the convicted female Filipino drug mule sentenced to die in China for smuggling large quantities of prohibited drugs was finally granted access to the convict on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez said the family, accompanied by Philippine Consul General to Shanghai Charles Jose and other officers of the consulate and the DFA, visited the Filipino at 10:40 a.m. at the ZheJiang detention facility in Hangzhou and was able to speak to her for 30 minutes.

"This will be the only time that the family would be allowed to talk to our kababayan in that detention center," Hernandez told a press briefing.

The Filipino convict was scheduled to die possibly through lethal injection on July 2, but Hernandez said there is no final date of execution yet pending China's response to the letter sent on June 27 by President Benigno S. Aquino III, appealing for the commutation of her sentence to life imprisonment.

"They have not been informed of the date of execution yet," Hernandez said.

If the execution pushes through, she will be the fifth Filipino drug courier to be punished by death in China since 2011.

The Filipino woman, who entered China from Dubai through a connecting flight in Hong Kong was apprehended at the Hangzhou International Airport on January 25, 2011 after authorities found 6.198 in her luggage. She was arrested with a male Filipino companion – a cousin – who was caught carrying 6.171 of heroin.

The Filipino's cousin was also handed a death sentence but with two-year reprieve, meaning it could be downgraded to life imprisonment if he shows good behavior while in detention.

Hernandez said he was also allowed jail visitation by China and was also visited by his family on Monday afternoon.

The government of Aquino said it respects China's decision but said it will continue to exert efforts to save the life of the Filipino.

Filipino women and lately even men are reportedly being hired by West African drug syndicates to smuggle drugs mainly in Asia and South America – sometimes by ingesting it.

There are a total of 213 drug-related cases involving Filipino nationals in China.

Of this figure, 28 resulted in death penalty convictions with 2 year reprieve, 67 in life imprisonment and 107 termed imprisonment while 10 are still pending in courts.

A person caught in possession of illegal drugs in the amount of more than 50 grams is meted the death penalty in China if convicted. (PNA)