No OWWA aid for Pinay drug mule in China

The convicted Filipina drug trafficker in China is not likely to get legal assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said the case of the Filipina who will be executed not later than July 2 is beyond the jurisdiction of the agency because she is not an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) or a member of the agency.

OWWA rules allow legal and other assistance only to members of the agency, Dimzon said.

“OWWA provides plane ticket if the worker does not have a recruitment agency, but if the worker is not documented it’s the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) that handles all their needs,” Dimzon pointed out.

“Under the law, the legal assistance shall be provided by the government through the DFA, which has fund for legal assistance to Filipinos,” Dimzon explained.

Malaca–ang had expressed its intention to appeal to Chinese authorities for the commutation of death sentence on the still unnamed Filipina drug courier.

Vice President Jejomar Binay will leave for Beijing on Sunday or Monday to personally present to Chinese President Xi Jinping a letter of appeal from President Aquino seeking a stay of execution of the Filipina drug courier.

“I will be personally handing over President Aquino’s letter of appeal. I cannot speculate. There are still many factors. This is not the first time that I’m doing this. So let us just see and let us just continue praying,” said Binay, who is also presidential adviser on OFW concerns.

Binay said the government has the responsibility to try and save fellow Filipinos abroad.

China’s highest court upheld last June 26 the death sentence on the 33-year-old Filipina for drug trafficking.

The woman and her male cousin were arrested in Hangzhou on Jan. 25, 2011 for trying to smuggle 13 kilos of heroin.

Only the woman convict is up for execution on July 2; her male companion was given a two-year reprieve on his death sentence due to good behavior.

The woman was reportedly not given reprieve because of her being uncooperative with investigators and for constantly questioning the court’s jurisdic- tion over her case.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III called on concerned government agencies yesterday to continue a vigorous campaign against drug traffickers.

He also warned the public regarding the modus operandi of drug syndicates who use Filipinos as drug couriers abroad.

After saying that the government should simply let China carry out the execution of the Filipina convict, Sotto said there should be no letup in the campaign to prevent potential victims from being recruited by the drug cartels.

Sotto also urged drug enforcers to arrest perpetrators and destroy these cartels, who may be recruiting in the country.

A former Dangerous Drugs Board chairman, Sotto reminded the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Philippine National Po- lice’s Anti-Drug Special Operations Task Force, and DDB to continue warning the public about the drug syndicate’s modus operandi. He said the DFA and OWWA should also take part in reminding all OFWs. Sotto lamented that those who engage in drug activities are giving legitimate OFWs a bad reputation.

The PDEA also renewed its warning to OFWs and other travelers to stay away from drug smuggling syndicates.

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac Jr. expressed concern over the increasing number of Filipinos who – wittingly or unwittingly – are enticed by international drug syndicates to become couriers.

“It is unwise for our countrymen to risk their life and future to bring dangerous drugs to a certain country in exchange for any amount of money. How of there are still those who willfully allow themselves to be utilized as drug couriers despite repeated warnings by PDEA and other government agencies,” Cacdac said. Sen. Loren Legarda said the government should pursue all peaceful means to spare the life of the convicted Filipina drug courier in China.

“We must exhaust all measures available in order to spare the life of a fellow Filipino,” said Legarda, chair of the Senate committee of foreign relations during the 15th Congress.

An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday appealed to priests to include in their prayers the Filipina scheduled to be executed in China for drug trafficking.

In an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas, CBCPCommission on Migrants and Itinerant People executive secretary Fr. Edwin Corros said that he was saddened by reports that a Filipina drug courier would be executed.

Corros asked the parish priests to include the 35-yearold Filipina in their prayers. “I am appealing to all priests to offer prayers until Sunday so that the execution would not push through.”

But while he remains hopeful that the woman would be spared from execution, he could not dismiss the possibility that the appeal of the Philippine government would not be granted by the Chinese government because the relationship between the two countries is “not stable.”

The Philippines and China are engaged in a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. Ð Mayen Jaymalin, Christina Mendez, Reinir Padua, Evelyn Macairan, Jose Rodel Clapano