ShareThisSally Villanueva, 33 Ramon Credo, 42 and Elizabeth Batain, 38, were the first Filipino nationals to be executed in China, for carrying 4,410 grams, 4,113 grams and 6,800 grams of heroin, respectively.
They were originally scheduled to be executed earlier – Credo and Villanueva were set to be executed last February 20 while Batain’s execution was originally scheduled last February 21 – but the wave of protest and demonstrations in the Philippines against the public perception of government’s neglect on the case moved the administration to send Vice President Jejomar Binay to China in a frantic effort to plead for their lives. But against all hopes for a miracle by the convicted OFWs (Overseas Foreign Workers), the execution proceeded as scheduled on March 30.
Even as the Philippine government scrambles to arrest the recruiters of these drug mules and vows to stop the proliferation of these illegal drugs activities in the country, China and in other parts of the world, 74 other Filipinos are actually facing execution in China on drug charges, proof of the seriousness and extent of illegal drugs trafficking that makes the usually overworked and underpaid overseas Filipino workers vulnerable to the temptation of easy and big money from narcotics syndicates.
Per Migrante International, there are 195 Filipinos who were arrested in China as of February 2011. Among them, 10 got a death sentence, 56 obtained a chance for reprieve in 2 years, 44 were sentenced to15 years in prison, 30 were meted life sentences and 55 are still going through court hearings.
In the case of Sally Villanueva, an apparent deception by a certain Mapet Cortez, also known as Tita Cacayan, suggested she was innocent or at least, didn’t know she was transporting drugs. It was learned that Cacayan offered her a cellphone business in 2008, just months after she came home from Macau, where she worked as a domestic helper. Villanueva testified that Cacayan asked her to use the silver-grey suitcase that looked empty but which to her surprise was discovered at the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport to contain bags of heroin hidden in the suitcase’s lining.
In most cases, however, it must be the lure of money and desperation or hopelessness over their poverty that pushed the Filipinos, migrant workers especially, into these deadly illegal drug rings. And as the drug kingpins haul in the profits and roam free, these lowly workers took much of the risks and get executed or imprisoned for life when caught.
How these drugs passed through Manila airport screenings and security is a mystery worth digging into by Philippine government officials. It is the first place drug enforcers and police authorities have to look into. If they are seriously looking, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll find something.
But policing drug traffickers is only one part of the solution. As long as there are people in abject poverty, people who are pushed to the edge because their families are starving or their children need clothes and money for school, there will be people who will dare to go to the extremes. And these drug lords certainly know where to find them.
Pnoy and Binay can save a lot of their people, these people who are often driven to the edge by poverty if they would start providing programs that will eventually alleviate hunger, homelessness, lack of basic necessities in life, etc. in other words, poverty. Pnoy said in his campaign, “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” promising to root out corruption in the government and in the country.
Mr. President, in light of this week’s heart-wrenching execution of Villanueva, Credo and Batain, start sniffing the drug trails where nationals and foreigners pass through – at the airports! It is one very good place to start if you and your men truly want to catch these criminals and save lives.