MANILA, Philippines - ''Babaha ng luha (Tears will flow).''This was how Geronlimo Ordinario, father of Sally Ordinario-Villanueva described their impending meeting with his daughter who, along with Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday in China after they were found guilty of drug trafficking last February 11.
Geronlimo, his wife Basilica, and another daughter arrived in Beijing Sunday while the relatives of Batain followed the next day.
On the eve of the scheduled execution, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the families of Credo and Villanueva have been granted permission by the Fujian Provincial Higher People's Court to visit the convicts, on Wednesday from 8 to 9 in the morning at the Xiamen No.1 Detention House.
Similarly, the Batain family will have the opportunity to visit Elizabeth the same day at 9:30 in the morning at the Shenzhen No. 3 Detention House.
The DFA said the family visit will be followed by the promulgation of the sentences on Credo and Villanueva at 9:40 a.m. at the 2nd Criminal Tribunal of the Xiamen Municipal Intermediate People's Court.
''The next of kin will be present during the promulgation of the sentences,'' the DFA said in a statement.
The promulgation of the sentence on Batain, on the other hand, will take place before the visit of her family members.
''Officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen will be with the Credo and Ordinario families during their visit and during the promulgation of the sentences,'' the DFA said. ''Officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou will likewise accompany the Batain family during their visitation.''
As this developed, Noel Novicio, consul of the Philippine post in Xiamen City, said in a radio interview that Villanueva, Credo, and Batain are actually not aware that their executions have been set Wednesday, March 30.
Novicio said the three will only be informed about this on the day of their executions.
He said what the three know so far was that their executions last February 20 and February 21 have been suspended by the Supreme People's Court of China.
He said he was not sure whether the execution will be carried out right after the promulgation or a few hours after.
Novicio added that they have also submitted to Chinese President Hu Jintao letters from the families of Credo and Villanueva which they coursed through China's Foreign Ministry.
''We personally brought the letters of the Credo and Villanueva families to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The letters were addressed to President Hu Jintao,'' Novicio said.
He said the letters were aside from the daily representations made by the Embassy to ranking officials of China.
Novicio said they also submitted to President Hu a copy of Villanueva's affidavit where she named her recruiter as the source of the drugs she brought into China. The affidavit aims to show that Villanueva was used by a drug syndicate and does not deserve the death penalty.
''The Foreign Ministry assured us that the letters will reach the intended recipient. But the President does not directly reply to such letters, especially if they involve death penalty cases,'' he said.
On the part of the Chinese government, their silence is deafening dousing hopes on the possibility that their execution will be stalled.
Numerous queries by this paper to Chinese Embassy Spokespersson Ethan Sun remain unanswered as of press time.
In an ambush interview, DFA Spokesperson Ed Malaya, meanwhile, said Filipinos should now ''accept the fact that the sentence is a finality.''
''I think we've tried everything that we can already,'' Malaya said. ''The President has written three times, there have been back channeling and I'm afraid at this point in time there really isn't much left we can do.''
Despite this, Vice President Jejomar Binay appealed anew to the Chinese government to spare the lives of the three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been sentenced to death, noting that they could help pin down the masterminds of drug smuggling.
In his letter to Chinese President Hu Jin Tao, Binay said the affidavit of Sally could serve as evidence for further investigation into the illegal drugs traffic from the Philippines to China.
''In light of that testimony, which we believe is very material to the prosecution of (Mapet) Cortez (alias Tita Cacayan, Villanueva's local recruiter), and our effort to break the back of the illegal drugs traffic from the Philippines, I appeal to the Chinese government to help us keep Villanueva and the two others alive to enable us to establish beyond any reasonable doubt whether at least one or two or all three of them are mere unwitting couriers, while the real principals are still at large in the Philippines,'' Binay said in his ''final appeal'' to President Tao.
Hope for 74 more doomed Filipinos
Another 74 Filipinos facing execution in China on drug charges can still evade death as long as they show ''remorse for the crimes'' and ''good behavior.''
Despite the scheduled execution of three Filipinos on Wednesday, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) Esteban Conejos assured that there remains a ray of hope for the 74 other Filipinos who had been sentenced to death in that country.
Conejos said that under the Chinese law, the original verdict can still be commuted to life imprisonment.
''As long they show remorse for their crimes and show good behavior, their death sentences may still be commuted to life imprisonment,'' confirmed Conejos.
He said that 72 of these Filipinos were granted a two-year reprieve while two others had their cases remanded back to the lower courts for review.
On the other hand, another Filipino had her case elevated to China's Supreme Court this year for confirmation.
With this development, Conejos assured that the government continues to provide assistance to these Filipinos, including providing them with legal counsel.
PDEA Director General Jose Gutierrez Jr. said described arrested WADS members in the country as ''smart'' and usually operates outside the country.
Gutierrez revealed that drug syndicates are becoming wary of using Filipinos as drug mules since other countries are keeping a close watch on our citizens.
He said Filipinos have been profiled in other countries as ''undocumented'' and used as ''drug couriers.''
Because of this, he said Filipinos are being segregated and checked in airports abroad.
''Ang mga sindikato halos ayaw na nila gumamit ng Southeast Asian nationals (Most of the time, drug syndicates don't want to use Southeast Asians anymore),'' he said.
Pinoys: Favorite drug mules
Director Joseph Ladip, chief of PDEA's International Cooperation and Foreign Affairs Service, did admit that Filipinos have become a favorite of drug syndicates as drug mules.
''Filipinos are charming, know English, and are techies,'' Ladip learned this from counterparts abroad, particularly in Thailand.
Ladip explained that syndicates have found Filipinos very likable and easy to deal with.
Filipinos' knowledge of the English language have also given them an advantage against other nationals in the drug trafficking trade, he stressed.
Sacrificial lambs
Meanwhile, Ladip warned that drug syndicates are willing to sacrifice drug mules in order to slip in more illegal drugs into the country.
The PDEA official said that just this year a Filipina and two other foreigners were caught in Sao Paolo, Brazil, trying to bring in illegal drugs.
He said that there were indications that those arrested were part of a larger group, believed to be around 10 drug couriers, sent into Brazil.
However, Ladip said there were indications that the drug syndicates that were using them tipped off Brazilian authorities that led to the arrest of the Filipina and the two other foreigners.
''The three were used as a diversion so that more drug mules could get past through authorities,'' he explained. (With a report from Ellson A. Quismorio)
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