Akbayan expressed its sympathies to the families of the three Filipinos charged with drug smuggling and executed by the Chinese government on Thursday morning.
“Taus-puso kaming nakikiramay sa mga pamilyang naiwan nina Sally Villanueva, Ramon Credo, at Elizabeth Batain,” Akbayan Representative Walden Bello said following the announcement that the execution of the 3 Filipinos had been carried out.
According to Bello, it is truly a tragedy that has befallen the three Filipinos.
“We exhausted all efforts to save the lives of our kababayan. We each made our separate appeals to the Chinese government, on top of the official negotiation the government has made, but the Chinese government remained firm in their decision,” Bello added. “At this point, we can only lend our support to the families that were left behind and show them that they are not alone in facing this tragedy,”
The death penalty has long been seen as inhumane and barbaric, abolished in a majority of the countries in the world. There are only some 66 countries that implement this punishment.
“We also raise our voices and join the world in condemning the implementation of death penalty in China and elsewhere, and call for its subsequent abolition,” Bello said.
Hoy, Gising!
“There are 72 Filipinos on death row in China. Ilan pa ba ang dapat mabitay bago natin sugpuin ang mga sindikato?” Bello asked.
“Filipinos across the globe continue to be caught in the operations of transnational crime syndicates, sometimes coerced into it, and other times with their full consent,” Bello said. “Ang problema, hangga’t hindi nahuhuli ang mga mastermind, patuloy na masasangkot ang mga kababayan nating naghihirap at walang ibang mapagkakitaan sa ganitong mga sindikato.”
According to Bello, the execution of the three Filipinos should serve as a wake up call for the government.
“There are limited opportunities for the government to protect our citizens abroad especially when confronted by stringent laws of host countries like China,” Bello pointed out. “Kinakailangang magising tayo sa katotohanang binibiktima ng mga sindikato ang ating mga kababayan, at dapat umaksyon agad ang bagong administrasyon laban dito.”
According to Bello, the challenge is to “catch the big fish, the master minds and their associates even within government so these syndicates would stop feeding on the desperation and poverty of people in the country and in the rest of the developing world.”
Akbayan Party is also holding mass actions across the regions to mourn the deaths of the Villanueva, Credo, and Batain and express their outrage over China’s implementation of the death penalty.###
Sabrina Laya S. Gacad
Senior Legislative and Media Officer
Office of Hon. WALDEN F. BELLO
AKBAYAN Party-list Representative
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Philippines
 |
 |
 |
