DFA working to repatriate remains of executed Filipinos in China by weekend

The remains of the two Filipino nationals who were executed in China over drug trafficking charges may be repatriated to the Philippines by the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

"The Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou is working on the repatriation of cremains of the two Filipino nationals," DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza told reporters in a text message.

"It hopes to bring their cremains by the end of the week," Daza added.

On Saturday, the DFA reported the execution of two Filipino nationals in China for drug trafficking offenses.

Citing a report from the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou, the DFA said the two Filipino nationals were executed on 24 November.

The two Filipinos were apprehended by authorities in 2013 in Guangdong while attempting to smuggle a combined weight of 11.872 kilograms of methamphetamine.

The two were detained and underwent court trials until 2016 when they were sentenced to death for drug smuggling.

In 2017, their cases were appealed to the High People's Court of the Chinese province that had jurisdiction over the case. However, the same Chinese court upheld the verdict a year later.

The DFA said it exhausted all measures available to appeal to relevant Chinese authorities for commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment on humanitarian grounds.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said that the cases of the two Filipinos who were recently executed in China were tried by Chinese courts in accordance with their law.

"The Chinese judiciary treats criminals of different nationalities equally and deals with them in a fair manner and in strict accordance with the law," the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy also said that during the trial of the two Filipinos, the Chinese side "fully guaranteed the various procedural and the litigation rights of the two Filipinos in accordance with the law, and provided the necessary facilities for the consular officials of the Philippine side to perform their duties and for the families of the two persons to visit them in China."

"Chinese law stipulates that all persons who commit crimes are equal in the application of the law, and no one is allowed to have privileges beyond the law," it said.

"Drug-related crimes are recognized worldwide as serious crimes, and the harm they cause to society is extremely great," it added.

It continued: "China unswervingly adheres to the law in combating drug-related crimes, always maintaining "zero tolerance" and a high-pressure deterrence, and resolutely punishing in accordance with the law those drug offenders who are malicious and pose great personal danger."