Sally Villanueva brought to execution chamber

MANILA, Philippines - Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, one of the three Filipinos convicted for drug trafficking in China, has been brought to the execution chamber, her brother announced in a television interview today.

Jason Ordinario said that Villanueva was brought to the execution chamber after the court handed down the sentence against her.

Before she was brought to the execution chamber, Ordinario said that they met with his sister at the Xiamen detention house for an hour. The meeting took place from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

He said they were allowed to bring a rosary and a prayer book inside the detention house, but they were barred from bringing in food for Sally.

In an earlier radio interview, Ordinario said that his sister asked that all she wanted was for her two children to get proper education.

In between sobs, Ordinario said that Villanueva was escorted into the execution chamber after being blessed by a priest.

He said his sister had other requests, but most of them were inaudible because she was crying heavily.

He added that Villanueva was also made to sign an execution document.

‘Am I going to die today?’

Peter, Villanueva’s father, said his daughter was surprised upon seeing them in China, with his daughter saying, “Bakit kayo nandito, mamamatay na ba ako ngayon?”

He also quoted his daughter as saying, “Huwag n’yo na akong alalahanin. Kung magtatagal man ako dito, mas mabuti nang mamatay ako at makakauwi na ako sa Pilipinas.”

Peter said that up to the last minute, Sally insisted she was innocent of the crime and that she was only a victim.

“Sinabi nga niya na siya ay nabiktima lang. Humingi siya ng patawad sa Panginoon kung ano man ang nagawa niya pero pinanindigan niya na inosente siya at nabiktima lamang siya,” he added.

His daughter also called on the Philippine government to help her family, especially in the education of her two children. Despite the government’s failure to stop her execution, Sally was still very thankful for the assistance that it extended to her for the last three years, the father added.

“Sabi niya ‘Hihingi ako ng tulong sa gobyerno para makapag-aral ng mabuti ang mga anak ko. Alagaan ninyo, at kung maari lang na maayos ang problema ko sa bahay,’” he said.

Credo, Batain

Two more Filipinos -- Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain -- are scheduled for execution today.

Villanueva, 32, was convicted for smuggling 4,110 grams of heroin on Dec. 24, 2008, and Credo, 42, four days later for smuggling a slightly bigger amount of heroin. Batain was sentenced to death on May 24 in the same year also for drug trafficking.

Credo's family was also able to meet him for an hour before the promulgation of his execution.

The family of Batain, meanwhile, has been allowed to see her from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., said Philippine Consul Noel Novicio in a radio interview.

2 more Pinoy drug mules

Novicio said in a radio interview that two other Filipinos convicted for drug smuggling in China were also supposed to be executed.

Novicio said that the two other Filipinos, whom he did not identify, were also sentenced with death penalty without reprieve by a local court in China.

He said that after a thorough review by the Supreme People’s Court of China, the two Filipinos’ sentences were lowered to death penalty with two years reprieve.

“Based on Chinese laws, if you are given a two-year reprieve, on the account of good behavior, your sentence will be lowered to life imprisonment,” Novicio said, adding that the sentence can still be lowered to a fixed term of at least 20 years if the detainee would further display good behavior.

He said that a reversal of a death sentence is very rare in China. He said that it was just fortunate that the two Filipinos were given two years reprieve.

Novicio, meanwhile, said that the government has exhausted all possible means to stop the executions of Villanueva, Credo and Batain.

“Gusto ko lang paliwanag na ginawa ng gobyerno ang lahat nang puwedeng gawin para sa kanilang tatlo,” he said.

Based on data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, there are 630 Filipinos jailed in foreign countries due to drug trafficking.

Of the 630, 250 are detained in China and 72 of them are on death row.

Meanwhile, masses were held all over the Philippines today for the three Filipino drug mules.

The Department of Foreign Affairs also held a Mass at its Pasay City office. It declined to issue statements about the executions.

Its officials said that they would have to wait for official information from the Philippine Embassy in Beijing before issuing statements.

After the Chinese embassy in Manila announced the date of execution of the three Filipinos, migrants’ group Migrante International started conducting prayer vigils for the drug mules.

The prayer vigils and mass actions for the three Filipinos have been scheduled until today.