DFA not sure of Pinay drug mule's execution date

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not yet received word on the definite execution date of the Filipina convicted of drug trafficking in China.

At a televised press conference on Monday, DFA Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said the execution date may be until Wednesday, July 3.

Citing a report from Consul General in Shanghai Charles Jose, Hernandez said the family of the convicted Filipina was able to visit her at 10 a.m. Monday at a detention center in Hangzhou.

The DFA official said the Filipina was able to talk for 30 minutes to her family, who will also visit this afternoon her male cousin also sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.

Hernandez said the family has not been informed on the execution date.

Last week, the DFA confirmed that the convicted Filipina will be executed anytime between June 27 and July 2.

But the execution date may be set until July 3 since the Presisdent Benigno Aquino III's letter of appeal was received in China "one day a little bit later," according to Hernandez.

"We are still waiting for the response of the Chinese government to the letter of our President, who asked to commute the sentence to life imprisonment," he said.

Related story: Noy writes to China: Spare Pinay from death row

The convicted Filipina was apprehended in January 2011 after 6.198 kilos of heroin was found in her luggage at an international airport.

According to the DFA, there a total of 213 drug-related cases involving Filipino nationals in China as of June 2013.

Of this, 28 resulted to death penalty convictions with two-year reprieve.

"It has been clear that China is very strict with the implementation of their laws regarding drug trafficking. And we also have said that we respect their laws and the decision of their courts," Hernandez said.