MANILA — Migrante International extended its gratitude to the Chinese government for agreeing to defer the execution of three Filipino nationals scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Monday and Tuesday. The group lauded Vice President Jejomar Binay for successfully leading the team that went to China in a last ditch effort to save the lives of Filipinos Sally Villanueva, Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain.
However, Migrante stressed that there is still a need for the Philippine government to make clear the terms and conditions of the deferment. “Have their sentences been commuted? How long is the suspension, is it just a matter of days, months, years? Will this affect the fate of at least 190 others in China jails for the same offenses?” said Garry Martinez, Migrante International chairperson.
In a press conference held on Saturday at the Migrante International office, families of OFWs in death row and in jail appealed to the Philippine government to also act in haste for their relatives.
“Let us also not forget that there are still others in death row who continue to appeal to the government for much-needed attention and intervention,” Martinez said.
Migrante is presently handling 8 cases of OFWs in death row and 121 who are in jail (13 of which are drug-related cases).
Based on Migrante’s monitoring, there are currently 125 OFWs in death row. Of the 125, 85 have drug-related cases where 79 are jailed in China. The rest are in the Middle East, Malaysia and Thailand. (Photos by Jo A. Santos / 
)
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