OK, so the three drug mules scheduled to die in China at the end of the month are Filipinos and they deserve humanitarian assistance from our government. But do we have to spend more than we should for the drug offenders? Shouldn’t we spend our scarce resources and political capital for the OFWs who truly need government aid?
President Benigno Aquino 3rd has admirably responded to the petition of the families of the drug carriers. He sent Vice President Jejomar Binay to China to appeal to the Chinese government for leniency, if not clemency. Out of respect and in deference to the Vice President, the host government stayed the execution indefinitely “in accordance with our laws.â€
The temporary reprieve was a small victory. If you ask me. President Aquino and Vice President Binay have done their part. And they did well. They have clearly shown their concern for Filipinos in distress. There is nothing more they can do.
The drug mules knew what they were doing and were fully aware of the attendant risks and consequences when they took on the job offered them by the drug syndicates. It’s clear that they accepted the job for the money. It would be interesting to know how many times they had slipped through immigration inspection at the airport with illegal drugs in their luggage. How were they able to smuggle the heroin out of the airports? Who were their accomplices?
While I commiserate with them, I find the public attention generated by the prospect of execution a little misplaced. They are not overseas workers in the first place. They went to China to trade or to conduct business or, more to the point, to smuggle illegal drugs to that country. And they were handsomely paid for their services. That, in effect, qualifies them as members of the drug syndicates whether by circumstance or by profession.
I am not saying that we should not take pity on them. We should. I do. As a Christian, I sympathize with them and their families. Besides, I don’t believe in the death penalty. Ours is a borrowed life. Only our Creator has the right to take it back, on His own terms. Life is not a privilege; it is a gift. Executions or death penalties are inhumane. Cruel.
But there’s a consolation to all this. We should seize that comfort. With the fervid media attention generated by the forthcoming executions, the campaign against illegal drugs has received a big boost. Ironic, isn’t it?
I may sound unchristian, but that’s how I see the meaning of the execution of three countrymen on foreign soil. Their date with the hangman should discourage and scare the “carriersâ€â€”active and prospective—from plunging into the sordid drug business. Their death should serve as a deterrent against illegal drugs.
It’s time to tackle more pressing, humanitarian concerns that need the undivided attention of the President. Let’s mobilize more money, time and energies for our OFWs in Japan and those in hotspots in North Africa and the Middle East, like Libya, Bahrain and Kuwait trapped between the government troops on one hand, and the opposition and the United Nations forces on the other.
Our OFWs in Japan and Libya, in particular, are crying for help. They are the real heroes of our time. They are a vital part of our country’s life-support system. Our hopes and dreams—education for our children, roof over our heads and food on our table—are kept alive by their hard-earned remittances. Our march to progress is made much more certain by their sacrifices, their families and the public institutions that support them.
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