MANILA, Philippines - There are 302 Filipinos – mostly women – involved in drug cases in Asia, and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) finds the growing number of cases alarming.
Most of the 221 females facing drug charges have been arrested for reportedly working as drug mules for international drug syndicates.
Majority of the cases are in China (205), Hong Kong (26) and Malaysia (17).
On July 11, Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson was arrested in Hong Kong for possession of cocaine.
He was allowed to post bail on Thursday by the Tsuen Wan Magistrate’s Court.
On Aug. 4, a Filipina was arrested also in Hong Kong for allegedly carrying 276 grams of cocaine. She first appeared before the Tsuen Wan Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 9 and is scheduled for another hearing on Oct. 28. She is detained at the Tai Lam Center for Women.
“We warn our countrymen against carrying drugs when traveling overseas, and especially not to accept packages which they suspect are drugs, and also to be wary of the modus operandi being used by drug-trafficking syndicates. If they are caught, they will face very dire circumstances,” DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said.
Among the drug-related cases in China, five have been meted the death penalty without reprieve, while 70 others received the death penalty with two-year reprieve.
There are 35 cases penalized with life imprisonment in China, 68 with fixed-term imprisonment and 27 cases still pending.
In China, trafficking of 50 grams or more of illegal drugs is punishable by 15 years in prison, life imprisonment or death.
In Muslim countries, drug trafficking is punishable by death under the Shariah law.
Conejos said the DFA, together with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and other concerned institutions, has formed the Drug Couriers Task Force (TFDC) to address the alarming number of Filipino women arrested as drug couriers.
The TFDC is composed of the PDEA as chair; the DFA as co-chair; and the Department of Labor and Employment, the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Customs, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Information Agency, the Manila International Airport Authority, and the Philippine Tourism Authority as members.
In May, the TFDC, through “Operation Homerun,” helped in the arrest in China of nine male Nigerians, one female Thai, one female Malaysian and two Filipinas, as well as in the seizure of two kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of heroin in China.
The TFDC also aims to rescue Filipinas being used as drug mules by international drug syndicates.
“The country is doing everything to arrest the drug menace, and with the cooperation of all, we hope that we can eradicate it once and for all. But ultimately, our people must take full responsibility for their actions by always being on guard against the inducements,” Conejos said.