Golez: Ambassador Sta. Romana, Sir, please remember always, you are the Philippine Ambassador to China.
You seem to be gushing over and awed by China throwing us some crumbs to start the bilateral talks. This is not only dilatory, but will also be a way to free Chinese drug lords locked in our jails after they caused so much death and suffering in the Philippines.
The agenda is about territory and the bilateral talks are going to be in slow motion with at most only two meetings per year. Yet, we start with a side issue that is so irrelevant to and so far from our exclusive economic zone. I pray that the Philippine Ambassador to China will really stand up and fight for Philippine interest.
Sir, again, please remember always, you are the Philippine Ambassador to China.
“One of the issues being discussed is the possible agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons because there are also Chinese [prisoners] in the Philippines so that they could serve their sentence[s] in their own countries,” Sta. Romana said.
PH, China discuss exchange of prisoners
Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana. NESTOR CORRALES/INQUIRER.NET
BEIJING—China and the Philippines are considering exchanging drug convicts in their own countries to enable the prisoners to serve their sentences in jails in their own countries.
“There are some discussions on transfer of sentenced persons. They are trying to reach agreement so if they are sentenced they can be transferred,” Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana told reporters in a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
“One of the issues being discussed is the possible agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons because there are also Chinese [prisoners] in the Philippines so that they could serve their sentence[s] in their own countries,” Sta. Romana said.
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He said there were 190 Filipinos, mostly women, serving sentences for drugs in various prisons in China. Two are on death row.
“So one of the problems we have here and is accumulated through the years is the number of Filipinos being detained because of being drug mules or because of carrying illegal amounts of drugs,” he said.
But Sta. Romana said the exchange of prisoners would be on a “case-by-case” basis, not mass exchange.
Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/156865/ph-china-discuss-exchange-prisoners#ixzz4hNYJN2el
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