Don’t help Filipino lawbreakers abroad
The way Philippine government officials again tried to intercede for a convicted Filipino drug mule facing death sentence in China, it would not be surprising if other countries see the Philippines as a nation that tolerates drug couriers. If the situation were reversed, it is most unlikely that Chinese government officials would ask the Philippine government to bend its laws for the sake of a convicted Chinese felon. The two countries have different sets of laws and one should respect the other in the manner by which they are being enforced.
Instead of going out of its way to plead for the lives of convicted drug mules and undocumented Filipinos who commit criminal acts in other countries, perhaps government should formulate a policy to address situations of this sort. Other than providing legal representation while undergoing litigation, undocumented Filipinos abroad who are involved in criminal activities should not be entitled to the same rights and privileges as the documented ones. Thus, Filipinos with no legal documents would be more cautious and hesitant to commit criminal offenses or even venture going abroad knowing that government would not lift a finger to save them in case they get into trouble with the law.
In other words, government should let Filipino lawbreakers abroad fend for themselves, anyway they are undocumented in the first place.
—MELCHOR AMADO JR.,
