Malacañang assured the public Wednesday that no special treatment will be given to the four Chinese nationals who were sentenced to life in jail for drug charges.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo assured that the four drug convicts – Lo Wing-fai, Chan Kwok-tung, Kwok Kam-wah, and Leung Shu-fook –
will be given proper treatment as they spend the rest of their lives behind bars in the country, following the renewed call of Beijing and Hong Kong for Manila to ensure that their rights are respected.
“We assure the public that no special treatment will be accorded to the four Chinese drug convicts as they serve their life sentence behind bars for operating a floating shabu laboratory in Subic,” he said.
“Similarly, we also give assurance to their families that they will be given proper treatment in prison, and they will be humanely treated in accordance with the Bill of Rights under our Constitution, as well as with appropriate Philippine laws and rules,” he added.
Panelo said they are now coordinating with the Department of Justice on the possibility of deporting the Chinese men back to Hong Kong to rid the country of foreign criminals.
The Palace official said that they consider this development as clear proof that that Duterte administration is unrelenting in its war against illegal drugs and will spare no one who will violate domestic laws.
“The Palace considers this development as clear proof of the government’s unrelenting war against illegal drugs, which spares no one who violates our laws,” Panelo said.
Families of the four drug convicts insist that they are innocent and have vowed to fight for justice. They also launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise three million Hong Kong dollars for legal expenses. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
