MANILA, Philippines – More than 200 Filipino “drug mules” are currently detained in China, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) revealed at the Senate hearing on Wednesday.

PDEA chief Dionisio Santiago told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the human trafficking situation in the country that there are 205 Filipino drug mules in China.

Five of the detained Filipinos have been meted the death penalty, 70 more are still on death row and their cases can still be appealed.

Santiago said 35 of the Filipino drug couriers have been meted with life imprisonment; 68 have fixed-term imprisonment; and 27 have cases pending in courts.

Aside from the drug mules’ issue, the Senate committee also discussed how the Philippines can be removed from the US State Department’s Tier 2 watch list of countries that failed the campaign against human trafficking.

Warning reiterated

In time for the hearing, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reiterated its warning to Filipinos travelling abroad against possession or trafficking of illegal drugs.

"We warn our countrymen from carrying drugs when travelling overseas and especially not to accept packages which they suspect contain 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," said DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr.

Conejos said a total of 302 Filipinos are involved in drug-related cases all over Asia. Aside from the 205 cases in China, there are also 26 cases in Hong Kong and 17 in Malaysia.

The foreign affairs official added that majority of the Filipinos arrested for drug trafficking and possession are females.

“Majority of the Filipinos caught were lured to act as drug mules by international drug syndicates,” the DFA said in the statement.

Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson is one of the Filipinos arrested in Hong Kong for drug possession.

Singson was caught carrying 6.7 grams of cocaine in his bag at Hong Kong’s airport last July 11.

The congressman is currently out on bail. -- with a report from Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News