UK welcomes Aquino pardon for British national

The United Kingdom has welcomed President Benigno Aquino III"s decision to grant clemency to an ailing British national who had been incarcerated for years.

 

UK Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne said he had supported the clemency appeal of William Robert Burton and discussed it during his visit to the Philippines.

 

"I welcome the news that President Aquino has decided to grant Billy Burton clemency. I supported Billy’s clemency appeal given the compelling, compassionate circumstances of his case, and discussed it with both President Aquino and Justice Secretary, Leila De Lima, during my recent visit to the Philippines," he said in a statement posted on the website of the UK Embassy in the Philippines.

 

“I know that this news will be warmly welcomed by Billy’s family and his supporters at the Thalidomide Trust who have campaigned tirelessly on Billy’s behalf,” he added.

 

Burton was convicted for drug trafficking, according to a Malacañang statement quoting deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

 

Last Dec. 21, Aquino signed the conditional pardon with voluntary deportation of Burton, 49, who was born with thalidomide-damaged arms and whose health is declining.

 

Aquino also commuted the sentences of Antonio Aure, Alvani Salasa, Aurelio Nartatez and Eddy Paneza, whose cases ranged from homicide to illegal fishing.

 

Burton was arrested in 1992 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for trying to smuggle marijuana out of the country.

 

He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 116 after being found guilty of drug trafficking. The verdict was affirmed by the Supreme Court.

 

The conditions set for Burton’s pardon were:

 

— RSJ, GMA News