PH gov't verifying reported arrest of over 100 Filipinos in China

MANILA – The Philippine government is verifying the circumstances behind the reported arrest of over 100 Filipinos in China, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday night.

DFA spokesperson Analyn Ratonel said the agency is in close coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and consulates general across China to ascertain the exact number and status of those apprehended.

The agency, she said, will extend consular assistance as needed and ensure that due process is observed for those arrested.

“The Philippines respects China's sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws, as it does the right of every state to enforce its own laws on foreign nationals within its jurisdiction, in accordance with due process and established legal procedure,” it said.

“At the same time, we call on Chinese authorities to safeguard the welfare of the arrested Filipinos and to promptly notify our Foreign Service Posts of their arrest and detention, consistent with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the 2013 Philippines-China Consular Agreement,” it added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Aug. 10 said “actions have been taken in accordance with the law against over 100 Philippine nationals for illegally working or living in China.”

At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Executive Director Benjamin Acorda Jr. said representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Manila had previously visited his office and told him that "there is a threat" that Filipinos could be arrested in China if the Philippines does not release Chinese nationals earlier apprehended in a raid on Sanjia-Steel Corporation inside the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

The Philippine News Agency has asked the embassy for comment, but it has yet to respond as of this posting.

-Philippine News Agency