The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is verifying reports that more than 100 Filipinos have been arrested in China for allegedly violating immigration laws.
DFA spokesperson Analyn Ratonel said Thursday night that the agency is coordinating with the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and Philippine consulates general in China to determine the exact number and status of the Filipinos reportedly apprehended.
The DFA said it will provide consular assistance as needed and ensure that the arrested Filipinos are accorded due process.
“The Philippines respects China’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws,” the DFA said, while also calling on Chinese authorities to protect the welfare of the Filipinos in detention and promptly inform Philippine foreign service posts of their arrests.
The agency cited the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the 2013 Philippines-China Consular Agreement, which provide the framework for consular notification and assistance.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Aug. 10 that authorities had taken action against more than 100 Philippine nationals for allegedly working or living illegally in China.
The reported arrests came amid separate concerns raised during a Senate hearing Thursday involving Chinese nationals apprehended in the Philippines.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Executive Director Benjamin Acorda Jr. told senators that representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Manila had previously visited his office and warned of a possible arrest of Filipinos in China if the Philippines did not release Chinese nationals earlier apprehended during a raid at Sanjia-Steel Corporation inside the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
Acorda said the Chinese Embassy representatives told him that “there is a threat” that Filipinos could be arrested in China in connection with the matter.
The Philippine News Agency sought comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila but had not received a response as of posting time.
The DFA said it continues to verify the circumstances surrounding the reported arrests and coordinate with Philippine diplomatic posts in China.
Photo courtesy of DFA
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