The charges of espionage made by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against the three detained Filipinos have no basis, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Saturday, April 5.
“They are ordinary Filipino citizens with no military training who merely went to China at the invitation of the Chinese government to study. They are law-abiding citizens with no criminal records and were vetted and screened by the Chinese government prior to their arrival there,” NSC spokesperson Asst. Director General Jonathan Malaya said.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed the arrest of the three Palawan residents in Hainan, China.
They are former recipients of the Hainan Government Scholarship Program established under the sisterhood agreement between the provinces of Hainan and Palawan which provided scholarships for 50 scholars from Palawan at the Hainan National University.
Chinese state-run media Global Times identified the Filipinos as David Servanez, Albert Endencia, and Nathalie Plizardo.
Malaya blasted the video footage released by Chinese media showing alleged confessions by the three arrested Filipinos.
“A portion of one of the Filipinos’ statement, while expressing regret, also notably portrayed China in a positive light,” the NSC official noted, saying the supposed confession raises more questions than answers.
Further, there was also a mention of a “Philippine Intelligence Agency” or “Philippine Spy Intelligence Services” in the confession video, which Malaya pointed out is a non-existing government agency.
“The ‘confessions’ appear to be scripted, strongly suggesting that they were not made freely,” he said.
The official surmised that the arrests could be seen as a “retaliation” for the series of legitimate arrests of Chinese agents and accomplices by Philippine law enforcement and counter-intelligence agencies in recent months.
Government troops led by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have arrested at least 11 Chinese nationals suspected to have committed spying activities in the Philippines since January this year.
Malaya said the NSC would coordinate closely with the DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Beijing to ensure that the detained Filipinos receive appropriate legal support and that they are accorded due process, considering the gravity of the accusations made against them.
“We urge the Chinese government to respect their rights and afford them every opportunity to clear their names in the same way that the rights of Chinese nationals are respected here in the Philippines,” Malaya said.
The AFP has also expressed readiness to support the three Filipinos as it begins coordination with the DFA to determine their status. (Martin Sadongdong)
