Palace not yet sure if arrest of 3 Filipinos in China retaliatory

Claire Castro. Screengrab from RTVM/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — There is no solid evidence yet that the arrest of three Filipinos in China was a retaliation for the recent apprehension of several Chinese nationals in the Philippines for alleged espionage, a Palace official said on Monday.

In a briefing in Malacañang, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said this is because the investigation on the matter is still ongoing.

“There is no concrete evidence yet if it is really a retaliation or a part of a retaliation of the other country. We will not say that because there is no final investigation on that matter. But there is still an ongoing investigation on that and we will just defer all the details to DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] and to DND [Department of National Defense],” she said.

READ: NSC doubts Pinoys’ spying ‘confessions’ cited by China

Concerns about China’s possible retaliation were raised by the National Security Council last Saturday, noting that the supposed confessions of the arrested Filipinos appeared to have been obtained through coercion.

At Monday’s briefing, Castro assured the public that the government will provide all necessary assistance to the Filipinos involved.

READ: Filipinos nabbed in China ordinary citizens with no military training

“Legal assistance will always be given; all the necessary help and assistance will be provided,” she said.

The suspected Filipino spies were identified as David Servañez, Albert Endencia, and Nathalie Plizardo. They were accused of working for the Philippine intelligence agency to collect classified information on the Chinese military.