BBM Vows Assistance to 3 Filipinos Arrested in China

President Marcos has assured that all necessary assistance will be extended to three Filipinos arrested in China for alleged espionage, even as Malacañang declined to comment on claims that the arrests may be in retaliation for Manila's crackdown against alleged Chinese spies.

- By HELEN FLORES

"There is always an instruction to help our Filipino citizens abroad facing these kinds of charges. Legal assistance will always be given, all the necessary help and assistance will be provided," Undersecretary Claire Castro of the Palace press office said yesterday at a briefing.

Chinese authorities arrested three Filipinos—David Servañez, Albert Endencia, and Nathalie Plizardo—and accused them of working for a Philippine intelligence agency to gather classified information on its military.

In a statement on Saturday, the National Security Council (NSC) said the arrest of the three for alleged spying may be in retaliation for the recent arrest for espionage of several Chinese nationals in the country.

Asked for comment on the NSC's statement, Castro said there is no concrete evidence yet if it was really an act of retaliation by the other country.

"We will not say that because there is no final investigation on that matter. But there is still 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.

The Security Council's assistant director general, Jonathan Malaya, earlier said the supposed confessions of the arrested Filipinos appear to have been obtained through coercion.