5 hours Ago By Bea Cupin
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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" );MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Thursday, March 13, that three Filipinos are under detention in Hainan Province, China. The DFA, however, did not disclose details of the three Filipinos’ detention as of posting, citing the need to protect their privacy.
The DFA was asked for updates after the Inquirer, citing a speech from a Palawan legislator and a statement from the Palawan provincial government, reported that at least two Filipinos are under detention in China over “allegations of espionage.”“The Department confirms that three Filipinos have been detained in Hainan Province, China,” said DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza on March 13. “The Philippine Consulate-General in Guangzhou has visited the said Filipinos and continues to coordinate with Chinese authorities to ensure full compliance with the Philippines-China Consular Agreement and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Daza added.
The Palawan Provincial Information Office (PIO), in a March 12 statement, confirmed that two former beneficiaries of a Hainan Government Scholarship Program in China were under the custody of Chinese police. The arrest of two of the three Palawan locals was first made public by Board Member Ryan Maminta, according to the Inquirer, during a session of the provincial board on Tuesday, March 11. It was Maminta who first disclosed that the two “are currently detained by the government of China on allegations of espionage,” said the Inquirer.
Palawan News said one of the two was detained on his way to a job interview.Rappler has asked the DFA for details on any cases that the three Filipinos face in China. We will be updating this story once the DFA replies to our queries.
Sister provinces According to the Palawan provincial government, two of the three Filipinos were Palawan locals from the first two batches of a scholarship program established under a Sisterhood Agreement between the provinces of Hainan and Palawan signed in 2017. Under the agreement, 50 Palawan scholars would be able to study in Hainan Normal University from 2018 to 2022. The two had already returned to Palawan from studying in Hainan and later went back to China as migrant workers.
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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-2" );It was the family of one of the two who first flagged their predicament in October 2024, after losing contact with their son, according to the Palawan PIO. The Palawan government then coordinated with the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou, China, who confirmed in November 2024 that the person was under police custody.
In February 2025, the same Consulate General confirmed that “another former scholar was also under police custody.”The Palawan PIO explained that despite their knowledge of this since November 2024 and February 2025, it had chosen to “maintain the confidentiality of the information to protect the privacy and security of the individuals and their families.” The Palawan PIO added that officials in Hainan had “assured us that the lawful rights and welfare of the detained Palaweños are being safeguarded, and that they are committed to providing updates on any developments regarding their case.
” Under the Philippines-China Consular Agreement, signed in 2009 and ratified by the Philippine Senate in 2012, China is required to notify the Philippines within four days, through its consular posts, if a Filipino national is “detained, arrested, or deprived of freedom.” Chinese officials must also inform the Philippines of “the fact and reasons for which the national has been detained, arrested or deprived of freedom by any means.” The agreement also states that a consular officer from the Philippines should be “entitled to visit” Filipino nationals under detention, among others.
Manila is also expected to comply with the same responsibilities and access for Chinese diplomats, should a Chinese national be detained in the Philippines. When Deng Yuanqing, a Chinese national, was arrested in Manila over allegations of espionage, the Chinese embassy decried his arrest and “requested for consular visit..
.so as to provide [him] consular assistance.” Aside from Deng, at least five more Chinese nationals are under detention in Manila over allegations of espionage.
The five, arrested in late January 2025, are accused of spying on the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy in Palawan, where missions to the West Philippine Sea are often launched. – Rappler.com.
