Teodoro: China evasive on arrested Sino workers
Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. on Saturday demanded answers from Beijing over the alleged involvement of Chinese nationals in illegal activities in the country and, on the other hand, the reported arrest of about a hundred Filipinos in China for working or living there illegally.
“The Chinese Foreign Ministry continues to evade the crucial issue,” Teodoro said in a statement. “Were these individuals (arrested in the Philippines) involved in illegal activities? The plain and simple answer is yes.”
He was referring to the 69 Chinese nationals rounded up in May when authorities raided a steel plant in Tagoloan City, Misamis Oriental, for allegedly churning out substandard products while keeping radioactive materials and polluting the environment with toxic fumes and untreated waste water.
Philippine authorities had gathered “indisputable and legally admissible evidence” through valid search warrants issued by local courts, Teodoro stressed.
He issued the statement a day after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun defended China’s action against more than 100 Filipinos and hit back at the defense secretary.
Guo said foreign nationals should abide by Chinese laws and regulations, stressing that actions taken by Chinese immigration authorities “do not target any specific country.”
Pressure
He accused Teodoro of personally leading the Philippine armed forces in the “seizure and detention” of Chinese nationals, whom Beijing described as lawfully working in the Philippines.
“This person’s consistent attacks and smears against China harm not only the bilateral relations. It is the interests of the Philippines and all its people that will bear the brunt,” Guo said.
Teodoro earlier accused Beijing of pressuring Manila over the arrest of the Chinese nationals by announcing the arrest of more than a hundred Filipinos.
The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said it was coordinating with the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and Philippine consulates in China to verify the reported arrests.
On Saturday, Teodoro noted that Beijing remained evasive on the question whether its embassy officials in Manila had actively intervened in Philippine law enforcement processes and threatened retaliation against Filipinos.
“The answer, as revealed in a Senate hearing, is yes,” he said.
He was referring the hearing held last week where, according to Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Executive Director Benjamin Acorda Jr., Chinese Embassy representatives had warned that Filipinos in China could be arrested if the Chinese workers detained in the Philippines were not released.
