At least 3,827 Filipinos were put in jail, 137 of them including 33 female, serving life sentences, while 625 others are under investigation due to various criminal and immigration-related cases in 52 countries, Senator Ralph Recto said on Tuesday.
Citing a 1,084-page Department of Foreign Affairs report to the Senate, most of those Filipinos were jailed for their alleged involvement in drug -related cases.
He said the DFA report is a compendium of dispatches sent by Philippine embassies and consulates on the problems confronted by Filipinos in distress within their jurisdiction from July to December 2016.
Recto said it will be hard to pin a final number, or piece together a complete picture of Filipinos in trouble with the law abroad as many of the reports submitted by the DFA’s 81 foreign posts lacked details or were incomplete.