THE Philippines is set to file a strong diplomatic protest with Beijing for Chinese shipments of illegal drugs that are flooding the country, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said Wednesday.
Yasay said he met with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua Tuesday to discuss President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against drugs and observed that the bulk of illegal drugs come from China.
“I had asked him for his clarifications [on] this matter,” Yasay said during a meeting with the Senate.
“We will be issuing a note verbale to pursue this on a more aggressive note,” he added.
In a separate interview, DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the note verbale was drafted after Senator Richard Gordon raised the alarm over the continuous flow of illegal drugs from China, which he said could constitute a national security concern.
Jose said the note verbale will contain a call to China to cooperate with the Philippines against illegal drugs.
Jose said the note verbale would be issued at “the earliest opportunity.”
Yasay set a meeting with Zhao after Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa claimed during a Senate inquiry Monday that most of the illegal drugs and their raw materials came from China.
Yasay said, in response to the meeting, Zhao assured him that China will come up with a joint operation with the Philippines to address the problem.
Yasay also said Zhao said that the Chinese authorities are willing to work with their counterparts here to curb the illegal drug trade.
In July, China and the Philippines agreed to work out an anti-narcotics plan of action to address the proliferation of illegal substances as well as trafficking of drug mules.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Manila, Lingxiao Li, said China was ready to work out a specific plan with the Philippines.
“China has expressed explicitly to the new administration China’s willingness for effective cooperation in this regard, and would like to work out a specific plan of action with the Philippine side,” Lingxiao said.
Lingxiao said that China “fully understands” that Duterte has already made a pronouncement that he will give priority to efforts to crack down drug-relate crimes.
Duterte has previously accused five police generals of protecting three big-time Chinese-Filipino drug lords.
At the Palace, he also noted that four Hong Kong nationals were arrested when police raided “floating shabu laboratories” in waters off Subic.
Lingxiao said China has a shared responsibility to fight all drug-related crimes.
“Illicit drugs are the common enemy of the mankind. Fighting against all drug-related crimes is a shared responsibility of all countries in the world,” He said.
Lingxiao, however, denied accusations that China was not serious in its anti-drug efforts.
“The Chinese government has been firm and severe in drug control and in punishing all drug criminals in accordance with laws regardless their nationalities,” the Chinese embassy spokesman said.
He said the Chinese government has been promoting and has carried out effective international cooperation with many countries.
Earlier, Gordon formalized his request to the DFA to send a note verbale to China.
“May I urge the Department of Foreign Affairs – through a vigorous note verbale submitted to the Government of the People’s Republic of China to raise the level of dialogue and cooperation requesting a more robust task force through our respective Immigration Bureaus and relevant law enforcement agencies to stress the urgency of the situation and thus the need for action by China to help in stopping the source of illegal drugs,” he said in a letter.
Gordon pointed out that China recognizes the problem of illegal drugs which is shown by its resolute efforts to address the problem in its own soil, including the arrest and execution of drug mules—including those from the Philippines.
He said China also recognizes the adverse effects on its own citizens.
At least 25 foreign drug and cybercrime suspects who were nabbed in Boracay and Aklan were on a hold order list and cannot leave the country and will have to face criminal charges before a Philippine court, the Bureau of Immigration said Wednesday.
The foreigners, 18 Taiwanese and seven Chinese were arrested by police in a two-story rented house in Boracay where the suspects used as a distribution point for various types of illegal drugs and the base of operations of a cybercrime group.
Police and Immigration investigators said the aliens were involved in illegal drugs and cybercrime. Several telephones and laptop computers, pills, serums and syringes were found in four rooms of the rented house.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the foreigners will have to stand trial and serve their sentences if they are convicted before they can be deported.
Acting alien control officer Thelma Adre said the arrested aliens traveled to several countries in Africa and Asia before coming to the Philippines. Their last country of origin was Cambodia,a nd they all entered the country as tourists on 59-day visas.
The Bureau of Customs, meanwhile, said it had intercepted a shipment of illegal drugs from Germany worth at least P3 million that were declared as vitamin pills.
Customs Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force chief Lt. Sherwin Andrada said two parcels that arrived from Recklinghausen, Germany, were detected by a drug-sniffing dog and later found to contain 2,000 ecstasy pills.
The parcels arrived May 7 and were shipped by Legion Athletics Ltd., Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said. With Vito Barcelo