NSC questions espionage charges vs 3 Filipinos in China

The National Security Council (NSC) questioned the arrest of three Filipinos in China on espionage charges, suggesting possible retaliation as the motive. In a statement issued by NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, the council said the Filipinos, all former scholars under the Hainan Government Scholarship Program, were "ordinary Filipino citizens with no military training" who had gone to China to study under a sisterhood agreement between Hainan province and Palawan. – Advertisement – "They are law-abiding citizens with no criminal records and were vetted and screened by the Chinese government prior to their arrival," the statement read. The three…