The Philippines is working to forge an agreement with China to swap people detained for drug offenses.
Philippine ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana said the Chinese “have expressed willingness to talk about this.”
There are almost 200 Filipinos serving life sentences in China, mostly for drug trafficking.
Three others are on death row, with the Philippines confident of winning a reprieve that will see the sentence for one of them commuted to life. The death sentences of the two others are still being appealed.
There are several Chinese convicted or being tried for drug offenses in the Philippines as well. These include a number who were arrested for operating land-based or floating facilities to manufacture crystal meth, or “shabu.”
