1. Members of the Filipino community are informed of the following:
1a. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is a treaty which outlines the privileges, rights and obligations associated with the performance of consular functions. In particular, it lays out means by which a state may extend timely and appropriate assistance to its nationals in another state.
1b. Under Article 36(1)(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the competent authorities of a receiving State shall inform without delay a detained foreign national of his right to consular access. This means that if a Filipino is detained or arrested, authorities in the host country should inform him that he has the right to communicate and be assisted by Philippine consular officers. Thus, upon the request of the Filipino national, the competent authorities of China shall, without delay, inform the Embassy or the Consulates General of the Philippines that the Filipino is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner.
1c. Under Article 13 (1) of the Consular Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, which entered into force on 13 July 2013, Chinese authorities shall inform the Embassy or the Consulates General of the Philippines of the detention or arrest of any Filipino within its consular jurisdiction, whether the Filipino requests it or not. Article 13(1) states that “if a national of the sending State (the Philippines) is detained, arrested or deprived of freedom by any other means in the consular district by the competent authorities of the receiving State (China), the said authorities shall, whether the national (Filipino) requests it or not, notify the consular post within four days.
2. If you or anyone you know gets detained or arrested in China, please be aware of the above provisions on consular access. If you are unsure whether the Chinese authorities have already informed the Embassy or the Consulates General, you may request the police/authorities to immediately inform the Philippine Embassy or Consulate, so arrangements can be made to visit and assist you as appropriate. The right to privacy of detained or arrested Filipinos shall be respected, and their families or relatives will only be informed if the detained national so requests.
3. If you know anyone who gets detained or arrested in China, please immediately inform the Embassy or the Consulates General.
4. For reference, below are the consular jurisdictions of the Embassy and Consulates General of the Philippine in China:
