Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected proposals to declare several Chinese embassy officials as persona non grata, Malacañang said on Friday.</p><p>The pitch was raised earlier this week after several senators scorned Chinese Embassy Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei for reportedly criticizing lawmakers who expressed support for Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.</p><p>“No. No ang sagot ng Pangulo,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told Palace reporters in a chance interview.</p><p>“Basta ang sagot ng Pangulo tungkol sa panawagan na ideklarang persona non grata ang isang ambassador ay ‘no,’” she said.</p><div><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1919177562364285%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Malacañang earlier heeded the Department of Foreign Affairs’ opinion that declaring a diplomat persona non grata is only <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/29/palace-persona-non-grata-tag-vs-chinese-officials-an-option-of-last-resort-1525">“an option of last resort.”</a></p><p>&quot;The declaration of persona non grata “should not be made lightly and decided only with careful and clear thought and preparedness for how it will shape the Philippines&#x27; strategic interests moving forward,” Castro said earlier this week.</p><p>Relations between Manila and Beijing have been further strained since 2023 as the Marcos Jr. administration pushed to assert the Philippines’ exclusive rights in the West Philippine Sea, where China snubs an international arbitration court decision invalidating its sweeping claim in the strategic waters.</p><p>As the Philippines hosts this year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, Manila hopes to finalize the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/27/all-parties-bent-on-concluding-negotiations-for-south-china-sea-code-of-conduct-this-2026-1947">code of conduct</a> in the South China Sea in the coming months to temper aggression amid overlapping claims in the strategic waters.</p><div><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected proposals to declare Chinese Embassy officials as “persona non grata”, Malacanang said Friday.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected proposals to declare Chinese Embassy officials as “persona non grata”, Malacanang said Friday.

Palace: Marcos shuns ‘persona non grata’ tag vs Chinese embassy officials

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Palace: Marcos shuns ‘persona non grata’ tag vs Chinese embassy officials

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 30, 2026 02:39 PM PHT

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Updated January 30, 2026 03:07 PM PHT

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Marcos

China

embassy

West Philippine Sea

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