(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered concerned agencies to provide immediate legal assistance to overseas Filipinos facing charges.

Marcos issued the order following reports that 20 Filipino seafarers were being held in South Korea for alleged smuggling of 50 boxes of cocaine from South America into East Asia.

"This is already included in the investigation — who may be involved, if any of the crew members are included, what the details are, where they were or their locations, and the involvement of each crew member on board," Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said.

"But as of now, of course, they are entitled to their defense, to be presumed innocent. We are providing the necessary legal counsel in tandem with the one provided by the ship owner," he added.

Meanwhile, David Servañez, Albert Endencia, and Nathalie Plizardo, the three Filipinos who were accused of espionage in China, would also get legal help from Philippine authorities.

"There is always an instruction to help our Filipino citizens abroad facing these kinds of charges. Legal assistance will always be given, all the necessary help and assistance will be provided," Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing.

Chinese authorities claimed the three admitted to the crime.

The National Security Council (NSC), on the other hand, disputed Beijing's accusations, saying the three were former recipients of a scholarship program created between the southern Chinese province of Hainan and the Philippine province of Palawan.

It added that the detention of the three Filipinos could be a retaliation for the series of arrests of Chinese in the Philippines for alleged spying activities.

However, Castro said there was no proof to support NSC's claim.

"There is no concrete evidence yet if it is really a retaliation or a part of retaliation of the other country. We will not say that because there is no final investigation on that matter," she added.

Meanwhile, civic groups Alyansa Bantay Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD), Filipinos Do Not Yield (FDNY), People's Alliance for Democracy and Reform, Alyansa ng Bayan para sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya, Liga Independencia Pilipinas, Isang Bansang Pilipinas, and Kalipunan ng Mamamayang Pilipino have expressed condemnation for the arrest, calling it unlawful.

"They were baseless and false claims, considered manufactured and part of a well-planned smear campaign following the arrest of suspected Chinese spies in recent months by the Philippine law enforcement agencies, raising serious concerns that the move was a calculated act of retaliation," said Jose Antonio Goitia, ABKD and FDNY chairman emeritus.

Goitia urged the Filipinos to be vigilant and uphold national dignity in the face of foreign aggression.