President Arroyo has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to immediately attend to at least 66 Filipinos who have been slapped with death penalty in China, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the Philippine government is committed to “diplomatically and politically” appeal the cases of 66 Filipinos, nine of whom face death penalty without reprieve, while 57 others have been sentenced to death with two-year reprieve. Thirty others have been slapped with life imprisonment.

“President Arroyo has directed the DFA to attend to 66 cases of Filipinos in China,” he told in a press briefing, assuring that the government’s all-out assistance policy will be extended to the distressed Filipinos.

He said the ways to appeal the cases would depend on the recommendation of the DFA.

Alarmed by the execution of a British national in China for drug smuggling last December 29, the Philippines expressed its commitment to join hands with China in addressing the problem of drug trafficking.