The cases of the two Filipinos that were recently executed in China were tried by Chinese courts in accordance with their law, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said Tuesday.

"The Chinese judiciary treats criminals of different nationalities equally and deals with them in a fair manner and in strict accordance with the law," the embassy said in a statement.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, over the weekend, announced the execution of two Filipino nationals in China for drug trafficking offenses.

Citing a report from the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou, the DFA said the two Filipino nationals were executed on 24 November.

The two Filipinos were apprehended by authorities in 2013 in Guangdong while attempting to smuggle a combined weight of 11.872 kilograms of methamphetamine.

The two were detained and underwent court trials until 2016 when they were sentenced to death for drug smuggling.

In 2017, their cases were appealed to the High People's Court of the Chinese province that had jurisdiction over the case. However, the same Chinese court upheld the verdict a year later.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said that during the trial of the two Filipinos, the Chinese side "fully guaranteed the various procedural and the litigation rights of the two Filipinos in accordance with the law, and provided the necessary facilities for the consular officials of the Philippine side to perform their duties and for the families of the two persons to visit them in China."

"Chinese law stipulates that all persons who commit crimes are equal in the application of the law, and no one is allowed to have privileges beyond the law," it said.

"Drug-related crimes are recognized worldwide as serious crimes, and the harm they cause to society is extremely great," it added.

It continued: "China unswervingly adheres to the law in combating drug-related crimes, always maintaining "zero tolerance" and a high-pressure deterrence, and resolutely punishing in accordance with the law those drug offenders who are malicious and pose great personal danger."

The embassy said China retains the death penalty, but reiterated that it "strictly controls and prudently applies it; it is applied only to criminals who have committed extremely serious crimes."

The DFA said there are 92 Filipino death penalty cases in China. Out of the 92, all but one are drug-related cases.

Of the 92 cases, two cases have been commuted to life imprisonment; and 86 cases have been reduced to a fixed term.

The DFA said there are two remaining Filipino nationals with death penalty cases pending final review or on appeal in China.