President Benigno Aquino said the Philippines would not apologise to Taiwan over the deportation to China of 14 people from Taiwan, and the government was ready to help Filipino workers who might be affected by the dispute.
Aquino said his personal emissary, former senator Manuel Roxas, had failed to appease Taiwan officials who had demanded an official apology after Manila deported the 14, who were facing fraud charges in China, on February 2.
"The trip was not successful, they were asking for us to apologise," Aquino told reporters in Manila on Wednesday.
"I don't believe that there is something that we have to apologise for, given the facts and circumstances that we had when we were making the decision."
Taiwan said the 14 should have been deported to Taiwan, not its old rival, China. China sees Taiwan as a renegade province which must be reunited with the mainland.
Under a "one China" policy, the Philippines recognises Beijing and does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, although it has a Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.
The Philippines has been trying to strengthen ties with China. Last week, China postponed the executions of three Filipinos after a visit by the vice-president of the Philippines.
"Relations with Taiwan have not worsened, communications are open," Roxas told reporters, saying Manila has been exploring other ways to prevent relations from deteriorating.
Roxas, who was Aquino's unsuccessful running mate in last year's elections, said Taipei had decided to slow the processing of work permits for Filipinos and may freeze new hirings because of the dispute.
There were 80,000 to 90,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, he said.
Aquino said the government would assist people whose employment prospects were hurt by the dispute, through re-training and help with finding work.
"There are other territories, for instance, which signified their desire to hire our overseas workers," he said.
