TOKYO, Japan — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that the timing of the deportation of Japanese fugitives from the Philippines merely coincided with his working visit here, saying Japan had requested it even before the trip was planned.

Marcos said this after the Philippines deported two of the four fugitives involved in the “Luffy” heists on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

In an interview with reporters en route to Japan on Wednesday, Feb. 8., the President described the development as a coincidence.

“It (deportation) was actually in the process already before the Japan trip was even planned. Nagkataon lang na— it was just coincidence that it happened,” he said.

“Of course, it cannot hurt because it is a request from the Japanese government. And so we are always going to acquiesce to that request,” he added.

According to the President, the process was essentially an “extradition. “

“We basically followed the same criteria as an extradition,” he said.

“Although, hindi na nating ginawang extradition kasi ang request nila para mabilis, deport na lang (we did not make it such because, for the process to be faster, we’d just deport them). That’s precisely what we did,” he added.

The four Japanese citizens were said to be orchestrating telephone scams and allegedly directed a series of robberies in Japan while detained in a Philippines immigration holding facility.

They likewise were reportedly involved in at least 14 robberies across Japan and the murder of a 90-year-old woman in a Tokyo suburb.