MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Friday, August 29, said that the government is working to verify reports of a possible espionage network, vowing that any agents will be discovered.
This follows Sen. Ping Lacson’s allegation that there are sleeper agents from China who are operating near vital government agencies, including the Palace and the Commission on Elections.
Reading a statement from the National Security Council (NSC), Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that they were working to address leads.
"We cannot go into specifics for security reasons, but we can assure the public that our security forces are actively monitoring and addressing these threats. The government does not take espionage lightly, and we act swiftly when credible intelligence is verified," Castro said, quoting the NSC.
Suspected foreign operatives have recently been arrested, Castro said.
A member of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Auxiliary was recently revealed to be misrepresenting himself as a Filipino.
The man was alleged to be Chinese. He has since been removed from the PCG.
Castro said the PCG is investigating the matter. She also reassured the public that the alleged Chinese national had little to do with PCG operations.
However, she reiterated that the PCG was a civilian organization, and it had collaborated with foreign actors for relief operations in the past.
Reports of alleged Chinese spy networks have been rampant in the Philippines ever since dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo was revealed to be a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, according to findings from the National Bureau of Investigation.
Since then, several foreign nationals, many of them Chinese, have been proven to be parading as naturally born Filipinos by using forged documents.