Chinese spies must be jailed, not deported
China spies should be imprisoned instead of merely deported. That’s required by Philippine law, although it needs toughening.
Authorities arrested this month three China spies, bringing to 18 the total since last year.
Mongolian national Bold-Erdene Boldbaatar, 30, was detected taking aerial photos of Iba, Zambales Airport and Palauig River area. Nabbed as a student pilot Feb. 12, he had concealed being a licensed jet fighter pilot from the People’s Liberation Army-Air Force Aviation University. Zambales waters swarm with China coastguard gunboats and maritime militia trawlers.
Bureau of Immigration agents apprehended on Feb. 17 a Chinese national surnamed Guo, 48, in Panglao, Bohol. He possessed fake documents of multiple Filipino identities, including a driving license.
BI men also took on Feb. 20 Chinese national Zhi Ling Guan, 47, in Batangas Port. Suspected of espionage, he yielded Filipino citizenship papers. His driving license was in the name of Mike Sy.
Rear Adm. Roy Trinidad, Navy spokesman for West Philippine Sea, expressed alarm over the rising discoveries of Chinese spies.
From latest reports, BI was preparing to deport Boldbaatar.
Boldbaatar should instead be charged with breach of Commonwealth Act 616 of 1941, an act which “punishes espionage and offenses against national security.” Section 8 states:
“Photographing, etc., defensive installations regulated; penalties:
“Whenever, in the interest of national defense, the President of the Philippines shall define certain vital military, naval or air installations or equipment as requiring protection against the general dissemination of information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of such vital military, naval and air installations or equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer of the military, naval or air post, camp or station concerned, or higher authority and promptly submitting the product obtained to such commanding officer or higher authority for censorship or such other action as he may deem necessary.
“Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than two thousand pesos, or both.”
Overflights are included in the punishable breaches, retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio said.
By law, BI’s punitive action is speedy deportation, spokesperson Dana Sandoval told this column Thursday. But it coordinates with other agencies that may file criminal charges for court trial. Those agencies are PNP, NBI, DOJ and AFP.
When the Senate committee on national defense and security convened last Aug. 27, members expressed intentions to strengthen Commonwealth Act 616. Senator Jinggoy Estrada authored Senate Bill 73, which updates the World War II law.
“Pinaglumaan na ng panahon ang batas natin laban sa pang-eespiya,” Estrada said. “Kailangan palawakin natin ang sakop ng batas na ito dahil may mga makabagong pamamaraan na ng paniniktik gaya ng electronic o cyber means na hindi saklaw ng antiquated Commonwealth Act 616.”
Senators Panfilo Lacson, Joel Villanueva and Juan Miguel Zubiri filed separate bills to overhaul the outdated espionage law.
Estrada proposes stiffer penalties, including life imprisonment without parole and fine of up to P50 million. He wants to cover conspiracy, aiding and abetting, harboring offenders and acts of interference or destruction targeting national defense and security.
Estrada’s bill failed passage in the 19th congress due to lack of counterpart in the House of Reps.
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism covered in February 2025 the trial of 13 Chinese spies interdicted in Subic Bay, Zambales; Ulugan Bay, Palawan; and Metro Manila.
The Chinese indictees were accused of gathering “imagery intelligence.”
This includes “the collection of images that provide a detailed understanding of the target, particularly its features, nature of activities, profile of persons involved,” Rear Adm. Rommel Jude Ong told PCIJ. Before retiring as Fleet Commandant, Ong headed naval intelligence.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año told PCIJ that Chinese spies “use sophisticated equipment, work with local accomplices and engage in cyber operations… Hostile agents can undermine national stability if sensitive or classified information and access to critical infrastructure are obtained.”
Año’s residence in AFP Officers Village, Taguig could itself be a target of espionage. A four-story building recently was constructed behind it, a source told this column. Owner is pure Chinese. A communication tower dominates the roof deck. The facility supposedly hosts an offshore gaming operation.
In mid-March 2025, six Chinese spies were arrested in Subic Freeport, where the Philippine Navy’s newest ships berth. The six flew drones from Grande Island every time a ship passed through Subic Bay’s narrow entrance.
Seized from them were gadgets containing photos and videos of Philippine and US naval craft, fleet departure and arrival logs and fake tax documents.
In January 2025, Makati police nabbed a Chinese with two Filipino accomplices surveilling military and other government facilities in Luzon. Found in their vehicle were a global navigation satellite system and scanning devices to create 3D maps of buildings without physical entry.
Later that month NBI caught five Chinese “tourists” frequenting Ulugan Bay, PN base fronting WPS. Taken from them were mobile devices containing photos and videos of Philippine Coast Guard stations and vessels and Buliluyan Port in south Palawan.
They turned out to be associated with the Chinese detained in Makati. They had videoed PCG vessels in Manila Bay and Navy movements in Subic.
Four of them led Manila affiliates of the China Communist Party. They had donated cash and vehicles to Manila police and Tarlac officials.
That month too, NBI presented two Chinese who possessed International Mobile Subscriber Identity catchers, spyware and photographs of Malacañang, US embassy, Villamor Airbase, Camp Aguinaldo AFP headquarters and Camp Crame PNP headquarters.
In late April 2025, just before the congressional-local elections, Chinese national Tak Hoi Lao was arrested carrying a telephone eavesdropping device near the Comelec head office in Intramuros, Manila. He possessed an international mobile subscriber identity catcher, which can intercept mobile phone traffic.
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