INFORMATION from pictures taken by five alleged Chinese spies who were apprehended in Palawan last week will be “dangerous” to national security if they end up in the wrong hands, the National Bureau of Investigation said yesterday.
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner made a similar comment, saying it would be detrimental to national security if the pictures and videos taken by the five end up in the wrong hands.
“These could be very dangerous for our personnel in the base and also those on board our ships,” he said.
The NBI said pictures in the mobile phones of the arrested Chinese revealed photos of several military and civilian facilities, including the port of Buliluyan, Coast Guard stations, naval and coast guard vessels, and docks.
The NBI also said a Chinese arrested on January 17 in Makati City, and two Filipinos alleged to be his cohorts, have been charged before a Makati court.
“The case is now filed with the Makati court. In other words, the prosecutors themselves find prima facie evidence to gain conviction,” NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Jeremy Lotoc said in a press briefing, referring to Deng Yuanqing and the two Filipinos.
The three were charged for violation of Section 1 (a) and (b) of Commonwealth Act No.616 in relation to Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
In the same briefing, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the Makati court already ordered the transfer of the three to the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, from the NBI.
On the mobile phone pictures, the NBI said the other images “showed the Philippine Navy’s Del Pilar Class ship, terrain maps overlooking the Subic Bay International Airport, Naval Operating Base Subic, and a Chinese character marking being embedded on the screenshot with an arrow from Barreto, Olongapo pointing to the Naval Operating Base Subic.”
Also discovered were footage of Philippine Coast Guard vessels BRP Teresa Magbanua, and BRP Gabriela Silang, docked in PCG-Maritime Safety Unit NCR-Cluster, the NBI said.
Santiago said the five Chinese nationals were monitored in Barangay Buenavista, Puerto Princesa, Palawan posing as buyers of marine products and roaming the city.
Puerto Princesa is the headquarters of the AFP’s Western Command tasked with safeguarding the Kalayaan Island Group, among others. The province also hosts military airfields and naval facilities.
‘The group was seen frequenting Ulugan Bay, Puerto Princesa conducting surveillance and reconnaissance, collecting imagery intelligence on the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay in Barangay Bahile, which is part of the Philippine Navy’s Naval Forces West and is strategically positioned near the South China Sea,” Santiago said.
“Of course, ang mga impormasyon na ito ay mas dangerous sa national security. Dahil, of course, pag napunta ito sa ibang kamay, ang mga impormasyon na ito, this could be very dangerous in the base and also those on board our ships (“Of course, the information is dangerous to national security because it this falls into someone else’s hands, this could be very dangerous in the base and also those on board our ships),” Lotoc said.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr said they have yet to establish if the activities of five alleged Chinese spies were sponsored by the Chinese government.
“What we are focusing on is the act itself, the spying, what we call ISR, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations,” he said.
Brawner said the suspects transmitted videos but could not immediately say as to who were at the receiving end.
Nevertheless, Brawner said the operation of the suspects was “perhaps just the tip of the iceberg,” adding there are “many others” who can be arrested for similar acts.
“We are in the process of also building up the intelligence against these other activities,” said Brawner.
Asked if the five are related to the alleged spy arrested in Makati City, Brawner replied in the affirmative. He said the suspects took videos and pictures of Navy and Coast Guard facilities in Ulugan Bay in Palawan.
Brawner also said they believe the five have been monitoring the activities of the Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard as early as 2023 when the Chinese became aggressive against Philippine resupply missions for troops at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
“A few years back, we were wondering why they are aware of our resupply missions. We found out that from the very start, they are able to monitor (our vessels),” he said.
Brawner also said they are monitoring other persons who might be also involved in espionage operations in the Philippines.
“We believe are more of them and the reason why we are coming out with this information is because we want our Filipino members of society to be aware that these things are happening,” he said.
“They can help us monitor and they can report any suspicious activities that they believe are connected to spying or the ISR activities to any of the authorities so that we could really put a stop to these kinds of activities,” said Brawner.
