THE Philippine Coast Guard has dismissed 36 Chinese nationals accepted into the agency about three years ago as members of its auxiliary force, PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gavan said during a House hearing yesterday.
Gavan also told the committee on transportation that the foreigners were delisted because they had no clearances from intelligence and national security agencies.
“We did check on their compliance and standards set and we found out that they did not comply so we initiated their delisting. They are now delisted,” Gavan said, on the questioning of Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs.
Gavan, who assumed the top PCG post just in October last year, said the agency is determining who were responsible for the entry of the 36 Chinese. “We will proceed with this inquiry, and rest assured, I will do my part as a commandant to ensure our national security,” he said.
The Coast Guard chief said the requirement for PCG auxiliary force members to secure a national security clearance was enforced only when he became commandant.
Gavan said the PCG accepts volunteers into is auxiliary force provided they have secured national security clearances but “these 36 Chinese, they don’t have national security clearance, and that is why we have delisted them.”
Asked how long the foreigners were in the PCG, Gavan said, “Around two to three years, your honor. Some even before (that).”
President Marcos Jr. assumed office in June 2022, succeeding then President Rodrigo Duterte whose administration was known for his pivot to China despite constant harassment by Chinese vessels of Filipino ships in the West Philippine Sea, a part of the South China Sea which China claims in its entirety.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers expressed suspicion of “spying” by China.
“They may be performing spying duties in the guise of being auxiliary force members,” he told the committee which is hearing various bills seeking administrative reform and reorganization of the PCG by revising Republic Act No. 9993, otherwise known as the PCG Law of 2009, in the face of Beijing’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
