DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. yesterday urged lawmakers to amend the law against espionage to make it more effective even in times of peace amid allegations that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice is a Chinese spy.

Teodoro noted that the country’s espionage law – Commonwealth Act No. 616 (An Act to punish espionage and other offenses against national security) – is only effective in times of war.

“It’s not important whether this person (Guo) is a spy or not,” Teodoro told reporters in an ambush interview at Camp Aguinaldo.

“What is important is to punish those engaged in espionage in times of peace because the espionage law in the Philippines is only effective in times of war,” Teodoro added.

The National Security Council (NSC) said it is looking into reports that Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, is a Chinese spy.

“This is being looked into by the National Security Council because of its security implications,” NSC Assistant Director General and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing.

A detained Chinese spy, She Zhijiang, claimed in a recent Al Jazeera documentary that Guo is also a Chinese spy.

Teodoro first broached the idea of amending the espionage law last July over allegations that China has deployed agents in the Philippines amid increasing tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

“This is a call to action. Our lawmakers are aware of the urgent need to amend the espionage law to punish those involved (in such acts) and so that the government can act to suppress it,” said Teodoro.

She, who is detained in Thailand, claimed he began his spy work in the Philippines in 2016, adding he worked with Guo under China’s Ministry of State Security. He said Guo is a full-blooded Chinese.

Last May, allegations of Guo being a Chinese spy surfaced when she attended the initial Senate hearing on the illegal activities of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators hub in Bamban, Tarlac. She has denied this, adding she is a Filipino and loves the Philippines.

“What is clear is that she is not a Filipino. Secondly, she falsified documents to pretend that she was a Filipino. And thirdly, she was an active co-conspirator to a massive illegal criminal enterprise,” said Teodoro.

“Being a Chinese national and engaged in such kind of activities in this country, it still damages this country whether or not it is espionage, right?” he added.

Teodoro said Guo should be “prosecuted speedily” for her illegal criminal activities.

“Whether or not she is a spy, is something yet to be determined with finality by the proper authorities. But whether or not she is a spy, she is a Chinese national who engaged in that kind of activity in this country and we see a pattern of these kinds of activities throughout the Philippines,” said Teodoro.

He said such illegal activities destroy the economic, political and social fabric of the country.

Teodoro also wondered aloud why a POGO hub was established near Army bases in Bamban.

“It is curious that a 32-building complex was operating within two minutes flying time away from the TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) and Light Armor Division,” said Teodoro.

“All the authorities should have been aware of this at that time, particularly the local authorities,” he added.

“We cannot yet say if this information is accurate or not because it’s just one report. So we in the National Security Council, according to our National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, need to look into this, validate the information from She Zhijiang,” said Malaya.

Malaya noted that allegations about Guo being a spy might be “part of a disinformation campaign” on the part of She.

“All of this information needs to be validated,” said Malaya, adding the NSC will work with its foreign counterpart to establish the real identity of Guo.

Meanwhile, a Valenzuela City court rescheduled yesterday’s arraignment of Guo for a graft case, according to Bureau of Jail and Management and Penology (BJMP) spokesman Supt. Jayrex Bustinera.

Bustinera said the bureau was supposed to transport her to the Valenzuela court yesterday for her arraignment.

“We earlier received a notice that the arraignment was re-scheduled so we did not transport her. We don’t know the reason (why the arraignment was reset),” said Bustinera. “It was reset to October 28.”

Guo is also facing a case of qualified human trafficking before a Pasig City court. She pleaded not guilty to the charge during her arraignment last Friday.

VALIDATION NEEDED

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the information that Guo is a Chinese spy has to be discussed with defense and intelligence agencies in an executive session to determine the authenticity of the report.

“Even though it was reported by a major news outlet, we need to validate that through an executive session. We need to ask our defense and intelligence establishments whether this information is true or not,” Gatchalian told ANC.

Gatchalian was referring to the documentary aired by Al Jazeera which showed She Zhijiang, a self-confessed Chinese spy now locked up in Thailand, alleging that Guo is one of them.

He said that even if Guo is really a spy, she would not admit it “until the end.”

“No one will admit they are a spy. Definitely, they will deny it until the end. But this is the first time that I’ve seen concrete information, if I may say, from an international news agency linking her to the Chinese government and linking her being a spy in the beginning,” he said.

“Whether this information is true or not, definitely spying, this type of activity, is like rampant in major countries and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is happening here in our country,” he added.

Gatchalian said any form of spying should be stopped by local authorities to prevent someone like Guo from getting elected by the Filipino people.

He said She could have been telling what he knows for fear that the information would remain a secret if he is killed.

“In this case, his strategy is to reveal all his secrets, including those in his computer that contains the dossier of the different personalities involved in spying. So, this needs to be validated and at the same time we need to also engage our intelligence establishments or defense to see how we can curtail this type of activities in our country,” Gatchalian said.

He said the Senate can help stop spying by making sure that intelligence agencies are well-funded so they would have the capability to detect the likes of Guo.

“I think my first instinct is to look at the budget of our intelligence establishments to make sure that they are well-funded, that they have the technology to detect this type of penetration. We need to make sure that the intelligence establishments are supported with whatever they need to capacitate themselves,” he said.

“Again, whether that information is true or not, this is a wake-up call for all of us, especially the government, in detecting this type of breach in our political system,” he added.

‘GUO RILED’

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the overall chair of the House quad committee investigating POGOs, said Guo’s sudden change in demeanor when confronted with a foreign news report alleging she is a spy for the Chinese Communist Party means that her cover has been blown.

“To me, that was the initial reaction of a person who was exposed,” Barbers told reporters in a phone interview.

Guo was riled up last Friday night when the quad comm, during the hearing, played part of an Al Jazeera documentary that showed She Zhijiang, an alleged Chinese spy who is jailed in Thailand.

Guo, who repeatedly denied the allegation, was also visibly irked when Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Almario presented the Al Jazeera report, especially when She claimed that he funneled funds to her for her mayoralty bid in Bamban, Tarlac in 2022.

The documentary also showed an ID of Guo with a picture of her younger self and photos of her alleged hometown in Fujian, China, which was near a CCP office.

She, who claims to know Guo, even advised her to start telling the truth.

“Guo Hua Ping, China cannot be trusted. The two of us once dedicated our lives to China’s Ministry of State Security. Look at what happened to me. If you don’t want to be eliminated, you should tell the world the truth,” he said in Chinese.

“Klaron- klaro na hindi niya inaakala na mayroong ganun, no? Na mula sa Al Jazeera ‘yung information.  (It’s very clear that she didn’t expect that, right? That the information came from Al Jazeera),” Barbers said, adding that the video was played to see if Guo would finally confess. – With Raymond Africa and Wendell Vigilia