DND scoffs at China envoy's suggestion that OFWs could be spies

Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua's suggestion that Filipinos working in China could also be accused of spying, similar to how the Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had warned that Chinese Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) workers could be spies, was the "most preposterous statement" Lorenzana had heard in a long while. 

"POGO workers here are not comparable to OFWs in China," Lorenzana pointed out in a Sunday statement. "POGO workers came over for a different purpose, e.g., likely just tourism, but eventually got visas to work in an activity at the POGO centers operating gambling operations which are prohibited in China."

The Defense Secretary added that it was known that Chinese companies were mandated by the Chinese government to assist in intelligence collection for their government. It was thus not far fetched that Chinese workers could, likewise, be compelled to do so.

"The OFWs go to China for specific work that’s legitimate there with Chinese visas. They are more like Chinese nationals working in construction projects here in the Philippines, as mutually agreed upon by both countries," Lorenzana argued further.

And unlike in the Philippines, there were no POGO-like centers in China that could be operated purely by Filipinos near Chinese military camps.

"Filipinos are widely dispersed in China, working in homes and schools that are far away from military camps," reasoned the DND chief. "The POGO Centers here, meanwhile, are very near military camps and naval bases."

Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines' Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, also scoffed at the idea.

"Hello? OFWs don't suddenly appear by the thousands and set up shop near China's military facilities. Duh!" he said in a tweet on Sunday.

While this could be a coincidence and it was possible that POGO workers were here solely for work, Lorenzana was nevertheless alarmed over the potential that they could be tapped for more nefarious purposes.

Recent satellite images which showed the close proximity of Chinese gambling centers to military camps had disconcerted the Philippine military establishment and had prompted Lorenzana to issue his warning on possible Chinese spying.

In response,  Ambassador Zhao had sent Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo a text message in which Zhao pointedly asked, "What if we also think that your [Filipino] overseas workers are also spying on us. What can you say about that?" — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/DVM/BM, GMA News