Chinese man with alleged 'spy' equipment undergo inquest

The Chinese man who was arrested near the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with alleged spying equipment underwent inquest proceedings at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday.

According to the National Bureau of Investigation, he was alleged to have committed espionage, illegal interception and system interference, and misuse of devices.

The man was arrested near the Comelec building in Intramuros, Manila on Sunday.

Authorities found an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catcher that can gather sensitive data and information like text messages, mobile numbers, and calls from mobile phones near it. They also recovered three SIM cards, mobile phones, and other gadgets in the car.

The NBI previously said it is not ruling out the possibility that any data acquired could be used to affect the upcoming elections.

But Comelec chairperson George Garcia that no disturbance was monitored in their systems following the arrest.

“Gusto kong i-guarantee sa sambayanan, wala po kaming election data na nandoon sa main office. Sorry na lang sa kanila. Wala po doon ang mga election data natin,”  Garcia said in an ambush interview.

(I want to guarantee to the public, we don’t have any election data in the main office. Sorry to the possible spies. Our election data is not there.)

“Tinignan natin yung mga system namin, yung mga list of voters natin na meron sa Comelec. Wala po tayong nakitang any disturbance  doon po,” he added.

(We checked our systems, our lists of voters that are in the Comelec. We did not see any disturbance there.) — Joahna Lei Casilao/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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