Palace: NSC actively monitoring alleged Chinese sleeper agents

Malacañang on Friday ensured that concerned government agencies, particularly the National Security Council, are intensifying their measures in addressing threats to national security. 

At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said the National Security Council (NSC) is already heightening its monitoring efforts to protect national security.

''Ayon po sa kanila (According to them), 'We cannot go into specifics for security reasons but we can assure the public that our security forces are actively monitoring and addressing these threats. The government does not take espionage lightly, and we act swiftly when credible intelligence is verified. Recent operations have already led to arrest of suspected foreign operatives which shows that our agencies are not standing still. We are working closely with law enforcement and intelligence units to dismantle espionage network whenever they may be,''' Castro said.

''So, iyon po, so rest assured po na ginagawa po nila ang kanilang trabaho,'' she added.

(Rest assured they are doing their jobs.) 

The statement came after Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson alleged that Chinese sleeper agents and operatives from China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) are already in the Philippines for spying purposes. 

Lacson made the revelation during a hearing of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, as he stressed that concerned government agencies should conduct more hot pursuit operations and be more vigilant in conducting intelligence operations against espionage. 

Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that these alleged Chinese spies were already found in certain parts of the country, such as Palawan, Makati, Dumaguete, near Camp Aguinaldo, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Manila, and even Malacañang.

For his part, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Ferdinand Lavin said that 13 Chinese nationals and one Cambodian were already arrested for suspected espionage. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News