PH gov’t fight vs Chinese-linked espionage to continue — PH Navy

The Philippine government will continue its efforts to combat alleged espionage activities of China, following the arrest of three Filipinos who were allegedly involved in foreign-backed spying activities, a senior Philippine Navy official said Sunday.

“Common sense will tell us, na most likely, mayroon pa 'yan [iba pang espiya],” Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told Super Radyo dzBB.

(Common sense will tell us that most likely there are other spies.)

“Itong tatlong nailabas natin, ito 'yung ma-consider na case closed. Kaya inilalabas natin para malaman ng taumbayan. Pero hindi ibig sabihin na hanggang dito lang,” he added.

(The three arrested Filipinos can be considered case closed. We reported it to let the public know, but it does not mean it ends here.)

Trinidad shared the people the Filipinos spoke to had foreign accents.

“Korean sounding pero halatang Intsik. 'Yung isa may British-Australian accent (Korean-sounding but obviously Chinese. One of them has a British-Australian accent),” he said.

“Ang sabi nung isa, natatakot pumunta ang mga handler dito, pero in the past, maraming nahuling Chinese nationals,” he added.

(One of them said that the handlers are afraid to come here, but in the past, many Chinese nationals were caught.)

In a “24 Oras Weekend” Saturday report, Trinidad said the three Filipinos were paid four- to six-digit compensation for the information they provided and also received large bonuses.

Despite the continued presence of China vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Trinidad said the efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in providing supplies at the BRP Sierra Madre will continue.

“'Yung effort ng AFP ay hindi huhupa, pagdating sa pag-rotate ng tao at pag-provide ng supply sa kanila (BRP Sierra Madre),” Trinidad said in the dzBB interview.

(The AFP’s efforts continue in rotating personnel and providing supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre.)

“Last week, na-report natin ay 34. The other week was 21. The other week was 18. Bagama't may increase, hindi pa natin ito ma-correlate directly sa nangyari sa Middle East,” he added.

(Last week, we reported 34. The week before was 21. The week before that was 18. Although there’s an increase, we cannot yet directly correlate this to what happened in the Middle East.)

The Sierra Madre is a World War II-era Landing Ship, Tank or LST that was deliberately grounded by the Navy on Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a military outpost and to assert Philippine sovereignty in the disputed region. —RF/GMA Integrated News