National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (PNA file photo courtesy of the DND)
The country’s defense and military establishments have urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent a proposed measure that seeks to strengthen the Philippines’ anti-espionage law.
“There was a request to the President today to certify the anti-foreign interference and malign influence bill as urgent,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. told reporters Tuesday.
Espionage under the existing Commonwealth Act No. 616 is punishable only during wartime.
Asked whether the President would certify the bill as urgent, Teodoro said: “He mentioned it, so we can take that as his agreement.”
On whether the measure would be included among the President’s priority bills for the State of the Nation Address later this month, Teodoro said: “I don’t want to preempt it.”
“We really think it’s necessary,” he said.
Teodoro said people engaged in espionage are often able to evade prosecution because “our criminal law is strictly construed against the state.”
“So what’s happening is that we are just disrupting them, and these people are getting away with it. Nevertheless, our disruption operations are continuing against China’s illegal activities,” he said.
In March, Teodoro described espionage operations linked to China in the Philippines as “worrisome” after authorities arrested three suspected spies in the Department of National Defense, the Philippine Navy, and the Philippine Coast Guard who were allegedly selling sensitive documents to China.