Senate eyes stricter anti-espionage law

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada presides over the hearing of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security on Wednesday (Aug. 27, 2025) to discuss the merits of his proposed Senate Bill No. 73 or the New Anti-Espionage Act, along with similar bills introduced by Senators Panfilo Lacson, Joel Villanueva, and Juan Miguel Zubiri, all of which seek to overhaul the outdated espionage law. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

MANILA – Senators on Wednesday are seeking to update the Philippines’ anti-espionage laws following reports of foreign nationals allegedly engaged in surveillance activities near sensitive government and military installations.

At the Senate defense panel hearing, Committee chair Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said the country’s current legal framework against espionage anchored on the 1941 Commonwealth Act No. 616, is outdated.

He called on Congress to pass the proposed Anti-Espionage Act this 20th Congress to provide the Philippines with a stronger legal shield.

“We are hopeful that we can steer the passage of this important and timely measure,” Estrada said, stressing that new provisions must cover cyber-enabled threats, insider infiltration, and tampering with critical infrastructure.

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, detailed a series of alarming cases involving Chinese nationals reportedly caught with IMSI catchers, Lidar sensors, underwater drones, and detailed terrain maps near Malacañang, Camp Aguinaldo, and other key locations.

She also flagged lapses in institutional vetting, citing the reported entry of foreigners into the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary.

“Ang soberanya natin, hindi lang nakasukat sa teritoryo. Nasa pag-aalaga rin natin sa integridad at dangal ng ating mga institusyon, proseso, at pati papeles (Our sovereignty is not measured solely by territory but also by how we uphold the integrity and dignity of our institutions, processes, and even documents),” Hontiveros said.

The proposed Anti-Espionage Act, filed through Senate Bill Nos. 553 and 663, introduces higher penalties, judicial oversight for surveillance, and accountability mechanisms for handling classified matters.

Lawmakers said the reforms are necessary to safeguard both state security and citizens’ constitutional rights.

Intensify drive vs. Chinese spies

Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, urged authorities to intensify their campaign against Chinese spies, which he described as “sleeper agents” and other alleged operatives from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Lacson said government agencies should conduct continuous follow-up operations against those arrested in earlier anti-espionage operations.

“The whole network of espionage operations must be dismantled or at least decimated to a large degree kasi agents come and go. Inaresto mo, may papalit diyan. And I have on good information na maraming sleeper agents, even regular members of PLA na nandito. Widespread eh (The whole network of espionage operations must be dismantled or at least decimated to a large degree because agents come and go. You arrest one, another takes his/her place. And I have good information that there are sleeper agents and even regular members of the PLA who are here, they are widespread),” he said at the hearing of the Senate defense committee, which tackled anti-espionage bills, including Lacson’s Senate Bill no. 33, or An Act Penalizing Espionage and other similar offenses against national security.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director and spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said their agents had arrested in at least six operations 19 foreign nationals engaged in suspected espionage.

Of the total, 13 were Chinese, five were Filipinos, and one was Cambodian. Lavin said the Filipinos were acting as guides, drivers, or aides.

Lacson, a former national police chief, stressed the need for continuous pursuit operations against other suspects, including those stemming from tactical interrogation of those captured.

“Yan ang mas interest ko kasi di dapat matapos [sa] arrest. This is an unusual crime committed versus our national security, unlike other ordinary criminal cases we stop at filing charges and pursuing their conviction in court. Ito it entails more intelligence and follow up operations (This is where I am more interested because this does not end with arrest. This is an unusual crime against our national security unlike ordinary criminal cases where we stop at filing charges and pursuing their conviction in court. In espionage, it entails more intelligence and follow-up operations),” he said.

Lacson also pressed the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to freeze the assets of those involved in espionage activities, similar to what they did in the case of former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.