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Alleged Chinese spies have been in Philippines since 2002 — Immigration

MANILA, Philippines —Some of the Chinese nationals, who are alleged spies and were apprehended last month, have been in the Philippines for decades, the Bureau of Immigration said.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said the alleged spies “embedded themselves into society,” having been in the country for a long time.

“Some have been here as early as 2002,” Viado said in a statement. 

“They have been holding legal statuses, and have lived in the country for a long time before they were found to be doing suspicious activities by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he added. 

He also noted that some of the apprehended individuals held orking visas linked to companies in San Juan and Manila, while others were married to Filipinas.

Viado urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities involving foreign nationals that may pose a threat to national security.

"We are serious in our efforts to stop these undesirable aliens from abusing our hospitality," the commissioner said.

From January 24 to 25, authorities arrested five more Chinese nationals suspected of espionage during "hot pursuit" operations.

One of the arrested suspects was caught recording Philippine Coast Guard vessels in Palawan. A recovered device revealed that he had been gathering photos of several Coast Guard vessels and naval facilities.

Authorities made their first arrest in an alleged espionage case on January 17, when Chinese national Deng Yanquing, along with two Filipino accomplices, was apprehended in Makati.

The three individuals were allegedly using equipment to collect data and survey maps of various critical infrastructure sites and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) locations across Luzon.

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