MANILA, October 4 ------ The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring reports of alleged foreign covert operations in the country. DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said they are currently working with other government agencies to look into the issue. “The Department has noted reports containing relevant information on alleged foreign covert operations in the Philippines. In accordance with its mandate to help protect national security, the Department takes such reports seriously and is monitoring relevant developments in this regard,” she said.
The statement comes days after the House of Representatives brought up the issue of Chinese spies during its hearings on the citizenship of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. On the hearing held September 27, the House panel showed and an excerpt from an Al Jazeera documentary about a self-confessed Chinese spy. The documentary, which centers on tycoon She Zhijiang, includes a dossier on Guo Hua Ping, with a photo resembling the dismissed Bamban mayor and with familiar details of her birth place and mother.
In the documentary, She Zhijiang, claimed that Guo Hua Ping, allegedly Guo’s real name, asked him for money to fund her candidacy for mayor of Bamban. Guo has denied that she knows She Zhijiang, and said she is not a spy. The National Security Council (NSC) also said it has “effective counter intelligence efforts” against foreign spies operating in the country.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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