Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson warned on Wednesday, Aug.27, that Chinese "sleeper agents" and even operatives from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) are already embedded in the Philippines to engage in espionage.

Lacson pressed the concerned government agencies to 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 it on 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 33, an act penalizing espionage and other similar offenses against national security.

"Time is of the essence. Continuing ang kanilang espionage ops and right now ang ina-apply natin is Commonwealth Act 616 (Time is of the essence. Their espionage activities are continuing and what we have right now is an outdated law in Commonwealth Act 616)," he added.

Lacson cited reports showing Chinese nationals had been arrested for suspected espionage in several areas of the country, including Palawan, Makati, Dumaguete, and even near Camp Aguinaldo, the Commission on Elections office in Manila, and Malacanang.

During the hearing, Atty. Ferdinand Lavin of the National Bureau of Investigation said NBI agents had arrested at least 19 foreign nationals in six operations engaged in suspected espionage.

Of the 19, 13 were Chinese, five were Filipinos, and one was Cambodian. Lavin said the Filipinos were acting as guides, drivers, or aides.

Lacson emphasized the importance of maintaining continuous hot pursuit operations against other suspects, including those identified through the tactical interrogation of captured individuals.

"Yan ang mas interest ko kasi di dapat matapos arrest. This is an unusual crime committed vs 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.

"So kailangan ang pursuit operations na walang letup. If we rest on our laurels naging complacent tayo relax na tayo (we become complacent and relax), but that is not supposed to be the case. The more we should pursue and be more vigilant in conducting intelligence and law enforcement operations," he added.

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 Mayor Alice Guo.