The submersible drone marked “HY-119”, discovered off the coast of San Pascual, Masbate is Chinese-made, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group told a Senate panel.

"Doon sa research map po namin (Based on our research map) is basically it came from China,  so it's a Chinese-made submersible drone," said Maritime Group Director Brigadier General Jonathan Cabal in response to Senator Risa Hontiveros' question during the hearing of the Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones.

"So basically sa ating commercial ano naman enterprises wala naman gumagamit ng ganitong (So basically among our commercial enterprises, no one uses these) submersible drones, that’s why we surmise that this is not commercially-available but of a military-grade or [for] scientific purposes," he added.

According to the Philippine Navy, the recovered drone has a bright yellow color and is torpedo-shaped with fins. It is about 3.5 meters in length, 24 centimeters in diameter, and weighs 94 kilograms.

The PN said that bright color drones (yellow, red or orange) are typically used for scientific research or fishing purposes such as tracking schools of fish, since they are designed to be easily visible from the air.

Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga, who was also present in the hearing, said that the initial statement from PN Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad was that drones were recovered in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and down south.

However, he said they could not make a definite conclusion as to the origin or ownership of the drones because, like the current drone, no country has claimed them.

“But as far as the national defense is concerned, we will always consider them as a threat, as an intrusion of our sovereignty regardless of whether it is commercial or military specifications," he added.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate panel, said that he was informed that the yellow drone could be a Chinese-made “Sea Wing” glider,  an underwater vehicle developed by the Chinese Institution of Oceanology to augment the submarine fleet of China.

Some of the uses of the device, he said, include underwater surveillance, oceanographic research, and naval operations. It can also be used as an anti-detection device.

Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, on the other hand, asked about the initial assessment of the drone.

According to Madriaga, the drone is a data gathering equipment that collates information for commercial, scientific, and military use. Yet, he claimed that all the data can be considered intelligence information.

"As far as the defense department is concerned, we are treating it as a national security matter...like I've said a while ago we consider this as a violation of our territory and it's a matter of national security for the DND," he added.