An alleged Chinese spy, who is believed conducting surveillance operations on military camps and other vital installations in the Philippines, has been arrested along with his suspected Filipino cohorts.

During a joint press conference conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the arrested Chinese national was identified as Deng Yuanqing while his Filipino companions were identified as Ronnel Jojo Balundo Besa and Jayson Amado Fernandez.

Those arrested were charged before the DOJ with the non-bailable espionage case under Section 1(a) and 2(a) of Commonwealth Act of No. 616 in relation to Republic Act (RA) 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said three suspects were arrested in Makati City Friday night, Jan. 17, during an interdiction operation conducted by operatives of the NBI’s Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) and Special Task Force (NBI-STF).

Santiago said the NBI operatives also seized from the three a Toyota Rav 4 vehicle where “espionage equipment” were found mounted.

“Last December nai-share sa amin ng Naval Intelligence ng AFP ang isang information na meron Chinese group na nagpunta dito sa Pilipinas at nagmamanman sa ating territory (the Naval Intelligence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shared information that there is a Chinese group that came to the Philippines conducting surveillance operations),” said Santiago.

Because of this, Santiago said this information was relayed to DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla who held executive sessions with AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on how to track these persons.

NBI-CCD Chief Jeremy C. Lotoc said “na-establish po natin (we were able to establish) they are engaged in ISR operations, meaning intelligence, surveillance, and reconaissance operations to the prejudice of our national defense considering ‘yung mga target nito are mostly critical infrastructure na may kinalaman sa ating national security (their target are mostly critical infrastructure that has something to do with our national security).

“‘Yung nahuli po natin na isang Chinese national na (The Chinese national we arrested), based on our open source intelligence with the assistance of our Armed Forces of the Philippines, is a graduate of PLAUST. It’s PLA University Science and Technology which is controlled and operated by the People’s Liberation Army,” NBI-CCD Chief Jeremy C. Lotoc.

Lotoc said it has been found that the group has been frequenting critical infrastructure like military camps, local government offices, power plants, and police camps.

“They have this remote application which in real time tina-transmit (being transmitted) outside,” he said.

Lotoc revealed that equipment is also “capable of producing coordinates” which, he explained, provides details of the topography and terrain of these places.

“Wala syang naipakitang permit or any license or authority (The Chinese failed to show any permit or license or authority),” he also said.

Lotoc cited that among the many places the group visited included the AFP signal frequency repeater in Batangas; National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) sub-station in Batangas combined power plant; Batangas navigational lighthouses; Petro-chemical complex Malampaya; Coast Guard District Southern Luzon; combined cycle powerplant Batangas City; Kalayaan power plant in Laguna; NGCP Lumban sub-station; and 201st Infantry Brigade Laguna.

“In fact ang plano ho nila pagkatapos nila maikot ang buong Luzon ang next target nila ay ang buong Visayas at Mindanao naman. So hindi na namin hinintay na magpoproceed sila sa Visayas. Kinuha na namin through interdiction operation (after they have roamed the entire Luzon, their next targets are the entire Visayas and Mindanao regions. So we did not wait any longer for them to proceed to Visayas. We got them through an interdiction operation),” he also said.

In the meantime, Lotoc said “ongoing ang aming background investigation (our investigation is ongoing).”

At the same time, Lotoc said the investigators found that Deng has other companions in China who have established businesses in the Philippines.

“Actually we have a copy of his passport and we are now verifying it with the Bureau of Immigration,” he said.

Lotoc believes that the Chinese who has been in the Philippines for around five years is a “sleeper” spy.

He explained that “through our monitoring, ‘yung galawan n’ya talagang nasa normal lang (we found that he acts normally during his stay in the country)."

“Kaya n’ya magblend in sa iba’t ibang grupo. Hindi ho s’ya pansinin (He can easily blend with different groups. He is not easily noticed),” he observed.

Lotoc said investigators is also looking into the connection of the arrested persons with different organizations.

He revealed that investigators found in the confiscated mobile phones weekly deposits running from P1.5 million to P12 million to various “shell companies.”

“Tinitingnan namin kung gaano kalaki itong organization na ito, kung sino nasa likod nito, state sponsored ba s’ya or organized crime group s’ya (We are trying to find out how large this organization is, who are behind this, determine if this is state sponsored or from an organized crime group),” he added.