Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez

Citing recent events, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez says the House of Representatives must swiftly approve his two bills that seek to expand the definition of espionage and punish the activity during peace time.

He made this appeal Thursday, Jan. 23 in the wake of the arrests made by the police and the military of suspected Chinese spy Deng Yuanqing and two Filipino associates.

The Chinese national is accused of conducting surveillance in military and civilian facilities from northern Luzon to the Bicol region, including areas where sites for enhanced defense cooperation activities between the Philippines and the United States (US) are located.

“The arrest of these suspected Chinese and Filipino spies should prompt Congress to immediately pass bills that would expand the coverage of the crime of espionage,” Rodriguez said.

The lawyer-congressman filed two bills in October last year to punish espionage in times of peace and to expand the crime’s definition.

He introduced the two measures days after Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. appealed to Congress to amend the current espionage law. 

Teodoro noted that Commonwealth Act No. 616, enacted in 1941, was "only effective during times of war".

“We have not heeded the appeal of our defense secretary, made five months ago. We have not addressed concerning developments in the area of spying and we have not updated our law since 1941, more than 80 years ago. We do not act until it is too late, until the proverbial ‘kabayo’ or horse is dead,” Rodriguez said.

The two anti-espionage measures filed by the Mindanao lawmaker were House Bill (HB) Nos. 10983 and 10988.

The first bill seeks to expand the coverage of espionage to include unlawfully disclosing classified matter or information affecting national security or national defense; disloyal acts or works in time of peace or in times of war; conspiracy, harboring, concealing violators; and photographing of defense installations, aircraft, drone or similar machines or devices.

It would also penalize the reproduction, publishing, selling, or giving away of any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of vital government installations or equipment; the injuring or destroying of national defense or national security material, documents or premises; and making or causing to be made in a defective manner of national defense material.

The other bill would include spying activities in times of peace in the coverage of the anti-espionage law.

Rodriguez proposed the imposition of heavier graduated penalties on offenders, ranging from a jail term of 10 years to 12 years or a fine of not less than P500,000 to life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million.