Marcos hoped that the arrested foreigners could shed light on the issue amid ongoing investigations as the country has no official communication with China regarding the matter.
Marcos believes Chinese sleeper cells are in PH
At a glance
President Marcos believes that Chinese sleeper cells or spies are indeed in the Philippines following the arrest of five Chinese nationals for suspected espionage in Palawan and Manila this month.
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Marcos said this after it was reported that the Chinese citizens, posing as Taiwanese tourists, were taking photos and videos of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship and event installed a CCTV camera on a tree and pointed the device at sea.
In an interview in Pasay City, the President believes that Chinese spies are indeed in the Philippines.
"Dahil yung iba matagal nang nandito, nakapangasawa na ng Filipina (Because some of the arrested individuals have been here a long time and have already married to Filipinas)," he said on Friday, Jan. 31.
"Sleeper talaga. Yung tinatawag na sleeper (They really are what we call sleepers)," he added. A sleeper cell is a group of people living in secret, waiting to be activated for a specific mission.
With this, Marcos hoped that the arrested foreigners could shed light on the issue amid ongoing investigations as the country has no official communication with China regarding the matter.
"Well, we have no official contact with China. The investigative services are still developing more information to see exactly what these five have been— what operations they have been doing while they have been here in the Philippines," he said.
"Baka naman pagka nakausap natin sila masabi sa atin meron pang mga iba na pwede nating puntahan, pag-explain-in kung ano yung talagang ginagawa (Perhaps when we talk to them they can tells us where else to go, let them explain what they were really doing)," he added.
According to the President, the act of pointing cameras at vital institutions is disturbing.
"That's why we arrested them. Of course, we are very disturbed by anyone conducting such espionage operations against our military," he said.