The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday, Feb. 2, urged the public to report foreigners engaged in illegal espionage and other suspicious activities.
“We are serious in our efforts to stop these undesirable aliens from abusing our hospitality,” declared BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado in a statement.
Viado aired his plea following the arrest of six suspected Chinese spies who were caught during a series of operations conducted recently by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The alleged spies were earlier identified by as Deng Yuangqing, Cai Shaohuang, Cheng Hai Tao, Wu Cheng Ting, Wang Yong Yi, and Wu Chin Ren.
They have been charged with the non-bailable offense of violations of Commonwealth Act No. 616, the Espionage Act, in relation to Republic Act (RA) No. 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Viado disclosed the BI has been investigating the arrested suspected spies and found that they have been embedded in the Philippines for years.
“Some have been here as early as 2002,” he said.
“They have been holding legal statuses, and have lived in the country for a long time before they were found to be doing suspicious activities by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” he also said.
He added that some of those arrested suspected spies have work visas linked to companies in cities of San Juan and Manila, while others have been married to Filipinas.