Philippines arrest defense department staff for espionage

Philippine security forces had dismantled a Chinese spy ring in the country with the arrest of low-level officers and staff from the defense and military establishments, a media report said.

NSC spokesperson and Assistant Director General Cornelio Valencia Jr. . Photo from National Security Council.

Manuel Mogato | March 5, 2026

Manila — Philippine security forces had dismantled a Chinese spy ring in the country with the arrest of low-level officers and staff from the defense and military establishments, a media report said.

The National Security Council (NSC) confirmed the Rappler report, saying it had “addressed and terminated” the alleged Chinese spying operations.

“For reasons of national security, we cannot discuss identities, methods, or timelines so as not to jeopardize ongoing operations,” NSC’s spokesperson Cornelio Valencia Jr., in a statement.

“Nonetheless, necessary actions have been taken against the individuals concerned — all Filipino nationals — who have all confessed their complicity in espionage activities and are cooperating with authorities.”

Valencia did not say how many low-level Filipino officials and staff were arrested and what information were compromised.

In an exclusive report, online news site Rappler, reported the discovery and dismantling of a Chinese-led espionage network in the country, arresting Filipino government workers with access to sensitive information and documents related to the country’s security and defense plans and strategies.

According to Rappler, the recruiters lured young government workers from or linked to different agencies — the Department of National Defense, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the military — into “consultancies,” where they were expected to turn in analyses, initially based on open intelligence sources.

The Chinese recruiters would later coerce the young government workers into sending sensitive files from the country’s defense and security agencies.

Valencia said the security agency’s counterintelligence efforts, under the Insider Threat Program, “seeks to protect national security sensitive information, capabilities, and operations from foreign espionage, turn/coercion, and malicious or negligent compromise,” and covers various government agencies that “handle sensitive information.”

“We assure the public that safeguards are in place and working, and our security agencies remain proactive and vigilant, leading to the success of Philippine counterintelligence operations,” he said.