The Philippine National Police has ordered an investigation into the reported donations made by alleged Chinese spies to two police forces and a local government unit.
“The chief PNP had already ordered the inquiry on that matter to get to the bottom of the issue and the circumstances of the donation,” PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said yesterday.
Torre was asked to comment on an exclusive report by Reuters about Chinese nationals, accused of espionage, who as leaders of socio-civic groups made donations to the city of Tarlac and its police force as well as to the Manila Police District.
“It is a possible cause for inquiry and investigation on the part of the police, especially on the internal mechanisms relating to donations from foreign entities,” Torre added.
He said the report would trigger “closer scrutiny” of foreign socio-civic groups’ activities in the country.
“These activities will undergo closer scrutiny – that is natural and expected,” Torre said.
He said the PNP continuously evaluates its allied groups, ensuring that scrutiny applies broadly and is not limited to Chinese organizations.
“This is a continuous process because the PNP has many accredited groups. The scrutiny applies broadly and is not targeting Chinese organizations alone,” he said.
For his part, Manila City administrator Bernardito Ang said the local government accepts donations that are duly endorsed by legitimate and reputable organizations.
“Anybody or any organization that wants to donate is acceptable to the city government, most especially if they are coursed through reputable organizations like the Chinese federation. Most Chinese organizations course through their donations to the federation and it is not for us to confirm or vet when the federation already says everything is in order whenever they donate,” Ang said.
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna’s spokesperson and head of communications Princess Abante confirmed that the donated motorcycles to the MPD consisted of nine 2016 models and one 2015 model of Sinski motorcycles worth P14,500 each, for a total value of P145,000.
“The motorcycles were registered with the LTO by (the donors) before the turnover. The Office of the Mayor did not receive cash donations from them – only the motorcycles for the MPD,” Abante said.
The Reuters report said the four men were leaders of civic groups overseen by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) foreign influence network.
They were among the five Chinese nationals detained by the government in late January for allegedly gathering images and maps of Philippine naval forces near the South China Sea.
All five detained men also met China’s military attaché in Manila, Senior Col. Li Jianzhong, at least once in the weeks before their arrest, Reuters said.
