The Department of National Defense (DND) has recommended that Philippine military personnel accused of spying for foreign powers be tried before a general court-martial rather than in civilian courts.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. raised the proposal during a Senate briefing on Tuesday on the planned amendments to the Espionage Act of 1941.
“I think if it is a military individual having possessed military secrets, it is best tried under a general court martial to prevent further leakage of classified information to unauthorized people,” Teodoro said.
In 2024, Teodoro first called for the amendment of the espionage law to make the measure applicable during times of peace amid reports of alleged Chinese spies in the country.
“Ang mahalaga ngayon parusahan natin ang espionage sa panahon ng peace kasi ang espionage law sa Pilipinas ay epektibo lamang during times of war,” Teodoro earlier said.
(What is important now is that we punish espionage in times of peace because the espionage law in the Philippines is only effective during times of war.)
“So, call to action din, alam naman na ng ating mga mambabatas, na agaran nilang amyendahan yung espionage law para maparusahan at makakilos ang gobyerno nang tama para sugpuin ito,” he added.
(So it’s also a call to action. Our legislators already know that they should immediately amend the espionage law so that the government can impose punishment and act correctly to suppress it.)
