The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has uncovered espionage efforts seeking information about personnel stationed aboard the grounded warship BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal, including details that could be used to pressure their families, an official said Sunday.
AFP spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the information was allegedly requested by foreign handlers through Filipino intermediaries who had access to government personnel and communications.
“These three… are not high-ranking individuals. These are rank-and-file personnel who are new to government service,” Trinidad said in an interview with GMA 7’s DZBB.
“In this particular case, one person had a friend in the Coast Guard, one in the Department of National Defense, and one in the Philippine Navy. So the information they have access to depends on their level of work,” he added.
Trinidad said one of the three alleged Filipino spies uncovered through the military’s Insider Threat Program (ITP) was a civilian with close contact with a Philippine Coast Guard officer involved in rotation and resupply (RORE) missions for troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre.
“They were asking information from that civilian who had close contact in the Coast Guard about the troops on BRP Sierra Madre. Because if you know who the people there are, you can find out where their families are,” Trinidad said.
“You can co-opt their families so you can gain access to that person and give instructions that could make them work for you,” he added.
The National Security Council earlier disclosed that three Filipinos were involved in passing information to foreign contacts.
The Philippine Navy maintains a small contingent aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era vessel intentionally grounded in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to assert Philippine sovereignty in the disputed area.
The ship serves as a military outpost in the contested waters and regularly receives food, supplies, and equipment through RORE missions organized by the government.
The Philippine Coast Guard also provides security escorts for civilian boats contracted to deliver supplies to troops stationed on the vessel.
However, Trinidad said China has repeatedly attempted to block the resupply missions in recent years.
He noted that the discovery of Filipino spies passing information to foreign handlers could partly explain how Beijing appeared to know in advance the timing and details of some operations.
“It’s like putting together a puzzle. You gather different pieces. By the time you complete it, you can see the whole picture,” Trinidad said.
The espionage activities also allegedly involved collecting data on Philippine military plans, including modernization efforts.
“It includes our modernization projects. For the Philippine Navy, they passed information about our strategic basing plans—where we will develop our bases and what facilities we will put there. Those are the kinds of information being gathered,” he said.
Trinidad added that authorities believe there could be more espionage cases yet to be uncovered.
“You know what we talked about two years ago—we didn’t have proof yet, but common sense tells us most likely there is more. These are coming out one by one,” he said.
Trinidad cited previous cases involving individuals with alleged foreign links in Zambales, Bohol, and Batangas.
“These three that we have released are the ones we consider ‘case closed,’ that’s why we are releasing them for the people to know,” he added.
The AFP said it continues to monitor potential insider threats through the ITP.
“That doesn’t mean it ends here. Our security sector continues the effort through the Insider Threat Program. If we discover something, it’s a long process—actually this case was discovered about nine to 10 months ago, sometime last year,” Trinidad said.
“This is not a fabrication, it’s not a rumor. These are real people and there were confessions. As we speak right now, there’s a lot more to it, but I would like to say that our ITP is still working,” he added.
