The Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday it was now verifying reports that a “good number” of China’s People Liberation Army soldiers were now in the country.
“We are in the process of validating the report of Senator [Panfilo] Lacson,” AFP Chief Felimon Santos Jr. told reporters.
But Malacañang said Thursday the military should validate the reported presence of 3,000 Chinese soldiers in the Philippines first before the government takes any action, adding the claim was a “raw intelligence report.”
Lacson on Wednesday urged the authorities to validate the information that there were 2,000 to 3,000 members of China’s People Liberation Army in the Philippines who might be on an “immersion mission.”
Lacson, a former police chief, shared the unverified report a week after the police said they were investigating two Chinese murder suspects who were caught with identification cards allegedly from the PLA.
Lacson said it was possible that the PLA members were undergoing an immersion mission for still unknown purposes in the Philippines.
“I have my staff for intelligence to confirm said reports in coordination with other relevant agencies of government,” Santos said.
China’s PLA consists of five branches: ground force, navy, air force, rocket force, and strategic force, and is the largest in the world.
In a radio interview last week, Senator Richard Gordon said PLA members were likely using Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs for intelligence gathering in the country.
He claimed that PLA members may have infiltrated POGOs for intelligence gathering after identification cards of alleged PLA members were discovered from two arrested Chinese suspects in a shooting incident in Makati City last week.
On Thursday, Gordon led the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on illegal activities such as espionage, money laundering and prostitution which are associated with the POGOs in the country.