Estrada backs DND chief’s call for reforms in PH espionage law

Manila: Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday expressed his full support to the call of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for lawmakers to amend the country’s espionage laws.

In a statement, Estrada pointed out that current Philippine laws on espionage were first instituted almost a century ago and have never been touched.

“Given the significant changes in national defense and security over the years, it is important to review and update these policies to ensure they are relevant to the current landscape,” the chairperson of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security said.

Estrada’s panel is currently deliberating on Senate Bill (SB) 2368, which seeks to amend the country’s espionage laws under Commonwealth Act 616 signed in 1941, and the Revised Penal Code which took effect in 1932.

‘I proposed this legislation long before the Senate began investigating the issues surrounding dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo. The expansion of the coverage of espionage includes new provi
sions addressing cyber espionage. This legislation is a response to evolving threats and technological advancements that could compromise the country’s security,’ he said.

Under existing laws, espionage is punishable by 10 years to 30 years in prison and a fine of PHP2,000 to PHP30,000.

The Revised Penal Code also sets the penalty for espionage at six months and one day to six years in prison.

SB 2368 proposes to impose stiffer penalties, including life imprisonment and fines amounting to at least PHP1 million “to bolster the safeguarding of government information and effectively address advancements in technology, encompassing electronic documents and cybersecurity.”

‘I stand in solidarity with our defense chief in pushing for reforms to our espionage laws, which were instituted almost a century ago. Any input from the Defense Department will be welcomed to help fine-tune the measure,’ Estrada said.

DND also fighting economic sabotage

The Department of National Defense (DND), meanwhile, said it is help
ing law enforcement agencies to crack down on syndicates engaged in the manufacture of sub-standard steel, which it called an act of “economic sabotage and subversion.”

“So, we have been helping our law enforcement authorities eradicate these types of economic sabotage and subversion that are part of a syndicate, as far as we can say. A syndicate in order to prey on the Filipinos and perhaps strategically to weaken our country’s economic fabric,” DND Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said during his speech at the Blue Economy Annual Trade and Conference (BEACON) Expo 2024 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City Wednesday.

He cited the example of Tony Yang, brother of former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang, who was found to be engaged in a “sub rosa steel manufacturing enterprise” in the country.

Sub rosa, the Latin word for ‘under the rose’, refers to something that is kept confidential or private.

“What we know is that his enterprise, together with more than a dozen others, are recipients of f
ree induction furnaces from China. Induction furnaces or IFs, are an unproven, dirty technology for producing sub-standard steel,” Teodoro said.

Through these IFs, he said the local steel market is being flooded by “cheap, dirty, sub-standard steel”.

He said this practice is a ‘disincentive for any bona fide investor to put up an honest-to-goodness steel mill’ in the country, which is essential for the maritime and power industries.

“Without a steel industry, what happens to your maritime industry for (the) durability of your hubs, particularly for military purposes?” he said.

Teodoro also said the country’s steel industry must be given incentives and accommodations to allow it to grow.

“Because without it, then the backbone, our reliance on imported steel vis-à-vis the presence of unfair economic operators in this country or otherwise criminal economic operators in this country will just proliferate and will not allow for a positive net present value in all sustainable and high-end investments,” he said
. (with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)

Source: Philippines News Agency