DND tells AFP to probe recruitment ad traced to China

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong. SCREEN GRABBED FROM PCO FB

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of National Defense (DND) has ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to investigate a “strange” recruitment effort of “part-time military consultants,” the origin of which was traced to China.

“The DND has directed the AFP to investigate this,” Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong told reporters in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

“We did pick up the activity … the AFP already received guidance to investigate and to look into this particular modus operandi,” he also said, noting that there should be an “interagency investigation” about the incident.

READ: DICT traces hack attempts to China

Revelation

Andolong announced the development after Manila Bulletin’s Art Samaniego made a revelation on Saturday (April 6) about a “strange online recruitment effort” to a military website which claims to be affiliated with a  US military advertising agency.

“The group, operating through its Facebook page, is actively seeking part-time military consultants to engage in various tasks, including writing weekly reports on military life and addressing hot military topics,” Samaniego said in a Facebook post.

The US-based agency with a website of militarymedia(dot)com denied affiliation with the militarymedia(dot)group, according to Samaniego.

READ: China refutes accusations of hacking PH gov’t websites

Chinese origin

He also learned that the credentials of the website were found to have Chinese origin.

As of Monday, the militarymedia(dot)group was already inaccessible.

Samaniego also sounded the alarm as many have already applied through the Facebook page of the now-defunct website.

“Checking the comments section reveals that active military and retired military personnel have expressed their desire to apply for the job, indicating potential security risks associated with the recruitment drive,” he said.

Andolong, who highlighted the seriousness of the incident, warned military officials against such schemes.

“There are actors who have ulterior motives when they conduct actions in cyberspace … We are taking this incident seriously,” he said.