Palace alarmed by arrest of Chinese man with spy device, says Castro

The device caught in possession of a Chinese national by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation. Tak Hoi Lao, 48, is caught allegedly carrying a phone eavesdropping device in Intramuros, Manila, on Tuesday. Photo by Mariane Bermudez

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration is alarmed by the arrest of a Chinese national with an alleged spy device near the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters in Manila, a Palace official said on Wednesday.

The Chinese man, identified as Tak Hoi Lao, was found with an international mobile subscriber identity catcher, a device used to intercept mobile phone traffic.

READ: Chinese nat’l with eavesdropping device nabbed near Comelec – NBI

“It’s quite alarming. It’s quite alarming and there is still … the president has this trust in the intelligence agents that need the operation,” said Palace Press Officer Claire Castro at a briefing when asked for a comment on the matter.

“So, we will just have to wait for the final investigation on that matter,” she added.

‘Troll farm’

The arrest came following allegations made by Sen. Francis Tolentino and National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya of a China-funded operation to influence the May midterm polls and shape public opinion through a social media “troll farm.”

READ: Chinese with spying device nabbed near Comelec

The Chinese Embassy in Manila denied the ”heinous accusations,” accusing certain Filipino politicians of playing the “China card” to boost their election chances.

Meanwhile, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia doubted whether the arrested Chinese had obtained any sensitive information from the poll body.

“We don’t have any election data in our main [office], so there is nothing to be concerned about,” Garcia told reporters.

“We ran the test; nothing was compromised on any of our systems,” he added.