AMIDST the increased bullying of China on Philippine maritime security forces in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the arrest of three Filipinos accused of espionage, several cause oriented groups strongly condemned China’s unlawful actions that only escalate growing tensions in the region.
The Ang Bumbero ng Pilipinas (ABP) party-list, together with civic oriented groups Alyansa Bantay Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD) and Filipinos Do Not Yield ( FDNY) Movement joined forces to strongly criticize the unlawful arrest of the alleged Filipinos ‘spies’, calling the move as a propaganda tactic to mislead the real issue emanating from the territorial disputes and contradicting claims in the WPS.
ABP party-list first nominee Dr. Jose Antonio ‘Ka Pep’ Goitia, who is also chairman emeritus of ABKD and FDNY asserted that what China is doing now is a blatant form of bullying and a diversionary strategy to justify the illegal detention of the three Filipinos, namely David Servanez, Albert Endencia and Natalie Plizardo.
The trio were arrested in China on allegations of spying for the Philippine intelligence community despite the fact that t lhe truth is that they are law-abiding Filipino citizens being screened by the Chinese authorities before they were accepted as recipients of the Hainan government scholarship established under the sisterhood agreement between the provinces of Palawan and Hainan.
Goitia raised doubts regarding the confession of the arrested Filipinos, stressing that their ‘testimonies’ were made under extreme pressure, given the narrative released of the Chinese government wherein a portion of the statement made mention of the ‘Philippines Intelligence Agency’ or ‘Philippine Spy Intelligence Services’, both agencies being non- existing government agencies in the country.
“They were baseless and false claims, considered manufactured and part of a well planned smear campaign, following the arrest of lsuspected Chinese spies in recent months by Philippine law enforcement agencies, raising serious concerns that the move was a calculated act of retaliation,” he pointed out.
He added that he believes this is a form of pressure to silence the Philippine government over regional issues, especially in the dispute over territories in the West Philippine Sea.
“They arrested our people, spread propaganda and try to make themselves look like they are the real victims but in actuality, they sow lies and fear tactics,” Goitia cited.
