PBBM orders China wiretapping probe

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. vowed to investigate the alleged wiretapping of the Chinese Embassy in Manila against a ranking official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“We are looking into it because the fact of the matter is, there have been mentions of a tape that confirms that there was this agreement,” President Marcos Jr. said.

The President made the remarks on the sidelines of the signing of alliance between the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in Makati City when asked about his directive regarding China’s alleged wiretapping activities.

President Marcos said it is still early to come up with any conclusion until he hears for himself the contents of the supposed wiretapping.

“It’s in the possession of the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese government. So, until they release it, it’s harder to believe and to accept that there was an agreement,” he said.

Asked if he has directed government agencies to be extra careful about it, President Marcos said “there is no directive like that” but emphasized an existing policy on the issue.

“There have been so many departments and agencies that have been victimized and I think we are all very aware of the risks of cybersecurity. We are very conscious of that,” he said.

President Marcos said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) are working together to make the country’s cybersecurity more robust and secure.

He said they are already planning to bring some experts to work for the government agencies as free agents that will be tasked to heighten the country’s cybersecurity . He said the best people in cybersecurity are actually Filipinos.