No data breach after Chinese man caught with spy device — Comelec

Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia has assured the public that the poll body's systems remain uncompromised following the arrest of a Chinese national allegedly caught carrying an eavesdropping device near the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.

“We don’t have any election data in our main [office], so there is nothing to be concerned about,” Garcia said in a statement to reporters. “We ran the test, nothing was compromised on any of our systems.”

Garcia made the clarification after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed the arrest of Tak Hoi Lao, a Chinese national from Macau, on Tuesday. Lao was allegedly found in possession of an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catcher, a device capable of intercepting mobile phone signals including calls, messages, and SIM card data.

According to NBI-NCR Regional Director Ferdinand Lavin, the bureau had been surveilling Lao prior to the arrest. “We were alarmed because he approached such a sensitive government facility,” Lavin said.

Surveillance footage showed Lao and another Chinese man arranging what appeared to be espionage equipment near the Comelec premises over the weekend.

Lavin emphasized that while it remains unclear whether the data gathered was intended to manipulate the outcome of the May 2025 midterm polls, the possibility cannot be ruled out.

“We are not discounting the possibility that the data it has obtained could be used to affect our elections,” Lavin noted. “Whether they will use it to influence the results, we cannot say for sure. But we are going in that direction.”

The arrested individual has been brought to the NBI-NCR headquarters, and the confiscated equipment is undergoing digital forensic analysis. Lao will face complaints for violating both the Access Devices Regulation Act and the Cybercrime Prevention Act.