Palace alarmed by arrest of Chinese national in Comelec espionage case

Malacañang on Wednesday voiced concern over the arrest of a Chinese national with alleged spying equipment near the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Manila, two weeks ahead of the midterm elections.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro underscored the importance of conducting a "thorough investigation" into the incident, citing a recent report from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

''It is quite alarming,'' Castro said, as she noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed confidence in the authorities handling the case and said he would await the full results of the probe.

On Wednesday, Philippine authorities reported the arrest of a Chinese national caught operating an "IMSI catcher"—a device that can imitate a cell tower and intercept messages within a 1 to 3-kilometer radius near a Comelec office.

The NBI has not dismissed the possibility that any data obtained could potentially be used to influence the upcoming elections.

“When we made the arrest, that was the third time he had come to Comelec,” NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said.

Earlier reports included surveillance footage from the National Bureau of Investigation–National Capital Region (NBI-NCR), showing two Chinese men allegedly setting up equipment believed to be intended for surveillance over the weekend.

Further, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said no election data is stored at the Comelec headquarters, adding that a system test was conducted and confirmed there was no breach.

The arrested Chinese national was taken to the NBI-NCR headquarters, along with the seized IMSI catcher, which will undergo digital forensic analysis.

He will be facing charges for violating the Access Devices Regulation Act and the Cybercrime Prevention Act.