The Philippine government will investigate an explosive claim made by Senator Panfilo Lacson that thousands of Chinese soldiers are currently in the country conducting an unspecified “immersion mission,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Malacañang Palace presser today.
Lacson yesterday told Senate reporters that he received “unvalidated” information that up to 3,000 members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are in the Philippines, though he did not disclose the source of the allegations, nor did he provide any idea as to the purpose of the purported mission.
“Let’s validate this [information], this is not confirmed and I urge the intelligence community to confirm,” Lacson said in English and Filipino. “Maybe they’re in an immersion mission, we’re not sure. For what purpose, we are not sure.”
Responding to the allegations, Panelo said that it was likely that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is already investigating Lacson’s claims, which he branded as mere “speculation.”
“I’m sure the AFP is already validating that, given that it is being reported by no less than a senator of the Republic,” he said. “We have to validate that first. We cannot be making statements relative to anything that is based on speculation and unverified reports. We do not want to be irresponsible in issuing a statement.”
“We are always alarmed when it comes to national interest issues,” he added.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Felimon Santos Jr. told reporters in a message today that they are looking into Lacson’s statement, Rappler reports.
Lacson’s allegation comes after a fatal Makati shooting last week in which two of the captured suspects were found to have PLA IDs in their possession. The police, however, said that the IDs appeared to be fake, as they bore someone else’s name and photo. The suspects, who said they worked in a Philippine offshore gaming operation, did not explain why they had the IDs.
The incident prompted another senator, Richard Gordon, to claim — also without evidence — that the mostly Chinese-operated gambling companies are being used to fund Chinese espionage in the Philippines, and that Chinese nationals were assuming the identities of dead Filipinos with the help of corrupt officials.
