(from left) Noemi Deng (wife of arrested Chinese national Deng Yuanqing), Filipina Chinese civic leader Teresita Ang See and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio 

MANILA, Philippines – Contrary to the record obtained by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) , the equipment caught in the subject vehicle boarded by the alleged Chinese spy arrested recently weren’t for purposes of illegal surveillance but only for navigation and communication for the operation of driverless cars. 

This was the claim of experts consulted by Filipina Chinese civic leader Teresita Ang See who assists the family of Deng Yuanqing, the 39-year-old Chinese national arrested on January 17 by the joint operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). 

Along with Deng and the two other Filipinos said to be “cohorts,” the subject vehicle containing a trunkful of equipment said to be used in spying activities was presented to the media. 

The vehicle was used to collect data from military camps and vital installations in the country as per surveillance findings. 

Ang See said the experts told her the equipment used were mainly for “time stamping” of travel time and distances with “centralized storage” and navigation technology just like a “GPS device with sim to provide location” while mobile.  

“Whatever it is, it behoves the government to do due diligence and find out spy equipment ba ‘yan,” Ang See said. 

Available on e-commerce sites

If the equipment were for purposes of covert surveillance, these must be technologically advanced and rare. 

However, Ang See said experts told her that nothing is unusual or special with the seized equipment and are in fact available on e-commerce sites. 

“The fact na lahat, lahat ah, ‘yung pinacheck ko, tinawagan niya talaga and he found out it is available on Shopee and Lazada,” she said. 

“Nakiusap ako sa mga expert, tapos meron isang civil engineer group nag-offer nga, Tessie pakita mo sa’min ‘yung equipment kami mag-a-attest kung ano ‘yan,” she said.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio who represents Deng also stressed that spy equipment should not be big and obvious and they should be hidden. 

“Ang spy equipment by its nature, spy is clandestine so dapat ‘yan maliliit. China is a pioneer in technology bakit anlalaki ng equipment mo kung mag-spy tapos sa likod ng trunk sa sarili mong sasakyan,” 

“Hindi ba dapat surreptitious, maliliit, kung may camera, kung may GPS,” he said. 

The NBI has also not issued a statement yet. 

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