The recent recovery of submersible drones and the foiling of foreign espionage activities in different parts of the country is part of a “determined, continuous, and pervasive assault” on Filipinos and Philippine institutions from the People’s Republic China.

Thus concluded Majority Leader Francis ‘TOL’ Tolentino, who presided over a Senate inquiry today attended by ranking officials of the Philippine Navy, Philippine National Police, and other law enforcement and security agencies.

“All of us have watched over the last weeks, and months, at mayroon nga ngayong Abril, individuals caught in the act of secretly collecting information about our country. [Their] criminal, illicit activity bears all the hallmarks of espionage,” Tolentino noted.

“In every single case, the same nexus of responsibility has emerged. Iisa lang po ang patutunguhan ng lahat ng imbestigasyon. Ang lahat po ay tinuturo, base sa mga indibidwal na naaresto, sa People’s Republic of China,” he stressed.

“We are facing a wave of Chinese espionage that is nothing like we have experienced in our nation’s history. This is not an isolated event. Again I repeat the words coming from a resource person, that this is just the ‘tip of the iceberg,’” the senator added.

Asked by Tolentino during the hearing to report the findings of their forensic examination of two drones recovered in San Pascual, Masbate in December last year, and in Sabtang, Batanes last February, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad of the Philippine Navy said that the drones are capable of gathering critical information on the country’s undersea terrain and characteristics.

“The yellow drone (marked HY-119, recovered by fishermen from Masbate) is designed to collect, what we call bathymetric data: depth of water, salinity, conductivity, [and] oxygen content,” Trinidad said.

“The black one (recovered in Batanes) has the same capability, but it also has an AVS: acoustic vector sensor. Nagpi-pick up siya ng sound, how sound propagates or travels underwater,” the Navy spokesperson added.

“Sound propagation is very critical when it comes to undersea warfare. Pero lahat naman ng nakukuhang information ng mga drone na ito have different uses, pwedeng commercial, academic, scientific research, at military use,” he explained.

Tolentino then linked the recovery of the drones to the series of espionage activities in Makati, Palawan, and Zambales that were foiled by operatives of the PNP and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), after being alerted by local residents.

“The information [being gathered by the espionage activities] puts our security at risk, including information on activity at our military bases, our state of military preparedness, our ability to protect the West Philippine Sea, and where our ships and sailors are located. Ito po yung nakakabahala,” Tolentino remarked.

Finally, Tolentino lamented what he suggested as a veiled threat conveyed to the Philippines recently by China Ambassador Huang Xilian and the Chinese foreign ministry.

Referring to Huang, Tolentino said: “Yun po ang sinasabi at naririnig natin, at nangako pa siyang magkaroon ng kapayapaan at pagkakaibigan mula sa China kung ang Pilipinas ‘ay matalinong magde-desisyon.’ Let me underscore that. He has promised that we will enjoy peace and friendship from China so long, of course, and I quote, ‘we make a good choice,’ unquote.”

“And the Chinese foreign ministry has offered the same message, time and again, without fail, [that] they seek only friendship, want only what is best for the Filipino brethren, with all kindness. Their ministry spokesperson urges us, and I quote again, ‘to uphold good neighborliness, friendship and peaceful development,’ unquote, if ‘we wish to remain safe,’” Tolentino underscored.

The Senate probe resumes Thursday morning with the following invited resource persons: Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda; Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum; and National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA) Director Peter Tiangco.