News Roundup 29 September 2024
Sep 29, 2024 • 5 min Read
Detained Chinese ‘spy’ says espionage work to Philippines began in 2016 | Philstar.com – MANILA, Philippines — Chinese spy She Zhijiang, currently detained in Thailand and fighting repatriation to China, claimed in an Al Jazeera documentary that he began his spy work in the Philippines in 2016 while evading Chinese authorities who had ordered his arrest for illegal gambling.
He said his recruiter vowed to arrange the dropping of his criminal case if he accepted the intelligence work.
In the documentary, She alleged having worked with dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo for China’s Ministry of State Security, the communist party’s secret police agency.
The self-confessed spy also echoed the Senate findings that Guo is a full-blooded Chinese whose mother is Lin Wen Yi.
Files shown by She to Al Jazeera included a dossier on Guo Hua Ping, including her local address in Fujian province that is also the local address of the Communist Party of China.
“Guo Hua Ping, China cannot be trusted. The two of us once dedicated our lives to China’s Ministry of State Security. Look at what happened to me,” he said.
“If you don’t want to be eliminated, you should tell the world the truth,” She added.
Senate President Francis Escudero said it is up to the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Foreign Affairs (DFA) to coordinate with Thailand authorities if they wish to dig deeper into the allegations raised by She against Guo.
Escudero said the Al Jazeera documentary on She should be looked into by authorities for possible filing of an espionage case against Guo.
Full Story at: Detained Chinese ‘spy’ says espionage work to Philippines began in 2016 | Philstar.com
Guo: I am not a spy, I love the Philippines | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The usually calm and collected Alice Guo seemed to have lost her cool at a House of Representatives’ quad committee hearing on Friday as she was confronted with allegations raised in a documentary by a self-confessed Chinese spy that she had worked for Beijing’s intelligence and security services.
Shown a portion of a documentary by foreign news outlet Al Jazeera featuring Chinese spy She Zhijiang, the dismissed mayor became visibly agitated and vehemently denied knowing She.
Asked if she knew She Zhijiang, Guo started squirming in her seat and replied: “I don’t know him. And I hope, Your Honor, Mr. Chair, I can get the details. I want to file a case. I don’t know them.”
It was Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Almario who presented the video.
“Mr. Chair, I’d like to point out to this committee that even if we have been making our own research, pulling up our own inquiries, this is another source from a completely different party and is unrelated to what we do,” Almario told the quad committee, stressing the significance of the information obtained from the documentary.
When PBA party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles asked Guo what benefits she thought She would get by implicating her, the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor retorted in English and Filipino: “I think it’s better for you to ask him. He was the one who released that video so he knows what benefits he would get. Definitely, I am not a spy.”
This prompted Nograles to comment: “OK. Relax ka lang. Why are you angry?”
“Sinasabi po nila, spy ako. Mahal ko pong Pilipinas, Filipino po ako, hindi po ako spy. (They are saying I am a spy. I love the Philippines. I am a Filipino, I am not a spy),” Guo insisted.
Full Story at: Guo: I am not a spy, I love the Philippines | Philstar.com
Caloocan’s Along Malapitan seeks reelection for 2025 polls | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Mayor Dale Gonzalo “Along” Malapitan has declared his intention to run as Caloocan City mayor anew in the upcoming 2025 elections.
Malapitan made the announcement on Saturday during an event at the Caloocan Sports Complex, which was attended by Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati Mayor Abby Binay, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Francis Tolentino, and Congresswoman Camille Villar.
Malapitan likewise expressed his gratitude to his constituents “for their continued trust and support from the very start of his public service career, and acknowledged their contributions in the fulfillment of the promises he made during his first term as city mayor.”
“Ang mga pangako at plataporma ko noon, tinitiyak ko na lahat ng ito ay natupad at napapakinabangan ng mga Batang Kankaloo ngayon. Dahil na rin po sa kanilang pagtitiwala sa ating administrasyon, sa loob lamang ng isang termino ay naramdaman ng lahat ng taga-Caloocan ang Aksyon at Malasakit na ating ipinangako,” the mayor said in a statement on Sunday.
(I will guarantee that my promises and platforms will be fulfilled and benefit Batang Kankaloo today. Because in just one term, all the people of Caloocan felt the “Action and Care” that we promised.)
Aside from Malapitan, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV also announced his candidacy for Caloocan mayor in upcoming polls last September 14.
Full Story at: Caloocan’s Along Malapitan seeks reelection for 2025 polls (inquirer.net)
Marbil orders reopening of probe into ex-PCSO Board Sec. Barayuga’s murder | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has ordered the reopening of the murder investigation of retired general and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga following a new testimony related to the case.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil made the directive on Sunday after Police Lt. Col. Santi Mendoza testified during the House quad committee’s seventh hearing.
Mendoza told lawmakers that he was asked by National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo and former PCSO General Manager Royina Garma to carry out an operation against Barayuga.
“This revelation demands a thorough reinvestigation of the murder. No one is above the law, and we will seek justice for Ret. Gen. Wesley Barayuga and his family with the full resources of the PNP,” Marbil said in a statement.
Mendoza alleged that both officials orchestrated the murder, claiming that Garma reportedly provided intelligence information for the operation, which she said was “related to a high-value individual connected to illegal drug activities.”
Full Story at: Reopening of probe into ex-PCSO exec Barayuga’s murder ordered (inquirer.net)
