Palace to probe donations from alleged China spies

Malacañang wants an investigation on cash and vehicle donations made by suspected Chinese spies to police and local government units (LGUs), in order to rule out bribery.

- ALEXIS ROMERO

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said there is nothing wrong with accepting donations as long as these are done in good faith or the donations are not meant to solicit favors.

She cited the donations given by China to Davao City during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will study that. We have to determine if they are donations in good faith," Castro said at a press yesterday.

"If they were given for other reasons, we need to investigate the officials who received them so it will not be repeated, if ever they were given, or if they are not aware that they were used," she added.

News service Reuters recently reported that four Chinese nationals accused of espionage had led Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups that donated cash to the Tarlac City government and vehicles to two police units.

The suspected spies were among the five Chinese men detained by Philippine authorities in January for gathering images and maps of Philippine Navy troops near the South China Sea, according to the report.

The donations, namely a P500,000 check to the Tarlac local government, 10 motorbikes to the Manila city police and 10 patrol vehicles to the Tarlac police and city government, were turned over during separate events.