The House Committees on Justice and on National Defense and Security have formed a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate several measures aimed at reinforcing the country’s defenses against foreign interference and espionage.
The TWG will be chaired by Nathan Oducado, representative of the 1Tahanan Party-list, who underscored the urgency of updating outdated legal frameworks.
“Our nation faces modern threats that are far more sophisticated than what our laws were designed to confront, and that is why this TWG must produce a unified legal front to defend our sovereignty,” Oducado said.
The group will merge House Bills 1068, 3219, 4214, 4887, 4890, and 7200 into a single substitute bill designed to strengthen protections against espionage and covert foreign influence.
“The Philippines will not tolerate foreign interference in any form,” Oducado stressed.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines earlier reported uncovering espionage activities targeting sensitive information about personnel stationed aboard the grounded warship BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal, as well as alleged attempts to access schedules of rotational resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea.
Oducado noted that existing espionage laws, dating back to the Commonwealth era, are insufficient to address contemporary threats such as cyber espionage, disinformation campaigns, and alleged foreign funding meant to destabilize institutions.
“Our current espionage laws were created as early as the Commonwealth era and are not enough to protect from contemporary threats such as cyber espionage, disinformation campaigns, and alleged foreign funding aimed at corrupting and destabilizing our institutions,” he added.
The proposed legislation seeks to equip security and law enforcement agencies with stronger legal tools to prevent, detect, and disrupt foreign interference in policy-making, elections, and other democratic processes.