Alleged spy arrested, married to Filipina — Immigration

MANILA, Philippines — The alleged Chinese spy who was apprehended by the authorities on January 17 is married to a Filipina and had been traveling to the Philippines multiple times, the Bureau of Immigration said. 

In a statement on Wednesday, January 22, the bureau said that Deng Yuanqing, 39, who was arrested for being an alleged Chinese "sleeper agent," had been traveling in and out of the country since 2015.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said the bureau will initiate deportation proceedings against Deng.

However, Viado said the bureau will not implement the deportation proceedings until “all local accountabilities and penalties have been resolved and served.”

“We will ensure that we will identify any foreign cohorts that might be in the country assisting him,” Viado said. 

Deng and two of his Filipino cohorts were arrested on January 17 outside a condominium unit in Makati City.

The National Bureau of Investigation said that they had been scanning “critical infrastructure” that could threaten national security.

The trio was using a vehicle equipped with advanced technology such as a global navigation satellite system and other scanning devices capable of creating 3D maps of buildings without physical entry.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Romero Brawner Jr. explained that the sites targeted by Deng included military camps and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites, which could potentially be used for “military targeting."

He said the scanners can precisely indicate the coordinates and the topography of the sites that can be used for targeting. 

“There are many other different camps. Not just camps. Even airports, seaports, and fuel depots,” Brawner said in an ambush interview on January 20. 

The bureau filed charges under the Espionage Law in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act against Deng and the two cohorts.