‘Isang bala ka lang’

Just a few days ago (Sept. 13, 2024, Friday), self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” and “Owner of the Universe” Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Pastor Apollo Quiboloy was finally brought to court. He was finally arrested just last Sunday (Sept. 8). Similarly, a few days before, on Sept. 4 (Wednesday), suspended Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo was arrested by Indonesian law enforcement and brought back to the Philippines to answer to the Philippine Senate for POGO-linked crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering, violence against women and children and torture.

Cynics say that the arrests of Alice Guo and Pastor Quiboloy, and its grabbing international news media headlines, amount to nothing but infamy for our country. However, I see this as an opportunity to prove ourselves and overcome challenges.

It’s a new opportunity for us to demonstrate that crime does not pay in the Philippines. No matter how seemingly powerful the personality, if there exists strong evidence of their crimes and other wrongdoings – and especially if it harms our children, our economy and our national security – then the Philippines can and will bring criminals to justice. Alice Guo and her associates are international in scope with Chinese financiers and “big bosses” having fled abroad, and linked to personalities involved with the notorious Pharmally.

On the other hand, the arrests present to us a challenge to vastly augment the abilities of our intelligence agencies. We must realize that these abhorrent criminal incidents involving transnational organized crime have highlighted the highly influential role of understated elements of our national security apparatus – intelligence networks, surveillance operations and its necessary interconnectedness with the international community. It includes the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).

The arrests of Alice Guo and Pastor Quiboloy would not have succeeded without intelligence agencies. The Philippines’ National Security Policy 2023-2028 recognizes the foundational role of intelligence operations. It states “any effort to formulate a National Security Policy should therefore start with an awareness and assessment of the factors and circumstances that can influence or shape the nation’s security outlook in the foreseeable future.”

The Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing alliance among Australia, Canada, New Zealand the United Kingdom and the US, raised the issue of commercial, industrial and conventional espionage by asserting that the “Chinese government is engaged in the most sustained, scaled and sophisticated theft of intellectual property and expertise in human history;” that China state-sponsored hackers have been spying on US critical infrastructure and China has been doing all of it alongside conventional espionage around the world.

We are more than familiar with Chinese infringement, interference and infiltration. Strengthening our intelligence apparatus is thus our responsibility to meet the requirements of our vision of national security.

As Senator Grace Poe, principal sponsor of Republic Act No. 11934 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, remarked, “nagkandahirap tayo ipasa ang text scam law na finally napasa na[,] pero nagugulat tayo dahil tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang mga pagti-text ng mga scam sa atin. ‘Yun pala, siguro merong correlation between those scammers and those [POGOs] that were raided just recently[.]” True enough, police raids on POGO revealed droves of cyber-criminals and potential cyber espionage elements being conducted against us inside our own territory.

As a total ban on POGOs is close, despite deportations and other cases in court, it’s inevitable that the most stubborn POGOs would operate underground. Ensuring a just and complete conclusion to this crime-ridden sequence in our modern history requires sufficient support to our intelligence agencies.

Since we now work in the committee on finance in the Senate, let’s put things in perspective here from a fiscal standpoint. It was reported that Alice Guo was willing to pay approximately P1 billion in bribe money. The 2025 National Expenditure Plan provides the following approximate amounts for specific agencies: P3.5 billion to the NBI; P2.24 to NICA and P896 million to the National Security Council (NSC). In other words, one suspected foreign agent is alleged to be capable of paying an amount so exorbitant that it can cover the entire budget of the NSC, a third of the NBI’s or close to half of the NICA budget. It exposes how currently lopsided the fight is in favor of extremely wealthy criminals and how our intelligence agencies are actually severely underfunded. July this year, just before the President announced the shutdown of POGO operations in the Philippines, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) reported that there were 42 licensed POGO operators remaining. Even with just 42 remaining, their combined financial capacity would most likely outspend our entire intelligence network.

However, it’s not all bad news. Alice Guo’s arrest was the product of international, inter-agency coordination. The Philippines and Indonesia can use this recent intelligence victory as a rallying cry in gathering momentum to revitalize “Our Eyes Initiative,” which was envisioned as the ASEAN counterpart of the Five Eyes. As our Alice Guo example has illustrated, two ASEAN members collaborating against crime can lead to a mission accomplished. Furthermore, all agencies are currently eyeing financing for cyber security and capacity building.

We need to use these recent events as an opportunity to reflect on what is needed to ensure the safety and well-being of all our countrymen. As it turns out, September, under Presidential Proclamation No. 713 dated Sept. 22, 2004, is the “Rule of Law Month.” The arrests of Quiboloy and Guo serve as a stern warning: “Wag mong sabihin malakas ka. Wag mong sabihin marami kang tauhan. At wag mo ring sabihin marami kang salapi. Pare-pareho lang tayo, isang bala ka lang!”