DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is bristling over the comparison being made by Beijing’s ambassador to Manila between overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the Chinese workers in offshore gaming operations that are coincidentally near sensitive Philippine security facilities.
Over the weekend, Lorenzana hit back at the statement of Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua that Filipinos working in China could also be accused of spying, a remark the envoy conveyed through Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo.
There could be no comparison between Filipinos in Beijing and Chinese who came into the Philippines as tourists, but ended up working for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or Pogo, he said.
“That’s the most preposterous statement I heard in a long while,” said Lorenzana.
“Pogo workers here are not comparable to OFWs in China. Pogo workers came over for a different purpose, e.g., likely just tourism, but eventually got visas to work in an activity at the Pogo centers operating gambling operations which is prohibited in China,” he added.
Earlier, Lorenzana expressed concern over the hosting of Pogo in hubs near military camps, especially in Metro Manila, saying they may have effects on security, given that some officials have already shared concerns that they could be used for spying, along with their workers.
Zhao responded through a message he sent to Panelo: “Ambassador Zhao sent me a text. He said what if we also think that your overseas workers are also spying on us. What can you say about that?”
However, Lorenzana said that “knowing that Chinese companies are mandated by the Chinese government to assist in intel collection for their government, it is not far-fetched that individuals, likewise, could be compelled to do so.”
He said Filipinos go to China for specific work. “They are more like Chinese nationals working in construction projects here in the Philippines, as mutually agreed upon by both countries.” He noted that “there are no Pogo-like centers in China that can be operated purely by Filipinos near Chinese military camps.”
The defense chief also said “Filipinos are widely dispersed in China, working in homes and schools that are far away from military camps.
The Pogo Centers here, meanwhile, are very near military camps and naval bases. It could be just coincidental because these were the only facilities offered for Pogo Operations and I believe that the Pogo workers are here just for work only. What I am alarmed is the potential that they could be tapped for info gathering purposes.”
“That is why I support the relocation of the Pogo centers to eco zones that are not proximate to military camps,” he said. Lacson to Panelo: Who pays your salary?
Panelo’s move to readily share the Chinese ambassador’s text, meanwhile, drew criticism from Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who wondered aloud if Panelo was working as spokesman of the Chinese Embassy.
“Has the presidential spokesman switched from Chinese Embassy defense counsel to spokesman?” asked the senator.
“What I was pointing out in my tweet is not on the issue of whether or not there is logic in the Chinese ambassador’s statement.
“The thing is, the Chinese Embassy has its own spokesman who should speak on their behalf because that’s his job. Why would the country’s presidential spokesperson whose salary and other miscellaneous expenses are being paid out of our taxes take on the embassy spokesman’s job?” Lacson demanded to know.
With Butch Fernandez