A lawmaker on Sunday called for an investigation to uncover and hold accountable the individuals dubbed as “Makabagong Makapili” responsible for recruiting and facilitating the admission of 36 Chinese into the Philippine Coast Guard’s Auxiliary Corps.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers’ call was prompted by Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan’s admission during a recent House hearing that previous PCG officers were involved in recruiting and admitting over 36 Chinese into the PCG auxiliary corps.
“In the time of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, we had our ‘Makapili.’ Now, it appears that we also have ‘Makabagong Makapili’ serving China’s interests in our country. It’s time to investigate and identify these alleged traitors to the nation,” Barbers emphasized.
The “Makabayang Katipunan ng mga Pilipino” (Patriotic Association of Filipinos), better known as the “Makapili,” was a group of Filipino traitors formed during World War II to collaborate and provide aid to the invading Imperial Japanese Army forces in the Philippines.
Barbers questioned the rationale behind recruiting Chinese nationals into the PCG auxiliary corps amidst ongoing territorial disputes with China in the West Philippine Sea.
“The Chinese nationals have been with the PCGA for more or less three years. Did the PCG conduct due diligence on these nationals. Obviously, there’s none. As Admiral Gavan has admitted, some 36 were axed because they failed to secure national security clearance. We also do not know if those Chinese nationals are officials from the China People’s Liberation Army, businessmen, or tourists out to justify their longer stay here in our country,” Barbers said.
Barbers said it could not be ascertained what ranks were given by the PCG to their 36 Chinese auxiliary corps members, but they could be Admiral (4 star general); Vice-Admiral (3-star general); Rear Admiral (two-star general); Commodore (one-star general); Captain (Full Col.); Commander (Lt. Col.); Lt. Commander (Major); Lt. Commander (Captain); and Lt. Senior Grade (Lt.). It could also not be determined what the Chinese nationals put up in exchange for their admission at the PCGA.
The solon from Mindanao said the presence, tasking, and other activities of the 36 Chinese PCG auxiliary corps members from the day they were recruited and admitted until they were axed should also be thoroughly investigated, as the acts committed may have adversely affected the country’s national security.
Barbers said he even obtained raw reports in the past that the Chinese PCG auxiliary members are being tagged along by some senior PCG officials whenever they conduct routine and official patrol missions in the West Philippine Sea.
“Over the course of three years within the PCG, it is conceivable that these individuals may have been privy to sensitive information and operations, potentially compromising our national security. This is a grave offense that demands legal accountability,” Barbers asserted.
PCG (Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas) is recognized as the “third armed uniformed service” attached to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), tasked primarily with enforcing laws within Philippine waters, conducting maritime security operations, safeguarding life and property at sea, and protecting marine environment and resources, similar to coast guard units around the world. The PCGA auxiliary corps is a voluntary uniformed organization with a military structure attached to the PCG.
During the House hearing on Wednesday, Gavan admitted that the 36 Chinese PCG recruits probably “did not went through the process in coordination with relevant intelligence and national security agencies of the government,” as all of them failed to get their “national security clearance,” which he required them to submit when he assumed his post in October 2023.
When pressed by Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez to provide more details about the Chinese recruited and admitted PCGA members, Gavan sought an executive session “to discuss more thoroughly the issue at hand in the next hearing due to the sensitivity of the matter.”
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila