Navy spox: How entry-level DND, AFP personnel became targets for foreign espionage

MANILA, Philippines — Entry-level employees of the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been targets for foreign espionage recruitment, Philippine Navy Spokesperson Roy Trinidad said. 

In an interview with ANC on Monday, March 16, Trinidad said that holding bottom-tier "plantilla" positions is being leveraged by foreign handlers to gain insights into Philippine maritime operations.

According to Trinidad, the recruitment of these personnel is rarely accidental; it begins with detailed profiling to identify an individual's specific weaknesses, one of which is low financial compensation. 

"So ang weakness is it money, ideology, compromise, ego, iba-iba ano diyan yung weakness ng tao," Trinidad said. 

(So the weakness is—be it money, ideology, compromise, or ego—people's weaknesses vary.)

"So most likely kung nasa baba ka, the reward will be compensation, financial compensation," he added. 

(So, most likely, if you are at the entry level, the reward will be compensation—financial compensation.)

While entry-level staff do not have access to "secret" or "top secret" documents that could cause strategic damage to national security, Trinidad said that their positions allow them to view classified and confidential information.

According to Trinidad, this data often pertains to "operational matters" rather than high-level strategy, yet it remains highly valuable to adversaries.

One such instance, the Navy spokesman recalled, was when the "spies" were asked by their handlers about the list of personnel deployed to West Philippine Sea features, including those stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre.

When asked how much the "spies" were paid, Trinidad said it depends on the information that they relayed to their handlers.

"The compensation would usually range from four digits to six digits in Philippine pesos, depending on the nature of the report, depending on the accuracy of the report," Trinidad said. 

In 2025, authorities apprehended several individuals for alleged espionage.

This is amid China's actions in the West Philippine Sea WPS involving territorial claims overlapping the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, leading to frequent confrontations. 

The 2016 UNCLOS arbitral ruling invalidated China's "nine-dash line" claims, affirming Philippine sovereign rights, which Beijing rejects.