MANILA Congressman Rolan ‘CRV’ Valeriano (2nd district) is urging the national defense and security community, particularly the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), to help him and the authors of the espionage bills in the House and Senate to convince the chairpersons of the committees, the Speaker of the House and the Senate President of the urgent need for a new espionage law attuned to the present times.
Speaking before the NDCP, Valeriano said the espionage measure may or may not be added to the legislative priorities but it can still become law even if not certified as urgent or not included as the 45th priority bill:“What is crucial at this point is to convince Congressman Emigdio Tanjuatco III and Senator Loren Legarda to schedule the espionage bills for committee hearings soon and for consolidation by technical working groups. “ Congressman Tanjuatco is the chairperson of the House Revision of Laws committee while Senator Legarda is chairperson of the Senate National Defense and Security committee.
The soonest possible time the espionage bills could be tabled for hearings is in January next year because the 2026 national budget is the top priority until December, Valeriano stated, adding that the structure, organization, and language of the Revised Penal Code is inherited from the old Codigo Penal from the Spanish colonial times–clearly no longer appropriate for the 21st Century.
The NDCP, according to Valeriano, can participate in the public hearings in both chambers of Congress by presenting its analysis of the 15 bills, including comparative assessments of their provisions, via a brief summary oral presentation and the more detailed technical analysis.
“I must also point out in this forum that the availability of funds and the size of the defense industry can influence the success of the espionage bill’s passage. The local defense industry is not as large as the other more established economic sectors. We have a few builders of small boats, but we do not have a shipbuilding industry with sufficient economies of scale. Local manufacture of defense and law enforcement material has much room for improvement,” he said in his speech.
Valeriano, who is chairman of the House Public Order and Safety committee, said he has keen interest in the passage of a new espionage law because the committee has oversight over the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Immigration and other law enforcement agencies, adding that when the espionage bill reaches plenary debates and approval on second and third reading, he will be among its supportive sponsors.
The lawmaker also said he is particularly concerned about espionage matters because of recent arrests made involving suspected spies using the new technological methods and because of suspicious activities that have happened in Manila, involving the old ways of networking and influence-peddling that could provide cover for espionage operations.
The lawmaker noted that there has been concern that some POGO-like operations and scam hubs could be using their information technology tools for surveillance and signals intelligence and that spies could also be moving in and out of the country through the networks and routes run by human trafficking drug syndicates.
In addition, he said there are also concerns that sites hosting EDCA facilities may be at risk of surveillance my foreign agents and their community-based collaborators and information technology facilities and other strategic infrastructure are also vulnerable to espionage operations using both modern and old ways of tradecraft.
Valeriano noted that Congress has been trying to amend our law on espionage since 2007 in the 14th Congress or for 18 years in total and six Congresses ago.
Adding to the difficulty now in the 20th Congress for the espionage bills is the fact that enactment of a law on espionage is not among the 44 legislative priorities compiled last September by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council or LEDAC where the legislative agenda is put together.
“However, the LEDAC agenda is not set in stone nor steel. The 44 priority items are those with highest urgency. But in Congress, there are many bills that become laws that are not on the priority list. There is still some significant hope, a bright silver lining shining through the clouds,” he stated during his speech at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP).
There are 15 bills seeking to enact a new law on espionage. Nine of them are in the House of Representatives while six are in the Senate. All 15 bills are pending at the committee level. In the House, 9 bills are in the Revision of Laws committee, while the 6 Senate bills are in the National Defense committee.
