The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) assured the public on Wednesday that no data from the agency was compromised, despite the arrest of a Chinese national near the poll body's office in Manila who is suspected of engaging in espionage activities.
In an ambush interview at Camp Crame, COMELEC Chairman George Garcia clarified that the poll body does not store election data at its main office.
While acknowledging that the device used by the Chinese national could potentially scan nearby cellular numbers, the official expressed confidence that their system cannot be easily hacked.
However, COMELEC Chairman George Garcia emphasized that it is still important to investigate how long the suspect had been loitering near the agency’s premises—an issue now being looked into by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
"Natutuwa naman tayo dahil nasawata agad sila, pero ang tanong gaano na ba sila katagal na paikot-ikot doon sa aming area na ‘yan," said Garcia.
"Tiningnan po namin ‘yung mga systems namin. ‘Yung mga list of voters natin, etc. na mayroon sa COMELEC, maayos naman po, wala po tayong nakita na any disturbance," he added.
On Tuesday, operatives from the NBI arrested a Chinese national near the COMELEC office after allegedly discovering spy equipment in his possession.
When authorities opened the back of the vehicle, they found a device known as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catcher — equipment considered a threat to national security.
According to NBI Deputy Director Atty. Ferdinand Lavin, the device is capable of capturing data from active mobile devices within a range of 500 meters to 3 kilometers.
