By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of National Defense (DND) has welcomed the House of Representatives’ approval of the proposed New Espionage Act, calling the measure a long-overdue overhaul of laws that are no longer adequate to address modern security threats.
House Bill 9642 was approved on third and final reading Thursday night with 247 votes in favor and 10 against.
The DND said the measure would give the government stronger legal tools to confront emerging and asymmetric threats, protect classified information and secure critical infrastructure.
“For decades, our legal framework has been dangerously ill-equipped to handle modern, asymmetric security threats,” the agency said in a statement.
The proposed law would also penalize the unauthorized handling or disclosure of classified information when such acts could cause harm to the country.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, expressed support for Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s call to develop an “expeditionary navy” capable of operating farther from Philippine shores.
AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, retired Navy reservist Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the initiative reflects the country’s geographic and strategic realities.
“As an archipelagic nation that relies on the seas as our lifeblood, the shift toward a blue-water, expeditionary capability is a natural and necessary evolution of our national defense posture,” Trinidad said.
He said the proposed naval shift is consistent with the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, which calls for the projection of capabilities to protect Philippine territory, defend sovereignty, secure sovereign rights across maritime borders and safeguard sea lanes of communication.
ia/xf
