The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday denied that the 36 Chinese nationals who were part of their auxiliary forces were spies.

In a “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” briefing, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said: “We do not have concrete proof to accuse them of being Chinese spies. I said before, we vetted them when they applied and they have been helping the Coast Guard in the aspect of humanitarian assistance donation.”

Balilo said the National Security Council (NSC) had directed them to remove the Chinese nationals due to the West Philippine Sea issue.

He assured the public that they are no longer participating in the PCG’s operations and they do not have access to the agency’s most sensitive data.

PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan told a House hearing have delisted 36 Chinese nationals whom they accepted into the auxiliary forces because they did not have security clearances.

Balilo also denied their involvement in the hacking of government websites and social media accounts.

“No, these are ordinary businessmen. When they applied in 2015, there weren’t many issues on the West Philippine Sea. That’s why they had clearances and we saw how they functioned,” Balilo said.

“If the other sectors see something (suspicious), we respect that, which is why Admiral Gavan decided to remove them from the Coast Guard auxiliary,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS