Former Wescom chief Vice Admiral Carlos says he wasn’t informed phone conversation with Chinese attaché was recorded;
Lower House conducts hearing on supposed influx of Chinese students
Lower House conducts hearing on supposed influx of Chinese students
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00:00 Unauthorized audio recordings are considered criminal acts under Philippine laws.
00:05 However, due to the complexity of the situation from which it was obtained
00:10 and possibly the status of the personality who is allegedly responsible for it,
00:15 Philippine authorities could not simply enforce the law on the supposed culprit.
00:20 Why? Denise Osorio explains in this report.
00:23 Mr. Chairman, he apologized to you.
00:28 In the message? Yes, Mr. Chair.
00:30 He apologized to you?
00:31 Yes, Mr. Chair.
00:33 But you did not reply?
00:34 I did not reply.
00:35 So he is guilty for sending him out?
00:37 Probably.
00:39 You can put it that way. Safe to say?
00:41 That is a reasonable assumption, Mr. Chair.
00:46 Former Western Command Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos on Wednesday stated during the Senate
00:51 hearing of not being informed by the Chinese military attaché of their phone conversation
00:56 being recorded. Carlos stressed on the conversation being about the resupply mission in Ayunan,
01:01 Seoul.
01:02 I received the phone call, sir. I did not initiate the call. We did not discuss
01:07 the new model. We did not discuss the term common understanding,
01:14 new model. We're not part of our conversation. We were exploring ways, sir, to reduce the tension.
01:24 I've been coming from the December 2023, where our supply ships were water cannon,
01:32 and we were planning for the next.
01:35 Carlos highlighted having no knowledge of their conversation being recorded.
01:40 So I have not given my consent to record to anybody,
01:44 and I have not been asked for permission to do so, Mr. Chair.
01:48 Senator Francis Tolentino questioned the Department of Foreign Affairs on wiretapping
01:52 being a criminal offense, pointing out the DFA's inaction and how it did not even bother
01:58 to file a diplomatic protest against China on this serious breach of the country's laws.
02:04 The ambassador was not called. The DFA did not file a diplomatic protest.
02:10 The DFA is waiting for someone to file a case. The DFA has the power to declare a person a
02:20 non-grata. I also do not know what we are waiting for here.
02:24 But DFA Assistant Secretary Aileen Mandiola Rau responded.
02:28 They could argue, sir, that he was just exercising his function as part of his mandate as a member
02:38 of the mission. What I saw was a transcript that was posted not on an official website,
02:46 and it was alleged it claims to be. So the source itself was not official,
02:53 but we found it in some Chinese social media, and some personalities were redacted from it.
03:03 So we could not determine who the other party was, and we could not even say categorically that
03:13 transcript was actually true. So you don't have to dig deeper into the
03:21 validity and the intrinsic substance of the conversation itself.
03:28 The mere fact, the mere act of having it taped is a violation of Philippine laws.
03:35 The armed forces of the Philippines confirmed that after being relieved of the AFP Western
03:39 Command, Carlos has been assigned to the office of the chief of staff at the general headquarters
03:44 in Camp Aguinaldo. Meanwhile, another hearing was held in the House of Representatives on the
03:48 sudden surge of Chinese students in Cagayan, where around 4,600 Chinese are reportedly enrolled in
03:55 two particular schools in the area. According to the Bureau of Immigration, an agreement was
03:59 signed by the Commission on Higher Education and the Chinese Ministry of Education last 2019,
04:04 which launched the Study in the Philippines, or Study PH program.
04:08 Denise Osorio, from the National Television Network, for a new Embargo Philippines.