MANILA (Reuters) – A Philippine city that accepted donations of money and policing equipment from groups connected to Chinese nationals subsequently accused of espionage had received them in good faith and without strings attached, its mayor said on Tuesday.
Reuters reported last week that four Chinese nationals arrested by Philippine authorities in January had led civic groups overseen by the Chinese Communist Party’s foreign influence network.
“These contributions were accepted in good faith by the recipients thereof with the sincere intention of enhancing public service and no conditions or obligations were attached to them,” Tarlac City Mayor Cristy Angeles said in a statement.
She said donations from the groups included 15 motorcycles, five each for the city police, the province’s police force, and the city government’s public order and safety office.
The city government had also received a donation of 100,000 pesos ($1,730), which the Department of Education spent on dental kits for school children, and another for 200,000 pesos in 2023 that has so far not been used, she said.
A July 2022 article published on the social media account of a CCP-led body engaged in “united front work” showed one of the accused Chinese spies handing a cheque worth 500,000 pesos to Angeles.
She said the government did not receive that amount from the group.
“These donations, given their insignificant amount, in no way influenced our decision-making process in governance nor led to any substantial collaboration thereafter,” Angeles said in the statement.
A senior Philippine government official said on Monday authorities will look into the cash and other gifts to determine whether or not they were given with ulterior motives.
The four are among at least eight suspected Chinese spies the Philippines has arrested in recent weeks. Relations between the two nations have soured in recent years over maritime disputes in the South China Sea where they have overlapping claims.
($1 = 57.79 Philippine pesos)
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair)
