PNP to look into spying allegations on Huawei

Director General Oscar Albayalde, Philippine National Police chief | Inquirer.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will look into allegations that technology giant Huawei is engaged in espionage for the Chinese government, PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde said on Monday.

“We will look into that. The director of DIDM (Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management) is here. He will look into that allegations,” Albayalde said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday.

During his visit to the country last March, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the world should have its “eyes wide open” to the risks of dealing with Huawei in telecommunication infrastructure.

READ: Pompeo: World should be aware of ‘risks’ of Huawei technology

But Albayalde said that the PNP is not affected by controversies hounding Huawei, as he said that the organization does not have any contract with the tech giant.

The company, however, was reportedly the biggest sponsor in the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group’s 6th National Anti-Cybercrime Summit held on March 26 to 28.

Albayalde also assured that the PNP deals with technology companies fairly in its projects and programs.

“Maayos lahat ito. Hindi dahil Huawei siya, pinaboran namin. We followed the bidding law dito at kung sila talaga ang nanalo then sila ang nanalo. Of course if they meet the specifications also,” he said.

(This was made without irregularity. We did not favor the company just because it’s Huawei. We followed the bidding law here and they won because they did win the bidding. Of course if they meet the specifications also.)

 

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