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Tolentino urges public vigilance vs. submersible drones

Philippine News Agency

By Wilnard Bacelonia
April 16, 2025, 1:41 pm

MANILA - Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino on Wednesday urged the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious maritime activities, following the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) confirmation that recovered submersible drones pose a national security concern.

"Forensic results affirm the initial findings of our Senate probe that this is a national security concern," Tolentino said, referencing the drones examined by the AFP after being found in various coastal locations across the country in recent months, such as the one found in Masbate on December 30, 2024.

The senator, who led a Senate inquiry in January after a drone was retrieved by fishermen in San Pascual, Masbate, said the findings reinforce suspicions of foreign surveillance operations in Philippine waters.

"What is apparent is that China has been deploying these drones to study our seabed and map out our underwater terrain to gather critical data for scientific, commercial, or military use," he said.

Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, stressed the importance of defending the country's sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea through diplomatic and legal avenues while calling on citizens to support maritime security efforts.

"I also call for greater public vigilance. The government derives its strength from the unity of the people," he said but urged the public against tampering with or hiding recovered devices and urged citizens to surrender such equipment to local authorities. (PNA)