Teodoro orders DND to stop outsourcing staff due to espionage risk

DND.GOV.PH / Reuters

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has ordered the Department of National Defense (DND) to stop outsourcing its staff to minimize the risk of espionage.

“There is a full security review ongoing,” Teodoro said in a speech he gave on Tuesday during the forum by Manila Overseas Press Club in a Makati hotel.

“We have to tailor even the most basic services to conform to operational security,” he said.

“Even our janitorial services, I have given my instruction to stop outsourcing these things already because you are getting them from manpower agencies: they are not properly motivated, they are part of your secure environment, and yet they are a possible target for espionage and other things.”

Aside from this, the department had made several moves to protect itself and the military against security threats even in the cyber realm.

In October last year, Teodoro ordered DND employees to avoid using artificial intelligence-powered apps that create enhanced portraits, saying this might lead to identity theft.

This month, Teodoro also ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines to reactivate its counterintelligence group to protect the military against espionage, sabotage, and other intelligence activities of foreign agents.