Espionage and National Security Law

Core offense: obtaining defense information

Section 1(a) penalizes anyone who, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting national defense and with intent or reason to believe the information will be used to the injury of the Philippines or the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, goes upon, enters, flies over, or otherwise obtains information concerning specified defense-connected places.
The places covered include, among others, any vessel, aircraft, work of defense, navy yard, naval station, submarine base, coaling station, fort, battery, torpedo station, dockyard, canal, railroad, arsenal, camp, factory, mine, and telegraph/telephone/wireless/signal stations, as well as any building/office/other place connected with national defense and under Philippine or U.S. ownership, construction, control, or within their exclusive jurisdiction.
Section 1(a) also covers places where arms, munitions, or other materials or instruments for use in time of war are being made, prepared, repaired, or stored under contracts or agreements with the Philippines or the United States, or with any person on their behalf, or any prohibited place under Section 6.
Section 1(b) penalizes anyone who, for the same purpose and intent/reason to believe, copies, takes, makes, or obtains (or attempts), or induces or aids another to copy, take, make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, document, writing, or note of anything connected with national defense.
Section 1(c) penalizes anyone who receives or obtains (or agrees or attempts or induces or aids another to receive or obtain) from any person or source any listed defense-related document or information, knowing or having reason to believe that it has been or will be obtained, taken, made, or disposed of contrary to the Act.
Section 1(d) penalizes anyone who has possession/access/control or is entrusted with defense documents or information who willfully communicates/transmits (or attempts to) it to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains it and fails to deliver it on demand to the entitled officer or employee of the Philippines or the United States.
Section 1(e) penalizes anyone entrusted or lawfully possessing or controlling defense documents or information who, through gross negligence, permits removal from proper custody or delivery in violation of trust, or permits it to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed.

Penalty for unauthorized obtaining

Section 1(e) sets the penalty for gross-negligence custody violations: imprisonment for not more than ten years and a fine of not more than ten thousand pesos.
The Act prescribes imprisonment and/or fines for other Section 1 conduct only where expressly stated in that subsection; Section 1(e) is the only subsection in Section 1 that expressly states a specific penalty figure.

Core offense: disclosing defense information

Section 2(a) penalizes anyone who, with intent or reason to believe the information will be used to the injury of the Philippines or the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, communicates/delivers/transmits (or attempts, or aids/induces) to any foreign government or any faction/party/military or naval force within a foreign country (whether recognized or unrecognized), or to any representative/officer/agent/employee/subject/citizen of such foreign government or force, any defense-related documents, codes, signals, sketches, photographs, blueprints, plans, maps, models, instruments, appliances, or information.
Section 2(a) provides imprisonment for not more than twenty years if committed in time of peace.
Section 2(a) provides death or imprisonment for not more than thirty years if committed in time of war.
Section 2(b) imposes the death penalty or imprisonment for not more than thirty years on anyone in time of war, who with intent that the information be communicated to the enemy, collects/records/publishes/communicates (or attempts to elicit) information about movement, number, description, condition, or disposition of armed forces/ships/aircraft/war materials of the Philippines or the United States; or about plans or conduct (or supposed plans or conduct) of military/naval/air operations; or about fortification/defense works or measures; or any other information relating to public defense useful to the enemy.

Disloyalty and wartime falsehoods

Section 3 makes it unlawful in time of peace for any person, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines or the United States, to:
- advise, counsel, urge, or cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty; or
- distribute written or printed matter that advises counsels or urges such acts.
Section 3 imposes punishment for Section 3 violations of imprisonment for not more than ten years, or a fine of not more than ten thousand pesos, or both.
Section 4 penalizes wartime conduct when the Philippines or the United States is at war: whoever willfully makes or conveys false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with operation/success of the military, naval, or air forces or to promote the success of enemies; or willfully causes or attempts to cause insubordination/disloyalty/mutiny/refusal of duty; or willfully obstructs the recruiting or enlistment service of the Philippines or the United States to the injury of the service.
Section 4 provides the penalty for Section 4 offenses as imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or a fine of not more than twenty thousand pesos, or both.

Conspiracy and harboring violators

Section 5 applies when two or more persons conspire to violate Sections 1, 2, 3, or 4, and one or more conspirators does not act to effect the object.
Under Section 5, each party to the conspiracy is punished as if the object offense had been accomplished.
Section 6 penalizes anyone who harbors or conceals a person he knows, or has reasonable ground to believe or suspect, has committed or is about to commit an offense under the Act.
Section 6 provides punishment of imprisonment for not more than ten years and, in addition, a fine of not more than ten thousand pesos.

Prohibited places and regulated photographing

Section 7 empowers the President, in time of war or in case of national emergency, to designate by proclamation any place (other than those already set forth in Section 1(a)) where anything for use of the army, navy, or air forces is being prepared/constructed/stored as a prohibited place for purposes of the Act.
Section 7 requires that the President determine that information about such place would be prejudicial to national defense.
Section 8 authorizes the President to define vital military, naval, or air installations or equipment requiring protection against general dissemination of information.
Section 8 makes it unlawful to make any photograph/sketch/picture/drawing/map or graphical representation of such defined vital installations/equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer of the concerned post/camp/station or higher authority, and requiring prompt submission for censorship or other action deemed necessary.
Section 8 provides the penalty: imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than two thousand pesos, or both.
Section 9 holds that anyone who uses or permits or procures the use of an aircraft to make prohibited photographs/sketches/pictures/drawings/maps/graphical representations of vital installations/equipment in violation of Section 8 is liable to the penalty provided in Section 8.

Censored reproduction and wartime war-matters

Section 10 makes it unlawful, after the President defines a vital military, naval, or air installation or equipment under Section 8, to reproduce/publish/sell/give away any photograph/sketch/picture/drawing/map/graphical representation of the defined equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer or higher authority.
Section 10 provides an exception: reproduction/distribution is allowed without permission when the photograph/sketch/picture/drawing/map/graphical representation clearly indicates that it has been censored by the proper military, naval, or air authority.
Section 10 provides that violations are punished as in Section 8.
Section 11 penalizes in time of war anyone who, with intent to injure/interfere with/obstruct the Philippines or the United States or any associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war, or with reason to believe the act may injure/interfere/obstruct, willfully injures or destroys (or attempts to injure or destroy) any war material, war premises, or war utilities.
Section 11 provides punishment of imprisonment for not more than thirty years or a fine of not more than thirty thousand pesos, or both.
Section 12 penalizes in time of war anyone who, with the same intent or reason-to-believe standard, willfully makes or causes to be made (or attempts) any war material in a defective manner, or makes/causes defective manufacture of any tool/implement/machine/utensil/receptacle used or employed in making/producing/manufacturing/repairing such war material.
Section 12 provides punishment of imprisonment for not more than thirty years or a fine of not more than thirty thousand pesos, or both.
Section 13 penalizes anyone who, with intent to injure/interfere with/obstruct the national defense of the Philippines or the United States, willfully injures or destroys (or attempts) any national defense material, national defense premises, or national defense utilities.
Section 13 provides punishment of imprisonment for not more than ten years or a fine of not more than ten thousand pesos, or both.
Section 14 penalizes anyone who, with the intent to injure/interfere with/obstruct the national defense of the Philippines or the United States, willfully makes or causes to be made (or attempts) any national defense material in a defective manner, or any tool/implement/machine/utensil/receptacle used or employed in making/producing/manufacturing/repairing such national defense material.
Section 14 provides punishment of imprisonment for not more than ten years or a fine of not more than ten thousand pesos, or both.

Definitions governing national defense terms

Section 15 defines “aircraft” as any contrivance known or hereafter invented, used, or designed for navigation or flight in the air.
Section 15 defines “post, camp, or station” to include naval vessels, military and naval aircraft, and any separate military, naval or air command.
Section 15 defines “war or national defense material” to include arms, armament, ammunition, livestock, clothing stores, food/foodstuffs, or fuel, and also includes supplies, munitions, and all other articles of whatever description and any part or ingredient intended for/adapted/suitable for use by the Philippines or the United States, or any associate nation, in connection with the conduct of war or national defense.
Section 15 defines “war or national defense premises” to include all buildings, grounds, mines, or other places where war/national defense material is produced, manufactured, repaired, stored, mined, extracted, distributed, loaded, unloaded, or transported, and all ports, arsenals, navy yards, prisons, camps, or other military/naval/air stations of the Philippines or the United States or any associate nation.
Section 15 defines “war or national defense utilities” to include railroads/railways, electric lines, roads and fixtures, canals/locks/dams/wharves/pier/dock/bridges/buildings/structures/engines/machines/mechanical contrivances/cars/vehicles/boats/aircraft or any transportation means where war/national defense material or troops are transported within the Philippines or the United States or on the high seas, and also includes dams/reservoirs/aqueducts/water and gas mains/oil or gasoline stations/pipes/structures/buildings and electric light and power/steam or pneumatic power/telephone/telegraph plants/poles/wires/fixtures and wireless stations and their maintenance/operation buildings supplying water/light/heat/gas/oil/gasoline/fluid/power or communication facilities to war/national defense premises or forces.
Section 15 defines “associate nation” to mean any nation at war with any nation with which the Philippines or the United States is at war.
Section 15 defines “foreign government” to include any government, faction, or insurgent body within a country with which the Philippines or the United States is at peace, whether or not recognized as a government by the Philippines or the United States.