By HENRY EMPEÑO | February 15, 2026

IBA, Zambales — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said the Mongolian student-pilot arrested here on Thursday, February 12, for various violations of immigration laws also posed a serious threat to national security, public safety, and national interest due to his military background and surveillance activities.

A report forwarded by the arresting team to BI Chief of Intelligence Fortunato S. Manahan Jr. indicated that Bold-Erdene Boldbaatar, a student at the All-Asia Aviation Academy in this town, captured aerial photographs of the Iba airport and the nearby Palauig river during solo training flights.

This indicated “possible exploitation of aviation training for unauthorized reconnaissance purposes,” the BI report said, and raised suspicion that his aviation training in the Philippines is allegedly financed by the Chinese government.

Boldbaatar, a 30-year old Mongolian national, was arrested at Villamin Apartments in Brgy. Lipay Dingin, Iba, Zambales by a composite team of law enforcement agencies led by the BI Intelligence Division, for engaging in activities inconsistent with the purpose of his visa and Special Study Permit (SSP).

The suspect had entered the Philippines and enrolled at the Iba pilot school under an SSP, thereby “acquiring dual-use aviation skills potentially applicable to surveillance or military operations,” the BI reported.

The BI also said Boldbaatar was found to have graduated from the Defense University of Mongolia and the Civil Aviation University of China (formerly Northeast China Democratic United Army Aviation School), had obtained a license as jet fighter pilot from the People’s Liberation Army’s Air Force Aviation University, and had served as a soldier with fighter aircraft experience.

However, the suspect has failed to disclose his military affiliation and aviation combat training in his visa and SSP application, the BI said.

The suspect’s training operations in Iba, which is about 120 nautical miles from the Scarborough Shoal, a maritime area in the center of a dispute between the Philippines and China, also “raises serious concern that (Boldbaatar’s) flight training activities may be exploited for surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence gathering,” the BI added.

At the time of his arrest, Boldbaatar “was found without valid immigration status,” the same report indicated.

It further concluded that Boldbaatar’s “concealment of military background, presence in a sensitive aviation training environment, and aerial reconnaissance activities represent a serious national security concern and a potential channel for foreign intelligence penetration into Philippine aviation and defense systems.”

Boldbaatar’s arrest further raised concerns over potential security threats from foreign nationals visiting Zambales, which hosts some strategic military facilities, including the Philippine Navy’s Naval Operations Base at Subic Bay, also former U.S. military base.

In March last year, authorities arrested six foreign nationals, including Chinese and Cambodian citizens, for monitoring Philippine and U.S. naval assets while posing as tourists in the Subic Bay Freeport. 