Rappler+ members learn the story behind a months-long investigation into Chinese spy ops

MANILA, Philippines – “This was the biggest secret I had to keep,” said Rappler reporter Bea Cupin, as she began her presentation during “Out of the Echo Chambers,” at a town hall with Rappler+ members and partners at the Rappler Civic Hub in Pasig City.

Cupin gave members an inside look into her three-part investigation on Chinese espionage operations involving Filipinos, sharing both the findings and the personal journey behind the reporting. 

“If you’re a defense reporter, you hear hints from sources ‘maybe there’s a spy’, but nothing concrete,” she said. “That changed when I met a Navy officer who had been recruited but said no. I call him Charles. He was the last person I mentioned in the report.”

Her talk unpacked the modus operandi of these operations, exposing lapses in operational security while raising broader concerns about systemic vulnerabilities. 

“If security agencies can be penetrated, what more civilian agencies and local governments?” Cupin noted, pointing to gaps in awareness and security protocol outside the military.

In a fireside conversation with Rappler executive editor Glenda M. Gloria, Cupin reflected on the impact of the investigation. 

“It made the threat more concrete,” she said. “For many in the military, it shifted from something abstract to something real, and urgent.”

Rappler+ members can watch the full town hall discussion here. If you want to become a Rappler+ member, here’s how.

Civic spaces build community and foster solutions

“Out of the Echo Chambers” is the first Rappler+ town hall, an event Rappler will be holding every quarter, exclusive to Rappler+ members.

The town halls are designed to strengthen community among members and Rappler staff, both online and offline. They’re also meant to give Rappler+ members an insider experience of Rappler’s journalism and civic engagement work, getting special access to information and behind-the-scenes stories.

Regular community updates will also be a feature of the town halls. 

During the March 27 town hall, Rappler head of community Pia Ranada introduced new Rappler+ member benefits such as the Live Jam Access Pass, exclusive access to business journalist Val Villanueva’s “Vantage Point” column, and more.

“We want Rappler+ to be a community, one where you build friendships united by a shared purpose,” Ranada said.

“Rappler+ is a space where we move beyond algorithms that dictate what we see and who we engage with. Through these encounters, we hope people find clarity, and each other, in uncertain times”.

Creativity in defense of truth

The event also featured Ernest Pascual and Alex Lopez, who presented Clickbait vs Clickbait, an ongoing media literacy campaign developed with BBDO Guerrero, in partnership with Rappler.

 “We’re trying to defend truth in a more creative way,” they said. “And we’re inviting more creatives to join us, to cut through the clutter and help solve real problems.”

The event concluded with Ripple Rooms, an interactive segment where members moved through different spaces or “pods” in the newsroom to hear about the latest initiatives from Rappler and The Nerve, a data forensics company born from Rappler’s investigative expertise.

Rappler+ members got to hear about The Nerve’s new products, BrandRap’s creative campaigns for brands, RappLearn workshops about AI, and civic empowerment roadshows by Rappler’s civic engagement arm MovePH.

Does this sound exciting to you? Consider being a Rappler+ member. It’s a unique way to experience the best of Rappler, and support our newsroom’s independent journalism at the same time.

You can be a Rappler+ member for P292 a month. More packages are laid out here. – Rappler.com