Manila, Feb. 2 -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said alleged foreign spies recently arrested by authorities have seemingly embedded themselves in society.

Investigation into the records of the alleged spies showed they have been in the Philippines for decades.

"Some have been here as early as 2002," BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said in a news release Sunday.

"They have been holding legal statuses and have lived in the country for a long time before they were found to be doing suspicious activities by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)."

Viado said some of those arrested had working visas linked to companies in San Juan and Manila, while others were married to Filipino nation...