China ties? Probe eyed on pro-VP netizens
House lawmakers are eyeing an inquiry into the possible links between pro-China propaganda networks and online supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said on Monday.
Ridon said his colleagues in the lower chamber have observed an “intersectionality” between “propagandists” peddling Chinese talking points online and networks “defending” the Duterte political family.
“We noticed those defending Duterte in the country are also defending China,” he told reporters. “It’s noticeable that, one day, the Dutertes are being defended, but immediately afterwards, the next day, China is being defended.”
“Moving forward, members of Congress thought of having a House resolution to investigate the intersectionality of China’s propagandists in the country and the Duterte family’s supporters.”
Same funders?
The move could open another political front for the embattled family, whose patriarch, former President Rodrigo Duterte, cultivated closer ties with Beijing during his 2016-2022 term.
Ridon said the investigation could determine if shared funding or a single entity is driving the digital campaign that would account for the messaging behind pro-Duterte and pro-China networks.
“That is precisely what we need to determine because the ultimate question here is: Are we talking about the same funders? Are we talking about the same ideologies?” he said.
Lawmakers earlier disclosed plans to investigate the P319.32-million alleged Chinese remittances to Cale88 Foods Corp., a local company linked to the Vice President’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
Carpio was previously identified as incorporator, stockholder and board member of Cale88, a Davao-based manufacturer of banana chips. Company records showed that Carpio held a 40-percent to 47.5-percent stake between 2021 and 2024 before divesting in 2025.
Set up in September 2021, Cale88 had a paid-up capital of P125,000 while Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records showed P319.32 million in inward remittances from mainland China and Hong Kong.
AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura said the remittances went to Cale88, not directly to either Duterte or Carpio. He added that it was not established that the funds came from the Chinese government.
‘Gentleman’s agreement’
In 2024, lawmakers investigated the “gentleman’s agreement” allegedly forged by the Duterte administration with China involving Ayungin Shoal, where the grounded World War-II era BRP Sierra Madre serves as a Philippine military outpost in the West Philippine Sea.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea based on a U-shaped, 1940s nine-dash line map that stretches into Southeast Asia and overlaps with the exclusive waters of the Philippines and regional neighbors like Vietnam and Malaysia.
The Philippines brought its maritime dispute with China before a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal in 2013. The tribunal ruled in 2016 that China’s sweeping maritime claims had no legal basis. China, however, has refused to recognize the ruling.
