Palace: Look deeper into China ‘meddling’ in polls
Malacañang has ordered a “deeper investigation” of reports that China was allegedly meddling in next month’s midterm elections, Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Friday, following disclosures made a day earlier by the Senate majority leader and a National Security Council (NSC) official during a hearing.
“This is really alarming,” said Castro, an undersecretary at the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), adding that President Marcos was already aware of the NSC’s report that Chinese state-backed actors were interfering with the country’s politics.
She said that Palace officials, whom she did not identify, would be meeting with NSC officials.
“We were told that there will be an investigation first for us to learn the details and the extent of the situation,” Castro said.
Several lawmakers also denounced China for allegedly interfering in the country’s internal affairs and demanded that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summon the Chinese ambassador.
During a hearing called by the Senate committee on maritime and admiralty zones on Thursday, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said there were “indications that information operations are being conducted that are Chinese state-sponsored in the Philippines and are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.”
Social media narratives
Malaya cited social media narratives from Beijing that were being “amplified” by individuals or China’s “local proxies” in the Philippines. There are also indicators of ongoing operations by China to support certain candidates, he added.
Committee chair reelectionist Sen. Francis Tolentino, the majority leader, disclosed a 2023 service agreement between the Chinese Embassy in Manila and InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, a Makati City-based company, to allegedly create a “troll farm” of “keyboard warriors” to discredit the government and certain personalities.
Tolentino, however, declined to give copies of the agreement to reporters, which included an annex which would supposedly show how the contract would be implemented.
In a statement to the Inquirer, InfinitUs said it would not issue a statement as it was still looking into Tolentino’s allegations.
The Chinese Embassy said it was committed to introducing the “real China” to Filipinos to deepen bilateral understanding and condemned Tolentino’s “heinous accusation” against China.
“We noticed the attempts of some politicians to play the so-called China card to serve their political self interests and boost their election prospects before the midterm election,” it said in a statement. “Such attempts are despicable and doomed to failure.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its part rejected Malaya’s allegations.
Beijing: No interest
“China follows the principle of noninterference in other countries’ domestic affairs,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in Beijing. “We have no interest in interfering in Philippine elections.”
Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, the campaign manager of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidates, said the NSC’s disclosure on possible foreign interference in the elections “are truly alarming and concerning.”
He said the right of Filipinos to freely choose their leaders “without manipulation, pressure, or foreign influence is nonnegotiable.”
At a press conference during a campaign stop in Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Alyansa bets warned that China wanted to control Congress through pro-Beijing candidates and urged Filipinos to choose leaders who will defend and uphold the country’s sovereignty.
“Obviously, China wants a Chinese-controlled Senate, Chinese-controlled House of Representatives. So it’s up to Filipino voters,” said ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, a leading senatorial candidate.
More than meets the eye
He said that China might be using the West Philippine Sea maritime dispute as a distraction in order to deflect attention away from its alleged espionage and surveillance activities.
Tolentino urged Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo to summon Ambassador Huang Xilian over “a clear transgression of our sovereignty.”
Ex-Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the extent of China’s interference might be deeper and more scary than most Filipinos realize.
He cited reports of Chinese nationals caught allegedly conducting surveillance around Malacañang, Camp Aguinaldo and other critical facilities.
“We are so vulnerable,” Lacson said, citing the hacking of the NSC, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica), Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Science and Technology.
“We don’t know, only God knows what other sensitive, top secret information they got,” he said.
Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros also urged Malacañang to summon China’s ambassador for allegedly deploying a “troll farm” against the Philippines.
“This is a serious national security concern that undermines the integrity not just of our national elections, but also of our democracy,” she told the Inquirer.
Hontiveros said the Senate should work on passing the proposed Foreign Interference Act. The May polls “will not be the last elections that China, or any other state, could meddle with,” she said.
“Any Filipino also found to be colluding with foreign powers must be held accountable,” she said, referring to Tolentino’s statements about the contract between the Chinese Embassy and InfinitUs.
Both Sen. Joel Villanueva and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said that Beijing’s alleged election interference was an “affront” to Philippine democracy.
“We must safeguard the integrity of our elections and protect our country at all cost,” Villanueva said in a Viber message.
Remember Guo?
Estrada, chair of the Senate committee on national defense, warned voters about candidates like Alice Guo, the dismissed mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac province, who was believed to be a Chinese spy named Guo Hua Ping.
He said the NSC and other state security units should look closely into Tolentino’s exposé and file the necessary cases against those involved in the fake news campaign that China had allegedly bankrolled.
“We will not tolerate any foreign interference in our internal affairs. We demand respect for our sovereignty and the right of every Filipino to freely choose their leaders— free from any intimidation, manipulation or coercion,” the senator said.
Members of the House of Representatives also called for an investigation of Tolentino’s and the NSC’s disclosures and to consider possible charges of treason against InfinitUs and its company officers.
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the National Bureau of Investigation should file treason charges and other violations of the Revised Penal Code and the National Security Act.
The former law dean said Chinese Embassy officers who contracted InfinitUs should also be charged as “principals by direct participation” and sanctioned by the DFA.
An internet search showed that a certain Paul Li, InfinitUs managing partner, and Myka Basco-Poynton are cofounders of the company. Nestor Arciaga is its marketing officer and social media manager.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun supported sanctions against the company.
“Filipino businessmen and entities making money in our country should not be enablers of Chinese false narratives,” Khonghun said.
House Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre suggested seeking the help of diplomats from other countries to prevent, if not stop, the alleged Chinese interference in the May 12 balloting.
“If China can do this to us, I think it would be an understatement that they can also do this to others,” said Acidre, chair of the House committee on overseas workers’ affairs. —WITH REPORTS FROM MARLON RAMOS, KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING AND JACOB LAZARO
