‘Chinese government contracted Makati firm for troll farms’

MANILA, Philippines — A Senate probe yesterday uncovered China-sponsored troll farms hired to manipulate public opinion on social media, with a National Security Council (NSC) official suspecting that Beijing is engaged in information operations to interfere in the May elections.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino resumed a Senate special maritime committee investigation into alleged Chinese espionage activities through submersible drones and hacking activities.

During the hearing, Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the NSC, said “there are indications that information operations being done in the Philippines are Chinese state-sponsored and are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.”

There are “third party individuals and proxies” based in the Philippines that are used to “amplify” the “narratives coming out of Beijing,” Malaya said.

He refused to confirm to reporters who these “influencers” are, adding in a separate chance interview that there are “alarming” reports of candidates in the May elections being funded by China.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency deputy director general Francisco Ashley Acedillo said China’s information warfare aims to “influence public opinion and political discourse on social media.”

“We believe Chinese organs are amplifying a divisive political discourse in our country,” Acedillo said.

The Senate panel found that Beijing has deployed a troll army of Filipino influencers and “proxies” to manipulate public opinion during the election period.

Tolentino presented a contract entered into by the Chinese embassy in the Philippines with Infinitus Marketing Solutions for the use of “keyboard warriors” to put China in a good light amid the Philippine government’s defense of the West Philippine Sea from China Coast Guard’s incursions.

“China’s government through its embassy is paying Filipino troll farms to oppose and smear the administration,” Tolentino said.

“Friends treat friends. It is a mockery of the Chinese embassy’s talk of friendship. We cannot turn a blind eye on this,” he added.

The Chinese embassy in Manila has not yet responded to reporters’ questions for their side.

Objective

China is spying on all government agencies and vital facilities of the country to make the Philippines is own province, Tolentino said yesterday.

In an interview with the “Storycon” on One News, Tolentino said all the cases of espionage conducted by China interconnected with its serious effort to make the country its own province.

Tolentino said that China is now engaged in MIFI which stands for “Malign, Influence, Foreign Interference” in the country and conducting hacking operations against vital facilities and agencies of the government.

“All of these that they (China) are doing, including the hacking of the websites of the DICT (Department of Information and Communication Technology), the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) and all other big agencies of the government, this is proof that they are intervening directly to our national conversation,” he said.

“And their main purpose is not only to influence the discussion, but to directly attack the government and pursue their vision of making the Philippines a province of China,” he added.

Tolentino said all the screenshots that he presented before the Senate are strong pieces of evidence of China’s direct intervention in the sovereignty of the country.

The senator said the Infinitus PR firm, which he discovered as being hired and paid by the Chinese embassy with P930,000 to implement trolls and espionage, has a big office in Makati.

Tolentino said the Securities and Exchange Commission may cancel the registration of Infinitus.

He admitted that the Senate cannot summon the officials of the Chinese embassy to shed light on its hiring of Infinitus because of diplomatic immunity.

“Let us see their reaction, of the embassy here. Definitely, there will be a reaction. If it’s not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, it will be the Infinitus,” Tolentino said.

3 Filipinos accused of spying

The three Filipinos arrested in China for alleged spying are still under investigation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

“As far as I understand they’re still under investigation, but our officials there in China are closely watching and monitoring any developments,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters.

The DFA asked China to allow access of lawyers to the three Filipinos. The agency added that it is working with lawyers to help the detained Filipinos.

The arrest of the Filipinos came two days after the Chinese embassy in Manila issued a travel advisory warning its citizens about frequent “harassment” of Chinese nationals by Philippine law enforcement agencies.

China’s arrest of the three Filipinos was reported after Philippine police arrested six Chinese nationals and two accomplices for allegedly spying on US and Philippine Navy ship movements in Subic Bay. The Chinese suspects were posing as fishermen and tourists, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Attempts to hack precinct finder

Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said it is closely monitoring the Precinct Finder, as there have been attempts to hack the system, but failed.

“As of yesterday, there’s a few thousand that want to hack the system,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia disclosed. The poll chief has likewise assured the public that there will be no cheating in the elections.

Garcia also confirmed receiving reports from the intelligence community on possible foreign intervention in the upcoming elections.

“From the intelligence community, intelligence agencies of the government have monitored possible foreign intervention especially on the elections. It has been about a month since it started,” Garcia added.

Garcia said there were also social media posts attacking the Comelec and the election process that garnered 700,000 views and 32,000 comments.

It appears that those postings came from foreign countries, and there were efforts to ensure to magnify the issue.

“There’s a big country and there should be a recipient in the Philippines. There’s a conduit here in the country. To make it seem that it came from Africa, South Asia, Middle East. In reality, they are here,” he noted.

Garcia expressed the belief that the true intention of those posting is not to attack the Comelec.

“It seems that it’s not for us. It looks like there’s a larger picture on these things,” he said, adding that trolls are being used and coming from just one source. However, Garcia said the Comelec has not observed any attempts to influence the elections.

PNP intensifies crackdown on fake news

The Philippine National Police has intensified its campaign against peddlers of false information on social media platforms, particularly what it said is fake news about the supposed kidnapping of high-profile Chinese business personalities.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil announced yesterday the formation of the joint anti-fake news action committee (JAFNAC) led by deputy chief for operations Lt. Gen. Robert Rodriguez.

In coordination with the Anti-Cybercrime Group, the JAFNAC is conducting a thorough probe to identify and hold accountable the people responsible for the spread of malicious information.

Marbil said the fake news has sparked fear and confusion in the public.

“The PNP will exhaust all legal and operational means to find those responsible and ensure they are held accountable. There is no room for disinformation in this country,” he said in a statement.– Emmanuel Tupas, Mayen Jaymalin, Jose Rodel Clapano, Pia Lee-Brago