Probe ordered on reported China meddling in polls

MANILA, Philippines — Alarmed by reports of China’s interference in the upcoming midterm elections, President Marcos has ordered authorities to conduct a deeper probe into the matter, Malacañang said yesterday.

A Senate probe on Thursday 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.

“Because this (Senate hearing) happened yesterday and there was an investigation, it has already reached the President, so there really needs to be an immediate, more in-depth investigation,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a Palace briefing.

“This is really alarming and we will intensify, at the behest of our administration, a thorough investigation so that we can find out the truth about this,” Castro said.

Marcos flew to Vatican City on Thursday night to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. He is expected to be back in the country on April 28.

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

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.”

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

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 skirmishes in the West Philippine Sea.

In response, Beiing’s foreign ministry dismissed accusations from the Philippines’ security agency that it is trying to covertly influence the upcoming May elections.

200 data breaches

There were over 200 data breaches due to hacking against government agencies in the Philippines since April 2024, compromising their cybersecurity with malware and exposing their data to the dark web.

During Thursday’s Senate probe, Acedillo said the NICA monitored 234 “data breaches” involving both government agencies and the private sector.

Ninety “cyber operations” against government agencies were traced to China, Acedillo added.

He named the following government agencies targeted by such cyber operations: the Departments of Information and Communications Technology, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, the Interior and Local Government, Health, Justice, Public Works and Highways, and Budget and Management; the Anti-Money Laundering Council; Bureau of Internal Revenue, Commission on Human Rights, Civil Service Commission, National Irrigation Administration, National Telecommunications Commission and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

At least three cyber threats were directed at “high-level government offices,” Acedillo said without identifying these agencies.

He said one hacking incident was perpetrated by “Chinese cyber actors” and “exfiltrated 3.63 GB of data.”

Besides the data breaches, there were 32 incidents of government “sensitive information” found exposed on the dark web; as well as 91 “compromised credentials,” which means the cybersecurity infrastructure was infected with “malware lateral movement” or a hacking technique of infiltrating other systems and devices through the initial point of entry.

Apart from the government, industries were attacked including manufacturing, financial services, technology and the telecommunications sector, Acedillo said.

13th A-WEB meeting

The issue of possible foreign interference in the Philippines’ May 12 midterm polls would be among the topics to be discussed at the 13th Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) meeting the country is hosting, the Commission on Elections said yesterday.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said it is largely possible that the potential election interference of the country’s electoral exercise will be part of the agenda.

“In meetings like these, there will surely be exchanges of experiences and learnings. Surely, one of the issues to be discussed is misinformation and the threat of intervention of outside forces,” Garcia said before attending the A-WEB board meeting at the Manila Hotel.

The Philippines, through the Comelec, yesterday welcomed 37 delegates from 15 foreign election bodies to the 13th A-WEB Executive Board Meeting.

Garcia earlier said they have received information about the ongoing efforts by a “big country” to interfere in the May 12 midterm polls.

The Comelec is the current vice-chair of A-WEB (2024-2026) and is set to become its next chair in 2026-2028.

Treason

The Department of Justice and National Bureau of Investigation should file charges for treason and other violations of the Revised Penal Code and the National Security Act against the officers and the board of directors of Infinitus Marketing Solutions, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged yesterday.

“In general, these laws punish any Filipino who betrays or is disloyal to his country and who works against its national interest, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said, adding that Chinese embassy officers who contracted Infinitus should also be charged as “principals by direct participation.”

An internet search showed that a certain Paul Li is Infinitus’ co-founder and managing partner, while Myka Basco-Poynton is another co-founder. Nestor Arciaga is its marketing officer and social media manager.

For his part, Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun asked concerned government agencies to probe Infinitus and look into its engagement with the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre yesterday called on the government to seek the help of the diplomatic corps to prevent and stop China’s interference in the country’s May 12 senatorial elections.

At the Senate, Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged Malacañang to summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, and the Senate to pass a proposed “Foreign Interference Act” bill, “because this will not be the last elections that China, or any other state, could meddle with.”

Sen. Joel Villanueva added: “Any foreign interference, especially in our elections, is an affront to our democracy. We must safeguard the integrity of our elections and protect our country at all costs.”

“Any potential security threats and foreign interference in the May 12 midterm elections constitute a serious affront to our national sovereignty and the integrity of our electoral system. The sanctity of the ballot must be protected at all costs,” said Senate president pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada.

Administration candidates also condemned China’s alleged infiltration of the May elections.

Former senator Ping Lacson said the alleged espionage activities are “scarier than we think” during an election period amid the arrests of accused Chinese spies targeting Philippine military facilities.

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo said “China obviously wants a Chinese-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, so it is up to the people to prevent this from happening.”

‘Proactive’

The first female spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vowed to become more engaging and ahead in cascading essential information to the public.

Speaking on One News’ “The Big Story” on Thursday, Capt. Noemie Guirao-Cayabyab said the agency would strengthen its advocacy of “proactive communication” to prevent the public from being taken over by disinformation, particularly on social media.

“We will increase the presence of the Philippine Coast Guard on the digital platform,” she said. “We will fully strengthen our relationship with the media and agencies concerned, and we will coordinate when it comes to dissemination of information.”

As concurrent chief of the PCG’s education and training unit, Cayabyab said the agency would also help its regional offices “to capacitate them on how to properly inform the public, especially on protocols on proper dissemination of information.”

The PCG previously said the appointment of Cayabyab manifested the agency’s commitment to promote gender equality and elevating the role of women. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Ghio Ong, Marc Jayson Cayab- yab, Rhodina Villanueva