Pinoys urged: Don’t vote for pro-China candidates

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos should vote for candidates loyal to the flag and not to China, an administration lawmaker urged, with exactly two weeks to go before the midterm polls.

“We should be for Team Philippines. This is no longer just foreign influence. This is foreign interference – designed to infiltrate our politics, confuse our people, and weaken our country from the inside,” House deputy majority leader Paolo Ortega V said yesterday.

Ortega made the remarks following growing threat of foreign interference in the upcoming May 12 midterm elections.

“There are national and local candidates whose campaign obviously bear the blessings of foreign interests. This is not just unacceptable. This is treasonous. So, in the coming elections, we must reject Team China. Let’s give Team Philippines a clear and resounding victory,” the La Union congressman stressed.

Last week, a deal between a local marketing firm and the Chinese embassy for the use of “keyboard warriors” was uncovered during a Senate hearing.

“Let me be clear: if there are candidates who are leaning towards China who has been encroaching upon our maritime territory, by way of military might, then they’re obviously not leaders. They’re not patriots. That’s a puppet, not a public servant,” Ortega said.

Liberal Party senatorial candidate Francis Pangilinan likewise cautioned the public against the “foreign-funded and foreign-instigated” disinformation campaign designed to manipulate Filipino voters’ minds.

“There are foreign forces who not only want to influence our elections – they also are bent on seizing our territory in our sovereign waters,” he said.

Meanwhile, a non-profit group pushed for immediate government action on troll recruitment in the country, citing the dangers it posed to public discourse.

“We should marshal whatever laws we have against this alleged informant of disinformation and being used by another country to affect our elections and our position in the West Philippine Sea,” Movement Against Disinformation lead convenor Rico Domingo said in a dzBB interview. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Mark Ernest Villeza