By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
THE Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday accused China of trying to sway the midterm national and local elections in May by running a disinformation campaign.
“There are indications that information operations are being conducted that are Chinese state-sponsored in the Philippines and are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.” NSC Assistant Director-General Jonathan E. Malaya told a Senate hearing.
“Yes, there are indications of that,” he said when asked by Senator Francis N. Tolentino whether China has operations to support its chosen candidates and was targeting anti-China candidates.
Mr. Malaya said China’s interference in Philippine elections comes from disinformation campaigns and a narrative that is amplified by local people.
“What we are seeing is that there are many narratives coming out of Beijing that are being amplified by third-party individuals and their proxies,” he said. He added that the interference typically occurs during election survey periods.
He said China’s criticism of the recent Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) joint military exercises between the US and the Philippines was being spread through various groups.
Filipinos will pick a new set of congressmen, 12 of the 24-member Senate and thousands of local officials on May 12.
Earlier Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the joint military drills between Manila and Washington were “a threat to regional stability.”
“You’ll also hear that kind of statement coming from local proxies who follow this script coming from Beijing,” Mr. Malaya said.
He said that the NSC has identified the local proxies who spread Chinese disinformation in the Philippines.
Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer from the Ateneo de Manila University, said the NSC should back its claims with hard evidence.
“It’s best that they gather all the data possible, watch out for the results and come out with it being vetted by civil society,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
He added that allegations of Chinese interference in the elections might be proven if the results are drastically different from survey trends and the NSC could show that Chinese interference and disinformation were directly contributing to the polarization.
“China can easily use this against us by claiming that the Philippine government is resorting to fear-mongering and making wild speculations just to vilify them,” Arjan P. Aguirre, who teaches political science at the Ateneo, said via Messenger chat. “If the government really wants to mobilize support from the people and other stakeholders, it should be careful in making sensitive claims such as this.”