A National Security Council (NSC) official disclosed on Thursday, April 24, that there are indications of alleged Chinese state-sponsored information operations in the Philippines, aimed at interfering with the country’s upcoming May 2025 midterm elections. (Video courtesy of Senate of the Philippines)
00:00There are indications, Mr. Chairman, that information operations are being conducted that are Chinese state-sponsored in the Philippines and are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.
00:15So ang ibig sabihin nito, may mga ongoing operations on China para suportahan yung mga kandidatong gusto nilang manalo.
00:23Yun, yun ang diretsyon tanong ko. At kontrahin naman yung mga kandidatong ayaw nilang manalo.
00:28Yes, there are indications of that, Mr. Chairman.
00:32And itong mga ganito mga pangyayari, hindi ito naintindihan kaagad ng sambayanan dahil ito'y nakahalo na sa social media, hindi mo na alam kung alin dito yung totoo.
00:42Is that correct?
00:43That's correct, Mr. Chairman.
00:44So, maybe no, just give us an inkling of the indicators that the NSC has observed suggesting foreign interference in the 2025 elections.
01:11Ang nakikita po kasi namin, Mr. Chairman, is that there are many narratives na lumalabas, for example, from Beijing, that are being amplified by third-party individuals, the mga proxies nila, Mr. Chairman.
01:31Based here in the Philippines or in China?
01:33Based here in the Philippines, Mr. Chairman.
01:35And do they usually occur during survey periods?
01:40Yes, Mr. Chairman.
01:42That's correct.
01:43In fact, Mr. Chairman, ang napapansin kasi namin, when there are statements coming from the Beijing, they are amplified by local proxies here in the Philippines.
01:58So kung ano yung script na nanggagaling sa Beijing, yun din naman ang sinasabi nila dito sa Pilipinas.
02:03So we can see that, Mr. Chairman, doon sa, for example, the balikatan exercises are happening right now.
02:09So you will see narratives coming from Beijing that the balikatan exercises is a threat to regional peace and stability.
02:18And you'll also hear that kind of statement coming from local proxies who follow the script coming from Beijing, Mr. Chairman.
02:26And of course, your agency and other agencies as well have identified the local proxies.
02:33May listahan naman yan eh.
02:34Kung sino yung mga local proxies na yan na lumalabas na sinusunod kung ano yung kumpas galing sa China.
02:41That is correct, Mr. Chairman.
02:42Kasi consistent yung mga narrative nila, mag-iingay pag malapit ng eleksyon, pag may survey, lalong-lalo na pag may sinusuportahan silang kandidato.
