Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has ordered an investigation into alleged foreign interference in next month’s elections after a top security official’s warning that Chinese state-sponsored groups may be attempting to influence the outcome of the vote.
“This is truly alarming,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told a media briefing. “We will conduct a thorough investigation so we can uncover the truth behind this.”
The order came after a top National Security Council official told a Senate hearing on Thursday that signs of Chinese information operations had been detected.
His comments coincided with Senator Francis Tolentino presenting what he said was evidence linking the Chinese embassy in Manila to the proliferation of “troll farm” operations in the Philippines.
Tolentino said the embassy had paid a local marketing firm to run online operations, and presented what we said was a copy of cheque issued by the mission as proof.
“These troll farms were engaged not only to openly provide information and convey the policies of the Chinese government but also to act as a covert disinformation and influence operation against the Philippine government and the Filipino people,” Tolentino said in a statement on Thursday.
