'Na-budol' by disinformation

Reports that disinformation agents backed by China are trying to influence the outcome of the Philippine midterm elections do not surprise me. Chinese disinformation activities in the Philippines have been documented in several studies and reports over recent years.

- Atty. Ian Vincent Manticajon

The Jamestown Foundation, a US-based non-partisan defense policy think tank, published in 2023 an article that provides an overview of China's foreign influence operations in the Philippines. It discusses the activities of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) and examines a major disinformation campaign related to the South China Sea.

"In the run-up to the May 2022 Philippine gubernational elections, for instance, the UFWD reportedly attempted to manipulate Manuel Momba, the Governor of Cagayan Del Sur, into opposing the annual U.S.-Philippines Balikatan exercise, part of which was to involve an amphibious landing in the province's waters off Claveria," says the article in the think tank's China Brief Volume23 Issue9.