The Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) said on Thursday there were indications China was conducting a “state-sponsored” campaign to interfere in next month’s midterm elections.
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The accusation emerged at a Senate hearing, where a senior lawmaker claimed Beijing’s embassy in Manila was “paying Filipinos to work in troll farms” to undermine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s government.
The May 12 nationwide poll will decide hundreds of seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as thousands of hotly contested local positions.
Senator Francis Tolentino, who is running for re-election on the Marcos slate, said the government’s policy in the disputed South China Sea was among the troll farms’ frequent targets.
The Philippines has been engaged in months of confrontations with Beijing over the crucial waterway, and has steadily deepened defence cooperation with the United States under Marcos.
NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya told the Senate hearing on Thursday his agency believed China was likely behind online attacks aimed at influencing the polls.