Philippine security agency says signs of China election interference

China accused of state-sponsored interference in Philippines' elections, using troll farms to undermine government, according to NSC.

The Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) said on Thursday (April 24, 2025) there are indications China is conducting a “state-sponsored” campaign to interfere in next month’s mid-term elections.

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’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 Mr. Marcos.

NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya told the Senate hearing on Thursday (April 24, 2025) his agency believed China was likely behind online attacks aimed at influencing the polls.

“There are indications... that information operations are being conducted that are Chinese state-sponsored in the Philippines that are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections,” Mr. Malaya said.