Alyansa: Philippines’ future should be up to Filipinos only
Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidates (File photo)
DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan — The Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas Senate slate hasstressed that the future of the Philippines must be determined by Filipinos only, after state security agencies reported that China is interfering with the upcoming midterm elections.
Alyansa campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco said on Friday that the National Security Council (NSC) reports about China’s interference in the May 2025 national elections are alarming, as the Filipinos should be able to choose their next set of leaders freely.
Tiangco said this a day after NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said during a Senate hearing that indicators show that China is interfering with the upcoming elections.
“The right of every Filipino to freely choose their leaders — without manipulation, pressure, or foreign influence — is non-negotiable. Any attempt to interfere in that process is a direct violation of our national integrity and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” Tiangco said.
“Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas stands firmly with the Filipino people. Our future must be determined by us alone,” he added.
According to Tiangco, this issue is no longer political, but an urgent national security concern that authorities must address.
“This is not just a political issue. It is a matter of national security. We urge the proper authorities to investigate these reports with urgency, hold accountable those responsible, and protect the sanctity of our elections,” he added.
During Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate’s special committee on maritime and admiralty zones, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, who chairs the panel, asked if there were any indicators of foreign interference in the 2025 elections.
“Particularly targeting candidates who have strong pro-sovereignty or anti-China positions. Is there an indication that the people targeted are those who are anti-China and those supported are pro-China? Is there a pattern like that?” Tolentino asked.
Malaya replied that there are indications that “information operations are being conducted or that Chinese state-sponsored groups in the Philippines are interfering in the forthcoming elections.”
READ: China interfering with PH’s May 2025 polls, says NSC’s Malaya
During the same hearing, it was revealed that China, through its embassy in Manila, allegedly paid for a “troll farm” under a contract with a private company to discredit the Philippine government and anti-China Filipino personalities.
Tolentino said a “service agreement” between the Chinese Embassy and InfinitUs Marketing Solutions Inc. in August 2023 included the provision of “keyboard warriors that will play a vital role in the overall effectiveness of the issue management project.”
He said InfinitUs was allegedly contracted to spread pro-Beijing narratives and fake news campaigns targeting lawmakers who support the Philippines’ claims over the West Philippine Sea.
READ: Senate inquiry brings up China-funded ‘troll farm’
This is not the first time that government officials expressed concerns with China’s seeming attempts to muddle up discussions in local political affairs.
Last December 2024, La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V asked why China’s intrusive activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) seem to happen during political flare-ups in the country.
