Ortega: If there are candidates backing China, they’re just puppets

‘OVERKILL’ The China Coast Guard (right) does it again on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, this time on the Datu Pagbuaya of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. PHOTO FROM THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte — Candidates who will support China despite the territorial dispute and allegations of interference in the upcoming 2025 midterm elections are just puppets, La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V said on Sunday.

In a statement, Ortega said some candidates clearly had the blessings of foreign interests after the Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) reported that they had seen indicators of China interfering in the elections.

“There are candidates running today that are clearly backed by foreign interests. This is not just unacceptable. This is treasonous. In the upcoming elections, we must reject Team China. The Philippines should win, not the foreigners. We should be with team Philippines,” Ortega said in Filipino.

“Let me be clear: If there are candidates siding with China while they claim ownership of our territory, while they target our military and the government, they are not leaders. That’s a puppet, not a public servant.”

Ortega did not mention who the candidates were, but he said what China is doing is clearly interference to confuse the public.

“This is no longer just foreign influence. This is foreign interference—designed to infiltrate our politics, confuse our people, and weaken our country from the inside,” Ortega said.

During the Senate special committee on Philippine maritime and admiralty zones hearing on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, who leads the panel, asked NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya if any indicators were showing foreign interference in the elections.

Malaya replied that there are indications that “information operations are being conducted or that Chinese state-sponsored groups in the Philippines are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.”

READ: China interfering with PH’s May 2025 polls, says NSC’s Malaya

Several personalities, like candidates from the administration-backed Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, have condemned China’s attempts to interfere with the polls. According to Alyansa campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, the future of the Philippines must be determined by Filipinos only.

READ: Alyansa: Philippines’ future should be up to Filipinos only

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, a senatorial candidate running under Alyansa’s umbrella, said it would be up to voters if they want a Congress under China’s control.

READ: Erwin Tulfo warns: Up to voters if they want a China-controlled congress

It was also revealed during the Senate hearing 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.”

According to Tolentino, 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’

Ortega urged voters to be vigilant as the election draws near.

“This is not a simple online noise. This is an attack on our democracy. They are paying our people to destroy our own country. Team China is destroying the people’s trust over our system of elections, and they are using our own people to do this,” he said in Filipino.

“There is a script from Beijing. And we have natives helping play that script. The Filipino people must reject them,” he added.

Ortega said people must speak out against these intrusions and ensure that foreign interests do not influence Filipinos’ choices.

“This is not a time to be silent. This is a time to stand our ground,” he said in Filipino.

“The elections are for the Filipino people. There is no place here for foreign interests that want to divide us. We will not allow our future to be dictated by foreigners. We’re with Team Philippines — a united, strong team that is ready to fight,” he added.