Tarriela: Countering politicians’ WPS disinformation is hardest job

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela on Wednesday said that “countering disinformation” from politicians elected in the 2025 polls regarding issues in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is the “hardest job we are facing right now.”

According to Tarriela, it is not online trolls but politicians who are the most difficult to counter.

“For me, the most difficult to counter when it comes to disinformation is no longer the trolls on social media. It is the politicians who are the hardest to counter right now,” Tarriela, speaking mostly in Filipino, said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in Malate, Manila.

He noted that lawmakers who oppose their stance on the WPS have many supporters who echo their narratives.

With this, he asked: “If a particular legislator, whether in the Senate or the House of Representatives, says something against our position on the WPS, they have followers and voters. Now, how can you convince these supporters? Do we go house to house to reach them?”

“The hardest job we are facing right now is countering fake news and disinformation being narrated and amplified by those politicians elected in the 2025 elections,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tarriela said Filipinos are now more aware of developments in the WPS compared to two or three years ago. He added that the youth can now easily debunk false statements by personalities or lawmakers who aim to “divert attention” from the WPS issue.

READ: Palace on Kalayaan islands: No part of PH will be given to foreign power

In the same forum, Tarriela also said that remaining silent and lacking transparency could lead many Filipinos by 2028 to forget who sided with China instead of standing with the Filipino people.

Tarriela earlier declined Rodante Marcoleta’s offer for a “friendly debate” after urging him to visit the WPS and the Kalayaan Group of Islands (KGI). Marcoleta had earlier suggested that the country give up the KGI, arguing that it is not within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone. /jpv