MANILA – The Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas on Friday sounded the alarm over reported foreign interference in the upcoming May 12 elections, following revelations in a Senate hearing pointing to Chinese efforts to sway the outcome in favor of Beijing-aligned candidates.
“The right of every Filipino to freely choose their leaders – without manipulation, pressure, or foreign influence – is non-negotiable,” the coalition said in a statement.
“Any attempt to interfere in that process is a direct violation of our national integrity and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”
The administration’s Senate slate issued the statement after National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya confirmed before the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones on Thursday that Chinese state-sponsored groups were interfering in the country’s elections.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, panel chair, pressed Malaya on whether there was a pattern of targeting candidates with strong pro-sovereignty or anti-China views.
“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,” Malaya said, adding that these efforts include amplifying Beijing’s official narratives through identified “local proxies.”
One example cited was the coordinated messaging around the ongoing Balikatan military exercises, which China frames as a threat to regional stability – a narrative echoed by certain groups in the Philippines, according to Malaya.
The Alyansa said such interference is not merely a political issue but a matter of national security.
It called on authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation, identify and hold accountable those involved, and ensure the sanctity of the Philippine electoral process.
“Our future must be determined by us alone. We stand firmly with the Filipino people in defending our democracy,” the statement added. (PNA)