By Filane Mikee Cervantes
MANILA – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday accused two Filipino vloggers of helping spread pro-China disinformation about the West Philippine Sea (WPS), calling the campaign “coordinated and malicious.”
During the House Tri-Committee hearing on online fake news, PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela identified Anna Malindog Uy and Ado Paglinawan as content creators who allegedly amplify false narratives that support Beijing’s stance and attack Philippine interests.
“She (Uy) is actually narrating a narrative that it is the [PCG] who rammed the China Coast Guard vessel,” Tarriela said.
He also pointed to a post by Paglinawan that labeled the WPS issue “lunacy” and criticized senators for “disgracefully” questioning former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who has been linked to Chinese espionage.
“Sa loob po ng dalawang taon, nang magsimula po ang ating administrasyon sa pagpa-publicize ng mga incident na nangyayari sa [WPS] ay nakita po natin ang mataas na bilang ng pagtaas ng fake news and disinformation and misinformation pagdating sa usapin ng [WPS] (In the past two years, since our administration began publicizing incidents in the WPS, we’ve seen a significant rise in fake news, disinformation, and misinformation about the issue),” Tarriela told the committee.
Tarriela said the disinformation network operates through three layers: initiators, disseminators, and reposters.
“We call them initiators because if we’re going to trace the misinformation and fake news about [WPS], sila ang pinakaunang mga tao na nagpakalat ng maling information na ito (they are the first people to spread false information),” he added.
Tarriela said disseminators are anonymous troll accounts, while reposters are individuals who unknowingly or knowingly spread the same content.
“The general public is actually the victim. Minsan naniniwala silang walang [WPS], minsan naniniwala silang tayo ay inuudyokan lang ng Amerika (Sometimes they believe there’s no WPS issue; sometimes they think we’re just being pushed by America),” the PCG official said.
Tarriela flagged six recurring false claims: the Philippines has no legal basis in the WPS; the issue is not important; the government is provoking China; war is unavoidable; the country is under US influence; and Philippine spokespersons are corrupt.
Tarriela also linked Uy and Paglinawan to narratives defending Chinese-linked Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and denying the presence of Chinese spies that were caught by the National Bureau of Investigation.
The Tri-Committee is composed of the House Committees on Public Information, Public Order and Safety and Information and Communications Technology. (PNA)
