Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said China’s interference in the upcoming Philippine midterm elections forms part of a sustained effort to push its agenda in the West Philippine through its proxy opportunist candidates in the country’s midterm elections.
In a media interview, Tolentino said the recent arrest of a Chinese national near the Commission on Elections main office in Manila supports the findings during a Senate inquiry he chaired, where signs of Beijing’s possible espionage activities were unmasked.
The arrested Chinese national had an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) device, a telephone eavesdropping equipment used to intercept mobile phone traffic and for tracking location of mobile phone users.
Tolentino said a similar arrest was made in January, where financial documents linked to a Chinese-backed group, InfinitUs, were gathered from the suspects.
“This is not an isolated case; they’ve been doing this for years,” he said, accusing Beijing of backing candidates they intend “to manipulate to repeal pro-sovereignty laws and undermine PH-US defense ties.”
The Senator drew parallels with a 194-page Canadian parliamentary report on Chinese election interference and called for tougher laws, including his proposed Counter Foreign Espionage Act.
Tolentino warned the current conflict could result to a diplomatic break-up and the possible expulsion of Chinese diplomats.
“What’s at stake is our dignity as a nation,” he stressed. (With PNA)