Lawmakers have warned that a coordinated network of fake social media accounts is working to undermine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while boosting Vice President Sara Duterte, allegedly with backing from pro-China influencers.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun said disinformation operations targeting President Marcos are part of a broader foreign-backed campaign that also promotes Duterte and echoes Beijing’s messaging.
“Kung parehong pro-Duterte at pro-China ang content nila, hindi na tayo dapat magtaka—iisa lang ang amo nila. At hindi Pilipino ’yon,” Khonghun said.
Khonghun cited a report from PressOne.PH identifying a cluster of fake accounts on X (formerly Twitter) posting attacks against the President while sharing content favorable to Duterte and aligned with Chinese propaganda.
The same network has circulated a fabricated “polvoron” video falsely suggesting drug use by Marcos and reposted Chinese-language posts critical of the United States’ military presence in the West Philippine Sea.
“Kapag tahimik sa West Philippine Sea pero maingay sa paninira sa presidente, alam na natin kung sino ang pinoprotektahan,” he said.
Khonghun claimed that the vice president has benefited from this online ecosystem seemingly designed to weaken the Marcos administration while shielding Duterte from scrutiny over her silence on Chinese aggression.
His remarks followed findings presented at a House Tri-Committee hearing last week, where Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela named bloggers Anna Malindog-Uy and Ado Paglinawan as amplifiers of disinformation narratives mirroring Chinese state media.
According to Tarriela, Malindog-Uy falsely blamed the Coast Guard for a maritime collision with Chinese vessels, while Paglinawan dismissed the country’s territorial defense as “lunacy”
“Ito po ang mga halimbawa ng disinformation na direktang sumasalungat sa interes ng ating bansa,” he said.
The warnings from lawmakers also echo findings from a Reuters exclusive report published on April 11, which revealed that nearly one-third of accounts on X discussing Duterte’s recent arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) were fake.
According to Reuters, the research by disinformation security firm Cyabra found that the fake accounts acted in a “deliberate, organized’ manner—sharing identical messages, posting in coordinated bursts, and promoting hashtags that supported Duterte while attacking the ICC and Marcos.
“These fake networks didn’t just show up—they shaped the conversation,” Cyabra CEO Dan Brahmy told Reuters, describing the trend as “digital warfare.”
Cyabra found that the same tactics are now being used to influence discourse around the upcoming May elections.
Disinformation ‘crisis’
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, vice chair of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology, earlier warned that politically driven fake news has reached a “crisis” point ahead of the May 12 midterm elections.
“Lalong-lalo na po sa panahong ito na kung saan ay naglipana ang mga fake news laban sa mga tumatakbo ngayong eleksyon,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said digital platforms, while expanding access to information, have also created an environment where disinformation can easily spread and shape public opinion.
“Disinformation campaigns and the proliferation of fake news not only mislead citizens, but they also undermine trust in our institutions, weaponize public opinion, and threaten the very foundations of our democratic processes,” he said.
Pimentel urged the public to be more discerning and active in countering disinformation.
“Dapat tayong maging mapanuri, ‘wag nating ipagwalang-bahala at bagkus labanan ang mga ganitong maling gawain,” he said.
Khonghun, meanwhile, urged voters to critically assess candidates benefiting from such coordinated propaganda.
“Hindi sapat na bumoto—dapat alam mo kung sino ang binoboto mo,” Khonghun said.
“Hindi porke’t kilala sa YouTube o may ‘tapang at malasakit’ e para na sa bayan. Tanungin natin: sa tapang nila, kaninong interes ang pinoprotektahan?,” Khonghun said.
Regulating social media platforms
For his part, House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong stressed the need for regulation of social media platforms, arguing that their current internal controls are not enough to stop the spread of fake news.
“Kailangan din natin magkaroon ng regulation sa pag-operate nitong mga social media platforms, itong mga creators, itong mga operators na ito because they have the full access and control of their algorithms,” Adiong said.
Adiong noted that companies like Meta already have internal policies, but they fall short.
“‘Yung policy, ‘yung internal policy nila kasi, for me, it does not work to really safeguard their platforms from becoming the space to generate fake information and fake news,” he said.
He cited Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act as a potential model.
“In fact, in Singapore, the government has already adopted and approved the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act,” he said.
“Singapore is one of the most progressive countries in Southeast Asia. So if they can do it, why can’t we?” he added.
Adiong said proposed legislation should not only define harmful content but also regulate the mechanics of how it spreads online.
“Dapat kung nais nating magkaroon talaga ng mas magandang panukalang batas… hindi lang natin ire-regulate kung ano ang nababasa, naririnig ng ating publiko, but ‘yung paraan kung paano nila ito ma-upload,” Adiong said.
He stressed that platforms must be held accountable, but said government must take the lead.
“So it’s very important that the operators of this platform, social media platforms, also need to be part of this solution,” Adiong said.
“And by becoming part of the solution, the government really has to step in — and probably, Congress needs to pass a bill regulating this fake news,” he further said.
Beyond regulation, Adiong also pushed for legislation that would allow the government to collect fair taxes from digital platforms and content creators profiting online.
He noted that the Bureau of Internal Revenue has yet to present a concrete policy on taxing digital operations.
He stressed that protecting freedom of expression should not come at the cost of enabling misinformation or allowing platforms to operate without accountability.
“I believe the government also needs to see that angle — kung paano magkaroon ng hindi lang ho malayang pamamahayag, but malaya in a sense na hindi ho mabigyan ng maling impormasyon ang ating publiko (how to protect free speech, but that freedom, in a sense, must not entail letting the spread of false information to the public go unchecked),” he said. (PNA)
