Tolentino: China meddling in polls boosted with arrest of Chinese nat’l

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis Tolentino on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, said the arrest of a Chinese national with spy equipment near the Commission on Elections bolsters the recent exposè about China’s attempt to interfere with the upcoming midterm polls.

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis Tolentino said on Tuesday that the arrest of a Chinese national with spy equipment near the Commission on Elections (Comelec)  bolsters his exposè about China’s attempt to interfere with the midterm polls.

In a statement, Tolentino said the arrest was a product of tons of intelligence work.

“The arrest of a Chinese national caught with an International Mobile Subscriber Identity Catcher inside his vehicle near the Comelec further bolsters what we exposed in our Senate inquiry last week that China is actively operating to interfere in the coming elections,” said Tolentino.

READ: Chinese nat’l with eavesdropping device nabbed near Comelec -NBI

“I laud the National Bureau of Investigation for its timely action to thwart this insidious plan to advance Beijing’s agenda while undermining our electoral process,” he added.

With this, Tolentino emphasized that he is committed to pushing for stricter guidelines and higher penalties to bring them up to par in the digital era.

“With the government, intelligence community, and people working together, any sinister attempt to compromise the integrity of our government institutions and democratic process is doomed to fail,” he said.

Earlier,  National Security Council  Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya dropped a bombshell at the Senate’s special panel on maritime and admiralty zones’ hearing, saying that China is dipping its toes in the Philippines’ midterm polls.

READ: China interfering with PH’s May 2025  polls

“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,” said Malaya during the hearing.

Tolentino, who presided over the hearing, asked if China has ongoing operations to support candidates that they want to win and control candidates whom they do not prefer.

Still, Malaya answered in the affirmative.

“So ang ibig sabihin nito may mga ongoing operations ang China para suportahan yung mga kandidatong gusto nilang manalo? Yun ang diretsong tanong ko. At kontrahin naman yung mga kandidatong ayaw nilang manalo?” Tolentino asked.

(So does this mean that China has ongoing operations to support the candidates they want to win? That’s my direct question. And to oppose the candidates they don’t want to win?)

“Yes, there are indications of that,” Malaya answered.

“Itong mga ganitong pangyayari hindi ito naiintindihan kaagad ng sambayanan dahil ito’y nakahalo na sa social media hindi mo na alam kung alin dito yung totoo,” Tolentino added.

(These kinds of events are not immediately understood by the people because they are so mixed up on social media that you don’t know which one is true.)

“That’s correct,” Malaya responded.

READ: Tolentino bares evidence China paying farm troll to discredit PH gov’t

China, for its part, brushed off the reports, saying that it has no interest in interfering with Philippine elections.