By Kenneth Christian L. Basilio, reporter
Public outrage over rampant corruption in flood control projects could leave the Philippines vulnerable to foreign-backed propaganda seeking to incite unrest and destabilize the country, a Philippine Navy official said Tuesday.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent T. Trinidad, the Philippine Navy's spokesman for the South China Sea, said it was unclear whether China was behind the efforts to spread misinformation to foment agitation and unrest, but the Philippine military has observed disinformation being spread by some groups encouraging retired officers to destabilize its ranks.
He did not name the people behind the campaign and said he was waiting for “developments from the legal side.”
“When you destroy social cohesion as a group, you make it easier for foreign influence to come in,” Mr. Trinidad told reporters on the sidelines of a media briefing at the Philippine military headquarters.
The Philippines has been rocked by a flood control scandal involving hundreds of billions of pesos, and has so far implicated politicians, engineering officials and contractors accused of being linked to unsavory infrastructure deals.
Last month, President Ferdinand R. News of a possible military coup against Marcos Jr. circulated on social media, as thousands of Filipinos took to the streets in the biggest protests in years over a billion-peso flood control scandal.
“There were attempts to spread misinformation, twist the truth, use malign influence to incite some of our military retirees, ultimately to organize them and even mobilize them against the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Mr. Trinidad said.
Carl Patrick R., Associate Professor, Department of Communication Research, Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Disinformation thrives and often accelerates in times of crisis as people try to make sense of unfolding events and find ways to express their feelings, Mendoza said.
“When emotions run high, people don't just process information — they feel it,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “In moments of crisis or scandal, like this billion-dollar flood control controversy, the public looks for moral coherence and someone to trust.”
He said, “It's not that the public is irrational; it's that emotions and affiliations dictate how the truth is obtained, especially when trust in institutions is already eroded.”
Mr Trinidad said the misinformation was “the same tool used by the Chinese Communist Party in the West Philippine Sea”, referring to parts of the South China Sea within Manila’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment.
China has said that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea through a nine-dash line map dating back to the 1940s, which overlaps with the exclusive waters of the Philippines and neighbors such as Vietnam and Malaysia, despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that voided its claims.
Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said the government should invest in information and communications technologies to strengthen digital systems and help Filipinos become more digitally literate.
“Disinformation due to ignorance welcomes infiltration of sleeper cells due to weak information technology and AI literacy,” he said in a Facebook chat.
In April, former senator Francis N. Tolentino said a local marketing firm was allegedly involved in spreading pro-Beijing narratives ahead of the May midterm elections, producing documents that said China had hired it to provide “keyboard warriors” to influence public opinion.
'Clear Rank'
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday reaffirmed his administration's commitment to root out corruption and restore integrity in the public service, saying institutional reform is central to rebuilding public trust in government.
Speaking at the awarding of the 2025 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos in Malacañang, Mr. Marcos said the government is committed to “cleansing the ranks” of the bureaucracy to ensure that every official and civil servant is worthy of the people's trust.
“We will continue to clean up the ranks of the government to ensure that every official and public servant is worthy of the trust given to them by the people,” he said in Filipino, as his administration continues to investigate alleged corruption in flood control projects.
The President acknowledged that recent controversies have tested public confidence in institutions, but said reform efforts would continue despite political and bureaucratic challenges.
He said, “It will be hard and sometimes it will be painful, but it will be worth it because the country we are fighting for will be inherited by our children.”
The Philippines' flood control scandal involves allegations of ghost projects, inflated contracts and shoddy infrastructure involving billions of pesos worth of projects, implicating public officials and contractors in widespread corruption.
The Marcos administration has launched several investigations and vowed to reform the bureaucracy to restore public confidence in government institutions.
Mr. Marcos pointed to the Metrobank Foundation's ten honorees – including four teachers, three soldiers and three police officers – as proof that “integrity is still alive in our institutions.”
He described them as models of public service who embody the Bagong Pilipinas vision of governance based on respect and accountability.
As the awards program marks its 40th year, he praised the Metrobank Foundation and its partners – PSBank and the Rotary Clubs of New Manila East and Makati Metro – for continuing to “serve as symbols of integrity and inspiration” in recognizing exemplary Filipinos. , with Chloe Marie A Hufana
