NATIONAL
Advocates Philippines
PCG's Tarriela Calls Out Pro-China Fake News Drive: 'Filipinos Are The Victims Here'
Screengrab from Congress PH
Things got real at the House of Representatives recently when Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela took the mic and didn’t hold back.
Speaking before a joint House committee looking into the spread of fake news online, Tarriela exposed what he described as a coordinated and malicious disinformation campaign—one that’s pushing pro-China propaganda and painting the Philippines in a bad light, especially when it comes to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.
And here’s where it gets even more interesting: Tarriela actually named names. He pointed to two Filipino vloggers—Anna Malindog Uy and Ado Paglinawan—who, according to him, have been actively spreading false narratives that suspiciously align with China’s agenda.
“She’s spinning it like the PCG rammed the China Coast Guard vessel,” Tarriela said of Uy. As for Paglinawan, the PCG official cited one post where he called the whole WPS issue “lunacy” and even slammed senators for questioning ex-Bamban Mayor Alice Guo—who’s under fire for allegedly being a Chinese spy.
Tarriela didn’t just call them out for these posts—he laid out a whole system behind the disinformation campaign. There are the initiators (like Uy and Paglinawan), disseminators (a.k.a. faceless troll accounts), and reposters (ordinary Filipinos who unknowingly help spread the lies).
And what kind of lies are we talking about? According to Tarriela, here are the six common fake narratives making the rounds:
1. The Philippines has no legal claim in the WPS.
2. The WPS isn’t a national priority.
3. We’re provoking China.
4. War with China is inevitable.
5. The U.S. is pulling the strings.
6. WPS officials (like him) are corrupt.
Some of these claims got really personal. “They said I rammed a Chinese vessel… That I’m a CIA agent… That I have three black bags and took 4 million U.S. dollars,” he shared.
But it’s not just about him. Tarriela warned that these vloggers also defend controversial figures like Alice Guo and POGO operations tied to Chinese interests, while denying any Chinese spy activity in the country—even when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has made arrests.
Lawmakers in the room were clearly alarmed. Manila Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr. said this kind of behavior can’t go unchecked and vowed to continue digging. “We really have to find out who these people are. The Committee will not stop,” he said.
Dionisio also had a message for vloggers and content creators out there: use your platform to defend the country—not to echo foreign narratives.
Because at the end of the day, Tarriela stressed, it’s the Filipino public that ends up as the real victim of this disinformation war.
“Minsan naniniwala silang walang WPS. Minsan naniniwala silang inuudyokan lang tayo ng Amerika,” he said. And that’s exactly what this fake news machine is counting on.
Speaking before a joint House committee looking into the spread of fake news online, Tarriela exposed what he described as a coordinated and malicious disinformation campaign—one that’s pushing pro-China propaganda and painting the Philippines in a bad light, especially when it comes to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.
And here’s where it gets even more interesting: Tarriela actually named names. He pointed to two Filipino vloggers—Anna Malindog Uy and Ado Paglinawan—who, according to him, have been actively spreading false narratives that suspiciously align with China’s agenda.
“She’s spinning it like the PCG rammed the China Coast Guard vessel,” Tarriela said of Uy. As for Paglinawan, the PCG official cited one post where he called the whole WPS issue “lunacy” and even slammed senators for questioning ex-Bamban Mayor Alice Guo—who’s under fire for allegedly being a Chinese spy.
Tarriela didn’t just call them out for these posts—he laid out a whole system behind the disinformation campaign. There are the initiators (like Uy and Paglinawan), disseminators (a.k.a. faceless troll accounts), and reposters (ordinary Filipinos who unknowingly help spread the lies).
And what kind of lies are we talking about? According to Tarriela, here are the six common fake narratives making the rounds:
1. The Philippines has no legal claim in the WPS.
2. The WPS isn’t a national priority.
3. We’re provoking China.
4. War with China is inevitable.
5. The U.S. is pulling the strings.
6. WPS officials (like him) are corrupt.
Some of these claims got really personal. “They said I rammed a Chinese vessel… That I’m a CIA agent… That I have three black bags and took 4 million U.S. dollars,” he shared.
But it’s not just about him. Tarriela warned that these vloggers also defend controversial figures like Alice Guo and POGO operations tied to Chinese interests, while denying any Chinese spy activity in the country—even when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has made arrests.
Lawmakers in the room were clearly alarmed. Manila Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr. said this kind of behavior can’t go unchecked and vowed to continue digging. “We really have to find out who these people are. The Committee will not stop,” he said.
Dionisio also had a message for vloggers and content creators out there: use your platform to defend the country—not to echo foreign narratives.
Because at the end of the day, Tarriela stressed, it’s the Filipino public that ends up as the real victim of this disinformation war.
“Minsan naniniwala silang walang WPS. Minsan naniniwala silang inuudyokan lang tayo ng Amerika,” he said. And that’s exactly what this fake news machine is counting on.
Apr 8, 2025
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