View from Manila: This time, Alyansa bets make China an election issue

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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" );MANILA, Philippines – There was a time in the senatorial campaign for the May 12 polls when only President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would dare make China an election issue.



Before a hometown crowd in Ilocos Norte and then in Davao del Norte in early February, Marcos asked: Would you vote for candidates who clapped as the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy were bombarded with water cannons? Do you want to go back to a time when Philippine leaders wanted the country to be a province of China? He was alluding to the previous Duterte administration and the senatorial slate of the former president, who is now detained at The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity. Despite Marcos’ pitch, his handpicked bets under the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas — eager to court both Marcos’ and Duterte’s base — avoided talk of the former president and his controversial policies that carried a bias for China.It took a reelectionist candidate, who has barely breached the 21% mark in preference surveys, to join Marcos in turning China into a 2025 election issue — but only just recently.

Must Read In Davao, Marcos brings up killings, POGO to hit Duterte, Senate bet allies Tolentino’s probeAt his Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones’ hearing, reelectionist Senator Francis Tolentino probed the discovery of Chinese-made underwater drones in different parts of the archipelago, and exposed what he claimed was proof that the Chinese Embassy in Manila was up to no good in hiring a marketing firm to spread Beijing’s propaganda.The National Security Council, through its spokesperson Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, said in the same hearing that there were “indications” that China was running information interference operations related to the 2025 elections. A day later, the administration’s Alyansa slate went all out.

Alyansa campaign manager Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco said he was “alarmed” by reports on supposed information operations traced to China. Tolentino and survey leader ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo went a step further, accusing China of wanting to “control” the country through the legislature. “Mga minamahal kong taga-Pangasinan, kahapon, kahapon, kamakalawa, natunghayan niyo ang hearing ko sa Senado, nakakatakot, nakakatakot ‘yong page-espiya ng China sa lahat ng bahagi ng ating bansa hanggang dito po.

Meron din sa Pangasinan, lahat po napasok na po ‘yong ating buhay,” Tolentino said during a campaign sortie in Dagupan on April 25. window.rapplerAds.

displayAd( "middle-2" );window.rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-2" );(My beloved Pangasinan, yesterday, the other day, you saw the Senate hearing I chaired.

It’s alarming, the spying that China is doing in different parts of the country. In Pangasinan too, there’s spying happening, they’ve been able to infiltrate all aspects of our lives). As if to borrow from words from the President, their chief campaigner from more than a month ago, Tolentino then said: “Kung gusto ‘nyo na mawala ang Palawan at Zambales sa Pilipinas at makuha ng China, ‘wag ‘nyo po akong iboto.

Kung masaya na po kayo sa klase ng gulay na imported sa China na nabibili natin sa ating mga palengke at sa mahal na abono na nanggagaling sa China, ‘wag ‘nyo po akong iboto.” (If you want to lose Palawan and Zambales from the Philippines so China can seize it, do not vote for me. If you’re happy with imported vegetables from China in the markets and expensive Chinese fertilizer, don’t vote for me.

) Must Read PH Navy dismisses China’s Sandy Cay ‘sovereignty’ claim: Diversion, malign influence “Kung gusto ‘nyo po na mawala sa atin ang West Philippine Sea at mawalan ng trabaho ang libu-libong mangingisda, ‘wag nyo po akong iboto. Kung gusto ‘nyo po na masakop ng China, ang Pilipinas at gawin tayong alipin ng isang bansa na walang Diyos, ‘wag niyo po akong iboto. Kung gusto ‘nyo po na magkaroon tayo ng isang matatag na teritoryo ng Pilipinas, isang bansang may dangal, isang bansang ginagalang ng buong mundo, isang bansang maka-Diyos, tulungan ‘nyo po si Senator Tolentino, tulungan ‘nyo pong ipaglaban natin ang Pilipinas.

” (If you want to lose the West Philippine Sea, for fishermen to lose jobs, don’t vote for me. If you want the Philippines to be colonized by China and turn us into a country with no God, don’t vote for me. But if you want territorial integrity, a country with pride, a country respected by all nations, a country that believes in God, then help Senator Tolentino, help me fight for this country.

) Tulfo, who, unlike Tolentino, hasn’t been struggling in polls, backed him up during his turn on stage. “Pagod na po ba kayo sa pinaggagawa ng China? Hindi po ba magkasya ang inyong sahod? Wala pong trabaho o hanapbuhay? Wala hong matakbuhan kung kayo ho’y naaapi? Hindi na po ako magpapaligoy-ligoy pa. Kung gusto po ninyo ng solusyon ito po sa harapan ninyo ang Alyansa,” he said.

(Are you tired of what China is doing? Are your salaries not enough? Is it difficult to find work? Do you have nobody to turn to when you’re being oppressed? I’ll get to the point. If you want a solution, here we are — Alyansa.) Dwindling numbersIn the days and weeks since Marcos first made that pitch on behalf of his Alyansa senatorial late, their numbers have either turned stagnant or dwindled — even as the preference numbers of their primary rival slate, endorsed by former president Rodrigo Duterte, grew.

Marcos also saw his trust and approval ratings plummet, no thanks to public sentiment that his administration was not doing enough to address gut issues like poverty, the price of goods, and job creation.Vice President Sara Duterte’s numbers, meanwhile, recovered and grew, based on the same Pulse Asia survey. window.

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displayAd( "mobile-middle-3" );Thus, it’s only logical for Marcos’ candidates to lean on an issue where the administration fares okay, and one that’s almost always sure to grab headlines: China and Chinese activities against the Philippines. A survey by the Social Weather Stations commissioned by the Stratbase Group and conducted from April 11 to 4 indicate that the majority of Filipinos — 75% — want “a candidate who believes that the Philippines must assert our rights against China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.” It’s a slight small decrease of 3 percentage points from when the same question was asked of respondents in February 2025.

According to the breakdown of respondents to the question, the importance of a candidate’s belief in asserting the Philippines’ rights against China in the West Philippine Sea is highest in Classes D (76%) and ABC (72%), but lowest in Class E (59%), which comprises the majority of voters. Stratbase’s Dindo Manhit blames Class E’s “susceptibility” to manipulations not only from Beijing but from “local candidates who have historically aligned themselves with Chinese interests.” In spotlighting suspicions of Chinese influence operations and espionage on the Alyansa stage, is the administration trying to turn them into a bigger issue for voters? Or is this merely a Hail Mary for a senatorial bet that’s been struggling to make it to the vaunted Magic 12? – Rappler.

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