Former senator Kiko Pangilinan on Tuesday, March 11, revealed that he is being targeted by overseas-based troll accounts and networks, and asked Filipinos not to get distracted from the “real issues.”

Senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan (Photo from Team Kiko Pangilinan)

In a statement, Pangilinan exposed the “data-backed evidence” that many of these troll accounts originate from foreign entities and foreign-based networks.
 

He, however, called on the public “to remain vigilant” against fake news and disinformation online as these could just be attempts to distract the public from the real issues the country currently faces.
 

“Ang tunay na laban natin ay hindi sa social media, kundi sa totoong buhay—laban sa gutom, laban sa mahal na bilihin (The real battle is not here on social media, it’s in real life—fight against hunger, fight against high prices of goods),” Pangilinan, who’s running for a Senate seat in the May 2025 elections, said.
 

“Hindi tayo magpapadala sa kasinungalingan. Ang sagot natin: kilos, aksyon, solusyon (We will not be distracted by these lies. Our answer is: move, action, solution),” the country’s former food security czar added.
 

According to him, an analysis of recent online activity targeting his campaign showed a disturbing pattern wherein a spike in troll engagement occurs during key initiatives, such as Pangilinan’s Operation Sagip-Kamatis in Nueva Ecija.
 

“Tuwing may ginagawa tayong mabuti para sa mga magsasaka at mamamayan, biglang naglalabasan ang mga troll (Whenever we do something good for the farmers and the people, these trolls suddenly come out),” he said.
 

“Pero ang gutom, hindi pinapababa ng fake news. Ang presyo ng bilihin, hindi pinapababa ng paninira (But fake news cannot sate hunger. Besmirching others won’t lower the prices of goods,” the former senator added.
 

He also noted the presence of foreign accounts—foreign names, suspicious number-coded usernames, and newly created profiles with little to no personal content.
 

The comments were also “copy-paste disinformation” with identical phrases such as “walang nagawa (he did nothing)” and “puro papogi lang (it’s just for show).”
 

The former official believed that there will be more online attacks as Election Day draws nearer, but his team said it will continue “to monitor and expose troll operations” to ensure that the public receives only accurate information.
 

"Habang sila naninira, tayo kumikilos (While they are maligning us, we are taking actions)," Pangilinan said.
 

A long-time advocate of food security and farmers' welfare, he promised to continue pushing for concrete solutions such as expanding the Operation Sagip-Kamatis to more agricultural communities, advocating for toll exemptions for agricultural trucks, and calling on local government units and businesses to support farmers through direct procurement.