ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Reject pro-China 'script' from 'treasonous' candidates, Ortega tells Pinoys

Reject pro-China 'script' from 'treasonous' candidates, Ortega tells Pinoys

Published Apr 27, 2025 05:03 am

At A Glance

  • House Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V called on Filipinos on Sunday, April 27 to reject the pro-China "script" that's allegedly being parroted in the Philippines by certain election candidates.

IMG-7404e24e7882e33f2052b84f55ab52b0-V.jpgLa Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega (PPAB)

House Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V called on Filipinos on Sunday, April 27 to reject the pro-China "script" that's allegedly being parroted in the Philippines by certain election candidates.

Ortega has branded these poll candidates as part of "Team China", as opposed to the Marcos administration-backed bets who are out to protect the country from foreign interference.

“Sinisira ng Team China ang tiwala ng mga tao sa halalan—at ginagamit pa ang ilang kababayan natin para gawin ito (Team China is destroying the people's trust in the elections--and they're even using some of our countrymen to accomplish this),” he pointed out in a statement.

Ortega urged voters to stay vigilant and critical, especially of candidates who repeat anti-Balikatan, anti-Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), or pro-Beijing narratives.

“May script na galing sa Beijing. At meron tayong mga lokal na tumutugtog ng script na ‘yan (There’s a script from Beijing. And there are individuals here who are playing that script).The Filipino people must reject them,” Ortega said.

"May mga kandidatong tumatakbo ngayon na halatang may basbas ng banyagang interes (There are candidates out there who obviously have the blessing of foreign interest). This is not just unacceptable. This is treasonous," he said.

The ranking congressman further assailed these candidates.

“Let me be clear: Kung may kandidato na kumakampi sa China habang inaangkin ang ating teritoryo, habang tinatarget ang ating militar at pamahalaan, hindi ‘yan lider. Hindi ‘yan makabayan (If there are candidates who are siding with China while our territory is being encroached upon, while our military and government are being targeted, then those aren't leaders. They aren't nationalistic).

"That’s a puppet, not a public servant,” Ortega said.

Ortega pushed for the swift filing of criminal cases as well as the passage of stronger laws against foreign election interference.

“Hindi ito panahon ng katahimikan. Panahon ito ng paninindigan (This is not the time for silence. This is the time to make a stand). We must act now—before foreign powers succeed in choosing our leaders for us."

He vowed that Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez, will do everything within its power to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process and hold all collaborators accountable.

Related Tags

2025 elections paolo Ortega Pro-China
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.