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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Filipino youth urged to stand up vs disinformation on West PH Sea

Filipino youth urged to stand up vs disinformation on West PH Sea

Published Feb 26, 2026 09:27 am
Members of Akbayan Partylist celebrate “West Philippine Sea Victory Day” and commemorate the anniversary of the Philippines’ 2016 Arbitral Tribunal victory by waving flags during a program in Quezon City on July 11, 2025. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands issued on July 12, 2016 an arbitral ruling which declared that China’s nine-dash line claims, including those within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), have no legal basis under international law. (Photo: Santi San Juan / MANILA BULLETIN)
Members of Akbayan Partylist celebrate “West Philippine Sea Victory Day” and commemorate the anniversary of the Philippines’ 2016 Arbitral Tribunal victory by waving flags during a program in Quezon City on July 11, 2025. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands issued on July 12, 2016 an arbitral ruling which declared that China’s nine-dash line claims, including those within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), have no legal basis under international law. (Photo: Santi San Juan / MANILA BULLETIN)
Filipino youth should stand up and fight disinformation drive amid reports of recruitment of local social media influencers to weaken the government’s position on the West Philippine Sea, an official said.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said there are at least two indications of the negative effects of the disinformation drive to the ordinary people, particularly the netizens and the youth.
The first, he said, is the  belief of some Filipinos that the West Philippine Sea is a disputed area; and the second, is the narrative that there would be war or invasion if the Philippines would keep on antagonizing China.
“In our fight for the West Philippine Sea, the greatest challenge is not actually the size of the Chinese Coast Guard vessels or the People’s Liberation Army Navy warships. The greatest challenge is the misinformation campaign,” said Tarriela in a recent forum with students.
“We know that the Chinese government is using the social media platforms to spread lies and disinformation,” he added.
On the issue on whether or not the West Philippine Sea is a disputed area, Tarriela emphasized that the Filipino youth must always bear in mind that the West Philippine Sea is not a disputed territory, rather, it belongs to the Philippines and the Filipino people.
This position, he said, is anchored on legal grounds, the recent was the 2016 decision of the United Nations tribunal.
In that decision, the UN tribunal said that China's "nine-dash line" and claims to historic rights to resources have no legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.
As to the fear of war being raised by some social media influencers, Tarriela said the Philippine government has been standing up on the issue since 2012, yet, there has been no indication of any armed conflict.
The official also expressed belief that China would resort to armed conflict as an ultimate goal to assert its claims over the entire South China Sea.
And amid the growing disinformation drive, Tarriela stressed the need for the Filipinos, especially the youth to hold the line and push back in the interest of protecting the country’s sovereignty.
One of them, he said, is through mass reporting of social media accounts and pages that sow fake news and information. Another one is to comment and engage in an argument to fight the disinformation drive.
And engaging the Filipino youth to keep them informed, Tarriela said, is the reason why they attend to as many youth forums across the country.
“What we are doing right now is not actually for the present generation, for our own benefits. This is for the next generations of the Filipinos,” he said.
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