Ang Pahayagan

MANILA – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has reported a surge in online trolls targeting government social media pages following increased transparency efforts in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), an official said Wednesday.

During the UTAK Forum in Quezon City, PCG Spokesperson for the WPS, Commodore Jay Tarriela said these trolls – persons or groups that deliberately post inflammatory messages – have been particularly aggressive in spreading misinformation about the WPS.

“I think this is their reaction to the transparency efforts that the National Task Force (NTF) for WPS is doing right now,” Tarriela said.

He added that the PCG and the NTF-WPS are developing strategies to “dominate the public discourse about our factual narrative.”

“We are committed to protecting the interests of Filipino fishermen and safeguarding our maritime jurisdiction. At the same time, as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said, we should come up with actions that will not escalate the tension,” he said.

PCG patrols in WPS

Tarriela also highlighted the PCG’s success in monitoring and deterring China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels from approaching the country’s western coastline.

“In the past days, we have been very successful in pushing back the CCG vessels. Right now, as we speak, the latest position of CCG 3304, the ship that replaced the Chinese monster ship, is 88 nautical miles away from Zambales,” he said.

CCG-5901, dubbed the ‘monster ship’ for its size, was first monitored to have intruded into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at a distance of 54 nautical miles from Capones Island in Zambales on Jan. 4.

In response, he said several PCG vessels made continued patrols in the area to monitor the Chinese incursion.

“From January 4 until now, we have rotated our vessels to [BRP Teresa] Magbanua, [BRP] Gabriela Silang, [BRP] Suluan, [BRP] Cabra, and then again, it’s BRP Teresa Magbanua who is taking responsibility of monitoring and challenging the CCG monster ship,” he said. (PNA)

📸 WPS FORUM. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela (from left to right), former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, and columnist Richard Heydarian during the UTAK Forum in Quezon City on Wednesday (Jan. 29, 2025). Tarriela said there was an increase in online “trolls” targetting government-run social media pages as the country intensified its transparency efforts in the WPS. (PNA photo by Raymond Carl M. Dela Cruz)