MANILA — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Thursday warned that China is infiltrating various sectors in the Philippines, including the media and local governments. 

Brawner made the statement during a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo after a command conference attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro, and National Security Adviser Sec. Eduardo Año.

According to the AFP chief, China is targeting the education, business, media, and local government sectors in the Philippines.

Beijing is reportedly doing this through a "United Front Works" strategy.

"They are slowly entering our country and trying to influence various sectors in our society, including the education sector, business, even the media, and local government units," said Brawner.

Brawner cautions public against Chinese propaganda

China is also allegedly using Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) to gain entry into the Philippines.

"Our counteraction against their United Front Works is that we are going to try to gather information from all of these and then give the proper agency the right kind of information. For instance, what we did in operations against the POGO, it's not the POGO itself because there are licensed and legal POGOs. We are targeting the illegal establishments, those that were legal POGOs but suddenly became illegal because of other activities they are doing within the confines of their structures. That's what we are addressing," explained Brawner.

He said the AFP  is taking steps to prevent this and the information they gather is immediately sent to the Bureau of Immigration and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

Brawner added that China uses fake news as a tactic.

"We have a campaign, part of our briefing to the President today is our communication plan or campaign called MULAT. We need to awaken and be aware of what's happening internally in our country," said Brawner.

The AFP has launched the West Philippine Sea MULAT communication plan to counter the misinformation spread by China.

"Hopefully, our fellow countrymen will adopt it. The West Philippine Sea is our ocean, our rights, and our future. What we are doing is not just for the present but also for the future generations of the Philippines," Brawner added.