A Philippine Coast Guard spokesman laughed off claims by pro-China groups that he is a CIA agent after he continued to expose Chinese vessels venturing inside Philippine waters.

"Actually na-flattered ako para sabihing CIA agent ako. Parang pang Hollywood movies lang. Nakakatawa lang, anong basis? Meron ba silang dokumento to prove that claim?" PCG spokesman Jay Tarriela said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

A Philippine Star article earlier said a Twitter account exhibiting troll-like behavior first posted accusations that Tarriela worked for the US government’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) around two hours after the spokesman called Filipinos defending China as “unpatriotic” and “traitors.”

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Tarriela said he has ignored trolls and fake news peddlers so as not to give them a platform.

"No matter how many lies they are going to write against me, it's ok with me kasi ang pinag-uusapan na natin bayan na natin," he said.

The spokesman earlier warned pro-China groups and individuals are using 3 "claims, arguments and accusations" to contradict factual reports from Philippine authorities.

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The first claim is that speaking up against China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea will lead us into a war.

"FACT: Exposing China's aggression is not inciting war. By keeping our political leaders and countrymen aware of China’s violations of international law, we are safeguarding our country from political manipulation and disinformation," the spokesman said.

He said the second argument used by pro-China individuals is that the Philippines' transparency on Chinese aggression in the West Philippine is "solely influenced by the United States."

Finally, he said pro-China individuals are accusing those who are critical of China as being "anti-Filipino and pro-US."

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