Quezon City: 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, revealed that these trolls-persons or groups that deliberately post inflammatory messages-have been particularly aggressive in spreading misinformation about the WPS.

According to Philippines News Agency, Tarriela stated, “I think this is their reaction to the transparency efforts that the National Task Force (NTF) for WPS is doing right now.” He added that the PCG and the NTF-WPS are developing strategies to “dominate the public discourse about our factual narrative.” Tarriela emphasized their commitment to protecting the interests of Filipino fishermen and safeguarding maritime jurisdiction while ensuring actions do not escalate tensions, as advised by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

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 noted.

CCG-5901, referred to as the ‘monster ship’ due to its size, was first monitored intruding into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at a distance of 54 nautical miles from Capones Island in Zambales on January 4. In response, several PCG vessels have been conducting continuous 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,” Tarriela said.