Philippine midterm elections: casino-linked cash seizure and poll-day disruptions raise alarms
Philippines proceeded without major disruption in most areas on Monday, according to officials and observers, but the seizure of nearly half a billion pesos in undeclared cash from foreign nationals, along with isolated incidents of deadly violence and technical glitches, has raised concerns over the integrity of the vote.
Advertisement
One of the most startling developments occurred late Friday, when six Chinese nationals, three foreigners and two Filipinos were intercepted at Cebu International Airport while attempting to board a private jet to Manila. Authorities discovered 441.9 million pesos (US$7.6 million) in local currency, along with US$168,730 and HK$1,000 in undeclared cash – raising suspicions of illicit election-related activity.
Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, said investigators were pursuing multiple leads, including the possibility that the money was intended to influence the polls.
'Is this money part of a plan to influence or at least interfere in our elections?' she said at a Sunday briefing. 'Maybe these foreign nationals might be a conduit to be used to interfere or at least influence our elections.'
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, centre right, and his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, centre left, prepare to cast their votes at a polling station in Batac City, Ilocos Norte province, on Monday. Photo: AP
Police officials said the foreign nationals – including a Malaysian, an Indonesian and a Kazakh citizen – had declared only three of seven hard-shell suitcases during check-in. X-ray scans and inspection revealed the undeclared currency.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
The Philippine murder mystery spoiling Taal Lake's catch
The volcanic mist that hung over Taal Lake last week seemed to thicken with every rumour. Where fishermen once cast their nets, search teams trawled the depths for sacks of secrets. Since July 10, up to 40 technical divers from the Philippines ' coastguard, aided by a remotely operated submersible, have recovered five sacks containing 'suspicious objects' from the lake's dark depths. The search, triggered by the bombshell revelations of whistle-blower Julie 'Dondon' Patidongan, has left the local community in Batangas province, some 63km (40 miles) south of Manila, reeling while sending shock waves across the nation. Patidongan's macabre account is harrowing. He claims at least 35 missing sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts) were kidnapped and slowly strangled with wire before their bodies were stuffed into weighted sacks and dumped in the lake near the municipality of Laurel. He has implicated police officers allegedly corrupted by his former employer, gambling tycoon Charlie 'Atong' Ang, and warned that up to 100 murdered men could have been dumped in the murky waters.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
South China Sea: expect ‘more provocations' from Manila, and Hanoi could be next
Tensions could worsen between Beijing and Manila over the disputed South China Sea with 'more provocations' expected after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr shored up support in the midterm election, a Chinese maritime analyst says. Wu Shicun, founder of the government-sponsored think tank the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, also said Beijing and Hanoi could be heading for confrontation over Vietnam's increasing land reclamation activities in the contested Spratly Islands. He said there was no sign that tensions would ease over the maritime disputes in the South China Sea and the Philippines was now the 'most prominent' rival claimant. Wu Shicun, founder of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. Photo: China News Service via Getty Images Wu made the remarks at a seminar in Beijing on Thursday ahead of the ninth anniversary of a historic ruling by a tribunal in The Hague that dismissed China's claims to large swathes of the resource-rich South China Sea, saying they had 'no legal basis'. The case was brought by the Philippines and the ruling was rejected by China. Addressing foreign diplomats, academics and officials, Wu accused Manila of trying to 'occupy' new maritime features and to 'expand disputes' over Second Thomas Shoal, Sandy Cay and Scarborough Shoal, where a series of run-ins between Chinese and Philippine vessels have taken place in recent months. He also pointed to the Philippines allowing a US mid-range missile system to be deployed in the north of the country, saying it was an attempt to 'disrupt cross-strait peace'. The mid-range capability launcher, also known as Typhon, was stationed in the Philippines in April 2024 during joint exercises with the US, its first overseas deployment. Manila later said it had decided to keep the system indefinitely. Beijing was angered by the move given the strike capabilities of the ground-based launcher, which can fire Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles with a range of up to 2,000km (1,242 miles) – meaning parts of the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait and even southern China would be within reach.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Disinformation and AI-generated content drive growing partisan divide in the Philippines
The flood of online disinformation – turbocharged by new technology and recycled tactics – is thriving in a digital ecosystem where engagement often outweighs accuracy, analysts warn. The Philippines' polarised political climate, combined with low digital literacy and eroding institutional trust, has created a 'perfect storm' for false narratives to flourish – particularly those generated by AI, according to Paco Pangalangan, a regional disinformation and tech policy consultant. 'Filipinos spend more time on social media than almost anyone else in the world, but digital literacy remains low, institutional trust is eroding, and platforms continue to reward engagement over accuracy,' he told This Week in Asia. One recent high-profile case involved a falsified Beverly Hills police report linking first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos to the March death of Filipino retail scion Paolo Tantoco in Los Angeles. The report, which went viral online, falsely claimed that Tantoco died from a drug overdose and that Marcos had been summoned for questioning. Liza Araneta-Marcos (right), wife of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, during his proclamation at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on May 25, 2022. Photo: AFP Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro on Tuesday dismissed the document as fabricated, saying the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles had verified with American authorities that it had been 'altered'.
