Chinese flags are seen on buildings in the Huangpu district in Shanghai on February 20, 2025. Hector Retamal, AFP/File
MANILA — The Chinese Embassy on Monday claimed that some Filipino politicians have “fabricated and spread a false narrative” about China’s alleged funding for an unnamed local political faction, following former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV's claim that it funded Vice President Sara Duterte's companies.
Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Ji Lingpeng also said in a statement that “the embassy’s website has been maliciously linked to as a redirect destination.”
Trillanes alleged last Friday that Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio received millions worth of remittances from the Chinese government through Cale88 Foods Corp.
He also claimed that Duterte’s Tapang at Malasakit Alliance for the Philippines Inc. received P150 million from the Chinese Embassy for the construction of 13 classrooms.
Trillanes said these were based on actual documents and contracts from various government agencies.
VP Sara biz partner Jaime Tan Cruz was envoy to China under Rodrigo Duterte — prosecution
“We strongly condemn and firmly oppose such malicious rhetoric and actions,” Ji said.
He urged politicians to “stop political manipulation and not to drag Philippine domestic politics into China-Philippines relations.”
He also said that "smearing and discrediting China and harming China's interests and image" for politics “will ultimately undermine the interests of the Philippines and its people."
Trillanes' accusations came after the prosecution dropped him from testifying in Duterte's impeachment trial.
Trillanes accuses Sara Duterte, Mans Carpio of receiving millions in funding from China
In the trial, the prosecution has presented Duterte's Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, where she declared her business interest with Gencorp Industries Inc., which House prosecution spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur said was Chinese-owned.
The vice president's supposed business partner, Jaime T. Cruz, also served as the country's special envoy to China from 2019 through 2022, when Duterte's father Rodrigo Duterte was president. — With a report from Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News
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