Chinese-Filipino groups downplay Sinophobia over earthquake aid in Philippines
Chinese-Filipino business groups have sent aid to earthquake-hit residents in the southern Philippines, continuing their tradition of providing disaster relief at a time when worsening Manila-Beijing ties have complicated public perceptions of people and organisations linked to China. In General San
By Jeoffrey Maitem
Chinese-Filipino business groups have sent aid to earthquake-hit residents in the southern Philippines, continuing their tradition of providing disaster relief at a time when worsening Manila-Beijing ties have complicated public perceptions of people and organisations linked to China.
In General Santos City, among the areas hardest hit by the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on June 8, local officials and survivors said politics had little place in disaster recovery as they welcomed the donations of food, water and other emergency items from the Chinese-Filipino community.
But some observers said the relief drive had drawn extra scrutiny as Manila and Beijing remained entangled in the South China Sea dispute and security controversies involving Chinese nationals in the Philippines had put Filipinos on edge.
“These are serious concerns now because some Chinese-Filipinos are being accused of advancing China’s agenda in the Philippines or supporting Chinese influence operations,” said Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippines-China Friendship Society and a board member of the China-Southeast Asia Research Centre on the South China Sea.
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, president of the Philippine Association of Chinese Studies and a research fellow at Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress, said he did not believe the latest donations would be viewed as an attempt to counter suspicions but rather as a continuation of the Chinese-Filipino community’s long tradition of giving back to society.
He said the “loyalty and allegiance” of Chinese-Filipinos was with the Philippines, “although some of them may have misgivings about the approach in dealing with China”, referring to Manila’s handling of relations with Beijing.
The community’s tradition was visible after the earthquake when the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCII) mobilised relief operations for affected families. The federation, led by president Victor Lim, represents more than 170 chambers of commerce, industry associations and trade groups nationwide.
According to the latest official figures, the quake killed 78 people, left 30 missing and injured 1,339 others. It also damaged or destroyed nearly 75,000 houses and hundreds of infrastructure facilities, leaving streets littered with debris in General Santos City and Sarangani province.
The relief mission reached about 2,000 of the hardest-hit families in General Santos City, providing food packs containing rice, canned goods, noodles, instant coffee and drinking water.
The Chinese-Filipino community also donated 4,000 galvanised iron roofing sheets to help families whose homes were damaged or destroyed begin rebuilding.
“We were deeply saddened. Our help goes out to the families who have lost their family, loved ones, homes, livelihoods and sources of income,” Lim told reporters.
“Our local chamber will continue to closely monitor developments on the ground and coordinate with government agencies to identify communities that may require additional assistance in the coming weeks,” he added.
The federation said it would earmark part of its 200-million-peso (US$4.2 million) school-building programme to replace classrooms destroyed by the earthquake. It is also launching a fundraising drive within the Chinese-Filipino community to support affected families, particularly those whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
Rombel Catolico, communications chief of the General Santos City government, said geopolitical tensions should be viewed separately from humanitarian efforts, adding that the city welcomed assistance from the Chinese-Filipino business community.
“I have nothing against China. The West Philippine Sea issue is best addressed through proper diplomatic channels,” Catolico said, referring to Manila’s term for the parts of the South China Sea within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“As our city continues to recover, we welcome help from anyone with sincere intentions to support our people. Our focus remains on the welfare of our constituents and the recovery of General Santos City.”
Catolico said the Chinese-Filipino community had long been a reliable partner of the local government, consistently extending help during emergencies and other challenging times.
Joseph Jubelag, a General Santos City resident whose mother’s house was damaged by the tremor, said every form of donation was valuable to help families recover from the earthquake.
“The Chinese-Filipino community here has been active whenever there are calamities,” Jubelag said, adding that politics should not be in the picture.
Building trust amid suspicion
For some Chinese-Filipino leaders, the concern is that disputes with Beijing and espionage allegations involving Chinese nationals in the Philippines have made it easier for local Chinese-Filipino civic work to be viewed through a political or security lens.
A 2025 study using OCTA Research survey data found overwhelming distrust of China but mixed attitudes towards Chinese nationals in the Philippines among Filipinos. About 26.5 per cent of respondents agreed that Chinese nationals faced discrimination linked to Manila’s territorial row with Beijing and the banned Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), while 33.6 per cent were neutral and 39.9 per cent disagreed.
Edmund Tayao, a law professor at San Beda Graduate School of Law in Manila, said goodwill shown by Chinese-Filipino groups would have a limited effect without a change in Beijing’s conduct in the disputed waters.
“No amount of humanitarian work can impact without concomitant change in the way China has been acting, in insisting on its own view and utter disregard for international law and welfare and sovereignty of other countries,” Tayao said.
Still, Tayao said many Filipinos were capable of distinguishing between geopolitical disagreements with Beijing and the contributions of the Chinese-Filipino community.
“People are people, and there is nothing absolute in the way they respond to issues,” he said.
Tensions have continued to simmer between Manila and Beijing. In the latest flare-up, Beijing sanctioned Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr, barring him and his immediate family from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau over what it described as his “erroneous remarks” concerning China.
Domestic security controversies have also sharpened public sensitivities, including the case of jailed former Bamban mayor Alice Guo, who faced allegations over her links to Pogos, human trafficking syndicates and Chinese influence networks, as well as separate investigations into purported espionage activities involving Chinese nationals.
Teresita Ang See, a veteran Chinese-Filipino civic leader, has previously warned that espionage allegations were fuelling Sinophobia, citing the portrayal of Chinese students in Cagayan as potential spies and reports of Chinese nationals and businesses facing harassment or inspections.
Banlaoi said such attitudes had led some Filipino scholars who studied in China to self-censor, warning that stigma risked undermining efforts to stabilise relations between Manila and Beijing.
For ordinary people, it is largely a non-issue
Wilson Lee Flores, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry
FFCCCII spokesman Wilson Lee Flores, however, downplayed the issue, saying he did not believe Sinophobia was a significant problem in the Philippines.
“Most of the noise comes from geopolitics. For ordinary people, it is largely a non-issue. People who understand history know what real Sinophobia looks like and what we are seeing today is not that,” Flores said.
The banning of Pogos was a welcome development because they had damaged relations between Manila and Beijing by allowing criminal groups to prey on Chinese nationals and others, he added.
For Lim, the federation’s work remained rooted in a long-standing Chinese-Filipino commitment to local communities.
“For centuries, the Filipino-Chinese community has always stood side by side with our fellow Filipinos during times of calamity, crisis and hardship,” Lim said.