Manila, April 30 -- Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino on Wednesday claimed that China's interference in the upcoming Philippine midterm elections is part of a sustained effort to push its agenda through proxy candidates.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Tolentino said the arrest of a Chinese national near the Commission on Elections main office in Manila on Tuesday backs findings during a Senate inquiry he chaired, wherein it showed signs of Beijing's possible espionage activities.

The arrested Chinese national had an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) device, or a telephone eavesdropping equipment being used to intercept mobile phone traffic and for tracking location of mobile phone users.

Tolentino said ...