Rodriguez eyes treason rap vs firm tapped by China for socmed ops

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines — The company tapped by China, through its embassy in the Philippines, to supposedly discredit the Philippine government and anti-China personalities should be charged with treason, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said on Friday.

Rodriguez, in a statement, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) should file charges against InfinitUs Marketing, after a Senate hearing on Thursday revealed that the Chinese embassy entered into a “service agreement” with the company to provide “keyboard warriors that will play a vital role in the overall effectiveness of the issue management project.”

“The DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation should file charges for treason and other violations of the Revised Penal Code and the National Security Act against officers and directors of Infinitus Marketing Solutions,” the lawmaker said.

“In general, these laws punish any Filipino who betrays or is disloyal to his country and who works against its national interest, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

During the hearing of the Senate committee on Philippine maritime and admiralty zones, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino revealed the existence of a service agreement, where InfinitUs was allegedly contracted to spread pro-Beijing narratives and fake news campaigns targeting lawmakers who support the Philippines’ claims over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The Philippine government maintains that the WPS is part of Philippine territory, as it is within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.  However, China’s nine-dash line claim includes even territorial waters of the Philippines.

READ: Senate inquiry brings up China-funded ‘troll farm’ 

“This is not a simple contract,” Tolentino said. “This contract and payment mean the destruction of the dignity of the Filipino, the stomping on the dignity of the Philippines.”

According to Rodriguez, Chinese embassy officers who contracted Infinitus must also be charged.

“These Chinese diplomats and embassy staff should likewise be immediately sanctioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he added.

“China’s government through its embassy is paying Filipino troll farms to oppose and smear the administration,” he said.

Rodriguez also urged Tolentino to summon Infinitus officers and members of its board of directors during the next hearing so that they could explain the details of their engagement with the Chinese embassy.

“I am interested in knowing the social media personalities they have engaged and paid to work against our national interest and promote China’s false narratives on the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Aside from China tapping a company to hit critics of their territorial claim, the National Security Council (NSC) also reported that they have seen indicators that China is interfering in the May 2025 national elections.

READ: China interfering with PH’s May 2025 polls, says NSC’s Malaya 

During the same hearing, Tolentino asked NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya if there were any indicators showing foreign interference in the 2025 elections.

Malaya then replied that there are indications that “information operations are being conducted or that Chinese state-sponsored groups in the Philippines are actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.”

Tensions between the Philippines and China have been increasing recently, after local authorities believe that Chinese aircraft and vessels continue to engage in aggressive and intrusive activities over the WPS.

Just this February, the Philippine Coast Guard spotted four Chinese vessels near Bajo de Masinloc, including the so-called monster ship — Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG 5901.

Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal sits 124 nautical miles west of Zambales — which means it is inside the 200-nautical mile EEZ.

Then last February 18, a Chinese military helicopter came as close as three meters above a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane which was conducting a maritime patrol of the Panatag Shoal, another sandbar located inside the EEZ.

READ: Chinese PLA Navy chopper gets as close as 3 meters to BFAR plane 

Over Chinese social media platforms, there were also videos showing that the nine-dash line now includes Palawan, and even other parts of Luzon.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has clarified that the island of Palawan never belonged to China, noting that the Philippines and its state predecessors have “always exercised sovereignty over our archipelago and over Palawan in particular.”

 

(2025/04/25-12:57)