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Francis Tolentino sees possible filing of espionage case vs InfinitUs

Francis Tolentino sees possible filing of espionage case vs InfinitUs

Provided by INQUIRER.net.

Sen. Francis Tolentino speaking before a hearing.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino. Photo from Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau



MANILA, Philippines — Active partners and directors of Makati-based firm InfinitUs Marketing Solutions Inc. may be slapped with a criminal charge for allegedly working with China to discredit the Philippine government and anti-China Filipino personalities.

This was according to Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino who disclosed the matter to reporters in a press conference on Monday.

According to Tolentino, among the personalities that may be charged with a criminal case is InfinitUs Marketing Solutions Inc. Co-Founder and Managing Partner Paul Li.

“He’s been more than an accomplice so he’s functioning as a part of a Filipino corporation here so espionage, probably, will be a higher degree. But we have to amend the laws,” said Tolentino.

The senator was then asked if a criminal case may be filed against the officials at present while the law has yet to be amended, to which he answered in the affirmative.

Further pressed to disclose whether it’s only an espionage case that may be filed, Tolentino said it would be better to leave the matter to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

‘Leave matter to NBI’


“Let’s leave the matter to the NBI. I might get it wrong. I have talked to the NBI already, and they will lead something big,” he told reporters.

In a statement released on May 2, InfinitUs insisted that it is a law-abiding Filipino company, saying that it has no agreement with the Chinese embassy or any foreign government to conduct disinformation online.

The company said such accusations, raised during a previous Senate hearing, are false, defamatory, and endanger” their people and clients.”

READ: Tolentino bares evidence China paying farm troll to discredit PH govt

“No such contract exists. We categorically deny having any agreement with the Chinese Embassy — or any foreign government — for troll operations, disinformation, or illicit digital activity. The alleged ‘service agreement’ is unauthenticated, unsigned, and completely unfamiliar to our company. It is, at best, a forgery crafted to fit a political narrative,” the company said on its Facebook page.

It was Tolentino – head of the Senate’s special panel on maritime and admiralty zones — who exposed the alleged scheme between InfinitUs and the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, claiming that China is paying “keyboard warriors” under a contract with the private company to discredit the Philippine government and anti-China Filipino personalities.

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