Tolentino dares company working for China to face Senate on Monday
Senate Majority Leader Francis “Tol” Tolentino during one of the Senate proceedings. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Reelectionist Sen. Francis Tolentino dared Makati-based firm InfinitUs Marketing Solutions Inc. to attend the Senate’s public hearing on foreign espionage and interference scheduled on May 5.
This, after the private firm denied allegations linking them to trolling operations allegedly funded by China.
“We’ll be having a hearing on May 5. Everything will be under oath. So kung ‘yong InfinitUs ay deny ng deny ngayon, wag sa media. Humarap kayo, umattend kayo sa hearing, mag subscribe kayo, doon niyo sabihin ang gusto niyong sabihin,” said Tolentino.
(We’ll be having a hearing on May 5. Everything will be under oath. So if InfinitUs is denying now, do not do it before the media. Face the public, attend the hearing, subscribe, and tell us what you want to say.)
“Hindi po ‘yong press release ng press release ‘yong abodago nila. Humarap sila sa hearing sa Lunes. Mas maganda po ‘yong ganon,” he added.
(Don’t just let your lawyer issue a press release. Face us in the hearing on Monday. That’s better.)
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 of China troll farm to discredit PH gov’t
“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 Sen. 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 Philippine government and anti-China Filipino personalities.
