Senator Francis Tolentino should follow through with his plan to file treason and espionage charges against the people behind a Makati City-based firm contracted by China to allegedly peddle disinformation and put the Philippines in a bad light.
“I support the plan. Senator Tolentino should go ahead with it. Filipinos contracted by China to work against our national interest have betrayed their country, and that is treason,” Rodriguez said in a statement Wednesday, May 7.
Rodriguez, a former law dean, says the applicable laws are the Revised Penal Code and the National Security Act.
“Let us apply these laws on Filipinos and foreigners working against the national interest, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines,” he said.
Rodriguez was the first lawmaker to call for filing criminal charges against officers and directors of the public relations company, identified as Infinitus Marketing Solutions, Inc.
In a statement last April 25, he called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe Infinitus and file charges for treason and espionage.
Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Maritime Zones, said on Monday that the filing of treason and espionage cases against Infinitus officers and director would be included in his committee report.
He claimed that the Chinese Embassy contracted the PR firm to hire “keyboard warriors” or trolls to spread disinformation favoring China and criticizing the Philippines.
Tolentino said he acquired a copy of the contract and a check for P900,000 paid by the Chinese Embassy to Infinitus.
The firm’s founder Paul Li, a Chinese national, denied in a hearing on Monday the existence of the contract but admitted the embassy paid the check to his company.