Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers believes that the issue involving InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, Inc.--the controversial public relations firm that has ties with the Chinese government--deserves a deeper look from local authorities.
Barbers made this call during the fifth and final hearing of the House tri-committee (tri-comm) on Thursday, June 5 wherein he blasted the “China-created, China Embassy-funded and Chinese-manned” PR firm that hired Filipino “keyboard warriors” to launch an orchestrated campaign against anti-China personalities and politicians as well as the country’s policies in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“We still don’t know the extent of the past and present activities done by InfinitUs. But it is clear that it has documented ties with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China. I demand that an urgent and thorough probe be done by this committee on this particular PR firm,” Barbers said.
“I demand that this panel exercise its full authority to probe and hold accountable all persons complicit in this scheme, particularly those Chinese and Filipino key board warriors paid for by a foreign entity to launch a disinformation campaign that undermines the country’s interests and security,” he added.
Barbers said the tri-comm should tap and seek the assistance of the various government regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to dissect InfinitUs’ various sources of funding.
They should also look into its alleged hiring of keyboard warriors and creation of “troll farms” out to spread false narratives and fake news against the country’s foreign policies, the issue on the WPS, and avoidance of tax payments, among others.
He said InfinitUs, aside from being incorporated by three Chinese nationals and three presumably dummy Filipinos, has signed a service agreement with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, particularly with its PR man Wu Chenqi, to spread fake news and its pro-China propaganda and narratives.
He said the service agreement calls for “issue management projects” which could simply be interpreted as a deliberate and aggressive effort to shape or come up with pro-China propaganda and narratives using various social media platforms online, Barbers said.
The Mindanao lawmaker also debunked claims of one of InfinitUs officer during a Senate hearing two weeks prior to the May 12, 2025 elections that the copy of the service agreement between China Embassy and InfinitUs was fake.
But in his slide presentation during tri-comm’s hearing last Thursday, Barbers produced copies of InfinitUs’ SEC registration papers, financial statements that indeed one of the PR firm’s officers identified as Myka Isabel Poynton signed the deal between China Embassy and InfinitUs.
Myka Isabel Poynton — who acted as InfinitUs’ director for marketing, treasurer, corporate secretary and board member “all rolled into one” — and Wu Chenqi, China Embassy director for public relations signed the service agreement.
“This is not a simple partnership. From all indications, nililoko na tayo ng mga ito (we are being fooled by these people),” Barbers stressed.