By Herman Tiu Laurel

 

One of the saddest sights in Philippine politics is watching the performance of its career politicians roast ordinary, level-headed, hardworking, innocent citizens and civilians to serve their own publicity interests without regard for its relevance to legislative functions or fairness and justice. For the past two weeks we, the media audiences, have been subject to Senator Tolentino’s antics using the China bogeyman to attack a Filipino Public Relations company with outrageously false accusations.

Last April 24, 2025, Tolentino dramatized over mass media alleged a contractual arrangement for the operation of “troll farms” to “propagate Chinese narratives” and “in connection with the elections” by the Chinese Embassy with a public relations firm named InfinitUS Marketing Solutions Inc. The senator even produced a giant replica of a cheque issued by the Chinese embassy to InfinitUS for nearly P 1-million and insinuated that this was in payment for the troll farm services. Two weeks and several hearings later Tolentino has yet to show proof of the said “troll farms.”

On May 3, 2025, Tolentino was headlined by the Philippine Daily Inquirer to “dare” the InfinitUS PR company “to face Senate on Monday” which the company did not shirk from doing. Two days later the PR firm did appear before the senate hearing chaired by Sen. Tolentino and denied point blank the “troll farm” allegation:

“I categorically deny the allegation that InfinitUs has engaged in any unlawful activity including the spread of disinformation to influence this coming elections. The contract shown is not known to us, was never authorized by us,” said Paul Li, Chief Executive Officer of InfinitUs, facing the hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones. Li, a Chinese citizen, has been living in the Philippines for more than 20 years. He is married to a Filipina who is also an incorporator of InfinitUs.

The much-ballyhooed P 930,000.00 cheque Tolentino had blown up into a streamer-sized replica was, Mr. Li said “[…was an] award for promoting Philippines-China understanding. During that event, President Marcos and other Cabinet [members] joined. And since that event is quite strict, we also added more holding rooms and also the COVID testing,…” Yes, I was personally at that event too and I remember the arrival of not only President Bongbong Marcos but also personally ushering in President Erap Estrada.

Anyone can Google APPCU Awards 2023 and access the Philippine News Agency report of that time entitled, “Speech by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding Award Ceremony.” II also remember the Covid-19 testing we had to go through in a small room at the Manila Hotel manned by Presidential Security Guard personnel. So, when  Tolentino accused Mr. Li of “lying upfront, outright” about this I can say to Tolentino’s face that he is the one lying about his own ignorance.

The lying Tolentino has tried to weave in his desperate last minute election campaign propaganda and ride on with what Senator Imee Marcos has exposed in her Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings: “The Committee received information from a reliable source that the administration has launched a communication plan to divert the attention of the people from the arrest and transport of FPRRD to the issues in the West Philippine Sea and the alleged disinformation activities of China.”

Sen. Imee Marcos exposed the “alleged claims that China was interfering in the upcoming May mid-term elections in the Philippines by supporting pro-China candidates.” The anti-China propaganda overused by US-proxy Filipino politicians have lost its effect on the public. The loss of credibility of the anti-China propaganda has led the SWS to a poll finding that the “masa” of class “E” or 18% (up to possibly class D or 55%) of Philippine society would vote for candidates who “do not plan to assert the country’s maritime claims.”

The effectivity of the anti-China propaganda and the WPS ploy has eroded over the past 15-years since the “Pivot to Aisa” of U.S. President Obama, the U.S. concocted 2016 arbitration decision and the WPS myth, and the final “assertive transparency strategy” executed at the start of 2023 and collapsing in July 2024 when its mastermind U.S. Air Force Col. Raymond Powell has to write a article to boost entitled, “Transparency has not ‘failed’ the Philippines.” The SWS survey finding attests to this failure.

To end this piece let me say that henceforth I will call Senator Tolentino as “Tonto-lentino” (and all US-proxy Filipinos as Tontos) after the American masked rider-hero The Lone Ranger’s sidekick “Tonto” riding beside his White master and doing its bidding. Tonto-lentino will likely learn that the SWS finding that the “anti-China” propaganda line does not earn votes anymore when he totally loses – as the surveys show – in the mid-term elections. ###

   

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