IT wasn't that long ago that we were a nation whose president aired the thought that the Philippines could become a province of China. This was the era when our ruling party sent officers to China to be trained by China's Communist Party, and the 2016 South China Sea arbitration tribunal ruling was a mere scrap of paper.

The tune has changed. Now, even just a Chinese-sounding name arouses suspicion of espionage, criminal activity and forged documents. Take the case of Infinity Eight Trading and Marketing Corp. (Infinity Eight). The company has a compound with warehouses and other buildings in Barangay Lagundi, Mexico, Pampanga. It is owned by a Chinese-Filipino businessman.