SEN. Panfilo Lacson yesterday said an undersecretary (usec) is organizing “troll farms” nationwide, apparently using government money.
He did not identify the official or the department to where he or she belongs.
Lacson said he learned of the operation through his former staff member who the undersecretary attempted to recruit.
He said his former staff member declined the offer to work for the operation which involves putting up at least two troll farms in each of the 81 provinces nationwide.
“Mayroon akong alam na usec na nag-o-organize na sa buong bansa ng at least dalawang troll farms sa isang probinsya,” Lacson said in an online press conference.
He said it is obvious that the official is using government funds but is uncertain if the operation is sanctioned by Malacañang.
“I hope not. Maybe overeager lang yung isang opisyal na yun na magpakitang gilas sa kanilang ginagawa (I hope not. Maybe that official is just over eager to impress higher-ups),” Lacson said.
He did not say if the troll farm will be used to sway voters in next year’s
Trolls are paid to antagonize certain individuals or groups by making offensive or provocative online posts.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Palace knows nothing about the reported operation of the undersecretary. He said it is not government’s “policy” and the official might be doing it in his “personal capacity.”
A study of the University of Oxford claimed the PDP-Laban paid about P10 million for a social media campaign for the 2016 presidential elections. The operation involved volunteers and paid individuals using their social media accounts to defend Duterte against his critics and to promote his campaign.
Duterte is being pushed by a faction in his party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), to run for vice president in the 2022 polls. His daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, is being pushed by supporters to seek the presidency. The opposition has dismissed a Duterte-Duterte tandem.
Lacson, on his political plans for next year, said he would either run for president or retire from politics even if he is still eligible for another Senate term. Lacson ran for the presidency in 2004.
He said running for vice president next year is definitely out of his political agenda.
He said he will make public his decision “soon.”
He said there are numerous a lot factors which he is still considering, and one of them is if he really has the capability to solve the enormous problems of the country.
“It’s between the presidency or retirement. Pagbalik sa Senado? Kasi naka three terms na rin ako at sa tingin ko sa legislative work, I’ve done my part. Maraming frustrations (If I’m going back to the Senate? Because I have been a senator for three terms and it seems that I’ve done my part when it comes to legislative work. There are so many frustrations),” said Lacson.
Lacson said he and Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who he wants to be his running mate should he run for president, are consulting various sectors to find ways to solve the country’s problems, including the increasing national debt, decreasing tax collections, issues on the West Philippine Sea, and pandemic response.
Sotto will “graduate” as a senator next year.
Lacson said it is very easy to file a certificate of candidacy but solving the country’s problems is another.
When asked what will make him decide to run for the highest position in the country, Lacson said: “Yung confidence, yung tools na available para kayang tugunan ang mag problemang umiiral ngayon sa bansa natin. The problems in the country cannot be solved through Tik-Tok, photo ops. Kung alam mong kulang ang kakayanan mo, bakit ka pa susubok (It’s the confidence, the available tools to solve the country’s problems. The problems cannot be solved through Tik-Tok, photo ops. If you know that your ability to solve the country’s problems is limited, why aim for it?), he said.
Sotto, he said, is determined to run as vice president.
MACHINERY
Lacson, who does not belong to any political since he ran as senator in 2001 and for the presidency in 2004, said he is now open to join political parties or a coalition if he decides to run for president because the ruling administration party has a big political machinery and vast resources.
He said this early, some political parties are expressing interest in forming a coalition party with the Nationalist People’s Coalition, of which Sotto is acting chairman.
“Kailangan, malawak ang makinarya ng administration. Kahit sa social media sila ang namamayagpag, marami silang troll na nag-o-operate (I need to [join political parties or coalitions] because the administration has a machinery. They even rule the social media because they have many trolls operating),” he added.
He said should he decide to run for president, he will first make known his decision to Sotto before he announce it on public.
In case he does not make presidential run, Lacson said his support will be just for Sotto and not for he latter’s running mate.
Lacson said 1Sambayan wrote him a letter asking if he can be interviewed as one its choices for presidential candidate but said he is “inclined to decline” the invitation because its convenor, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, has said he is not being considered because he is the sponsor of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which is now being challenged by people who belong to 1Sambayan.
“Ang sa akin ay any self-respecting individual na na-preclude ka na tapos ngayon iimbitahan ka? Meron naman akong respeto sa sarili ko na pupunta ba ako sa inyo. I am more inclined to decline to participate. Bottom line, sa akin ay self-respect at sense of propriety (For me any self-respecting individual who has been precluded should not accept the invitation. I still have self-respect. I am more inclined to decline to participate. Bottom line, I have self-respect and sense of propriety),” he said.
Howard Calleja, 1Samabayan convenor, said they remain open to discuss things with Lacson as they want to unify the opposition against Duterte’s “dictatorship, authoritarianism, extrajudicial killings, suppression on human rights, and subservience to foreign interests.”
“We still remain open to discuss things with Sen. Ping and other well-meaning individuals.
However, those who do not believe in a united opposition are, of course, free to chart their own course,” Calleja said.
