THE House of Representatives has appointed a daughter of outgoing Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante as its official spokesperson for the remainder of the 19th Congress to step up its fight against fake news and disinformation in the stage of social media.
“The House cannot afford to be silent while lies travel faster than truth. We will speak with clarity, we will speak with purpose and we will speak without hesitation,” said Priscilla Marie “Princess” Abante, a lawyer who is not a member of the lower house.
“It is about defending democracy from confusion, distortion and silence,” she also said.
“Tayo po ay mag-uulat sa bayan ng pawang mga katotohanan lamang. Walang halong fake news. Walang labis, walang kulang, dahil ito po ang ating mandato sa mamamayang Pilipino (We’ll only report the truth to the people. No fake news. Nothing more, nothing less because this is our mandate to the people),” she added.
Princess’ father, who is the chair of the House Committee on Human Rights and co-chair of the quad committee which investigated the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs and the criminal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), lost his reelection bid to Joey Uy who will represent Manila’s sixth district in the 20th Congress.
The new House spokesman is a former Manila councilor, who also headed the city’s public information office and served as spokesperson and head of communications of the Office of the Mayor.
The younger Abante said she will continue to serve in the 20th Congress if Speaker Martin Romualdez is reelected as the leader of House.
The House leadership said the appointment of a spokesperson, as approved by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, is part of a “continuing effort to strengthen transparency and ensure accurate, timely communication of legislative priorities, investigations, and national policy directions.”
It said the appointment “is a deliberate shift in the House’s communications approach, one that emphasizes factual clarity and proactive engagement in a time when public trust must be continuously cultivated.”
The appointment was made amid the President’s decision to reorganize the Cabinet following the defeat of five of the 11 senatorial candidates of the “Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas” and the victory of five Duterte allies in the senatorial race, including Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, who was also part of the administration slate.
The House is also preparing for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate.
The younger Abante said the legislative’s work does not end in passing laws because people who are meant to benefit from them have to be well-informed and educated to build genuine public understanding.
“We are entering a time when public trust is no longer given. It must be earned daily, through facts and through honesty. That is what this role demands and that is what I intend to uphold,” Princess said. “We are here to inform, not to inflame. Pero kung kailangan pong punahin ang mga mali, kung kailangang itama ang kumakalat na fake news para i-discredit ang Kamara o mga miyembro nito, makakaasa po kayo na gagawin namin ito (But if we need to point out wrongdoing, if we need to correct fake news that are meant to discredit Congress and its members, rest assured that we’ll do it). The public deserves no less than the truth,” she said.
While she will not be the spokesman for the House prosecution team in the impeachment trial, Princess warned the public heavily relying on survey results when gauging public opinion on pressing national issues such as the Vice President’s impending impeachment trial.
She made the statement in reaction to a recent Pulse Asia survey showing 50 percent of respondents opposing the filing of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
“Siguro kung meron tayo natutunan ngayong eleksyon ay hindi naging tugma ang mga naging datos ng mga survey prior to elections doon sa actual na resulta (Perhaps, if we have learned anything from the elections, it’s that the survey data prior to the elections differed from the actual result),” she told reporters.
Among those who were consistently projected to win the senatorial race but lost were Ben Tulfo, Willie Revillame, Makati Mayor Abby Binay and reelectionist Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla, while candidates like former senators Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan, Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and reelectinist Sen. Imee Marcos, who were not in the surveys’ Magic 12, won.
“So I would be very careful in reading too much right now on the surveys,” the younger Abante said.
1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, who is part of the prosecution panel, agreed, saying the public should “take it with a grain of salt.”
“Surprise! No. 2 si Sen. (Bam) Aquino (Surprise! No. 2 si Sen. Aquino) and we also have Sen. (Kiko) Pangilinan, among others. I really take surveys with a pinch of salt right now,” he said.
The Pulse Asia “Pulso ng Bayan” survey, conducted from May 6 to 9 among 1,200 registered voters, showed that 50 percent of the respondents disagreed with the filing of the impeachment complaint, 28 percent agreed while 21 percent were undecided.
