THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is gathering evidence to pin down 20 vloggers for the spread of disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” on social media platforms, Director Jaime Santiago said yesterday.
Santiago said charges would be filed against the 20 individuals, whose identities he refused to divulge.
He likewise said the NBI is close to identifying who is bankrolling the vloggers’ activities.
He said he would provide more updates in the coming days but refused to give additional details on the agency’s ongoing probe to unmask the mastermind behind the disinformation campaign.
“Alam nyo, hindi ko lang pwede sa inyong isiwalat ‘yung mga listahan namin. But we have already a list nitong vloggers na ito na nagpapakalat ng fake news (I can’t disclose our list. But we already have a list of vloggers behind the spread of fake news),” he told reporters.
He said the NBI is coordinating with other government agencies, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), on the issue.
“Last week lang, nag-meeting na kami ng DICT, ng NTC, nag-usap-usap na kami kung paano namin once and for all masawata itong mga fake news spreaders, mga vloggers na nagbibigay ng fake news at saka yung creators na makapag-create lang kahit hindi tama yung ginagawa nila (Just last week, we had a meeting with the DICT and the NTC and we discussed how to once and for all tackle the spread of fake news and its spreaders, including vloggers and content creators sharing fake news),” he said.
Santiago said the NBI has established a pattern in the spread of fake news or the timing of the posts, bolstering suspicions that there is an unseen hand guiding them.
“Tinitingnan namin, bakit dumadami? Bakit parang iisa ang tema nila? Sumasakay sa kaguluhan ng ating political atmosphere (We are looking at why these are increasing, why [the posts] have a single theme. It seems that they are using the current political atmosphere to get exposure),” he said, adding that most of the fake news dwell on politics and are against the government.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla echoed Santiago’s statement that someone or a group is bankrolling the spread of fake news in the country.
“Yes. I think you also have the same guess as me, right?” Remulla told reporters.
He warned fake news peddlers of the charges that can be filed against them for what they are doing.
“We can get a form of cybercrime against them in the process and that is a very, very different kind of law,” he said, referring to Republic Act 10175, or the Anti-Cybercrime Act of 2012 that can be used to charge them.
He said authorities may also run after and file charges against fake news peddlers residing abroad.
“Actually, the borders are now getting less and less. There will come a time that even running after those who spread it from distant shores will be very possible,” he said.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The DOJ chief said the government is not trying to curtail the freedom of expression of content creators.
“Hindi naman (That is not the case). Just speak the truth. I think that is everybody’s responsibility as a citizen to speak the truth all the time,” he said.
Sen. Grace Poe said the NBI’s move to identify the financiers behind the spread of fake news should not be taken as “censorship” but rather “as a step toward protecting the public from calculated deception.”
“While freedom of speech is a fundamental right, it’s not absolute and can be limited to protect public order, morality, national security, and the rights of others. The law does not protect peddlers of lies,” Poe said in a mix of Filipino and English in a Viber message to reporters.
“But at the same time, our approach must be balanced – grounded in law, due process, and respect for the rights of all,” she also said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said he supports initiatives to end the spread of fake news as he has been the subject of “many fake news and malicious disinformation.”
He said the NBI move is “only a stop-gap measure,” adding that amendments to the Cybercrime Prevention Act should be introduced to totally stop the spread of lies through the internet.
“We need to amend the law by adding stiffer penalties to put an end to this once and for all,” he said.
LAWS
Senate President Francis Escudero said any law that will be passed against the spread of disinformation must consider the basic rights of the people to express their opinions.
He underscored, however, that such expressions must make sure that they are within the provisions of the law.
“Hindi unlimited ang kapangyarihan ng isang tao na magsalita pero hindi rin tayo dapat gumawa ng anumang bagay na magko-constitute ng tinatawag nating prior restraint o isang bagay na maaaring magbigay takot para pumigil sa ating mga kababayan na ilahad kung ano man ang nasa isip at nasa puso nila (The power of the people to speak up is not unlimited but we should not craft measures that will constitute prior restraint or something that will instill fear to prevent the people from saying what is on their minds and hearts),” he said.
Senatorial candidates from the “Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas” vowed to push for stronger legislation and better enforcement mechanisms to combat fake news, deep fakes, and online misinformation.
Former Senate president Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said he is ready to refile a bill to penalize not just fake news but on all forms of digital falsehoods.
Reelectionist Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino recounted how he was wrongly accused of involvement in a shooting incident.
“Alam niyo naman na biktima din ako nung first week of March. ‘Di umano namaril daw ako, pero nag-apologize naman ’yung isang news organization sa live TV (I was also recently a victim of fake news. The post said that I shot somebody. BUt the news organization has already apologized to me on live TV),” Tolentino said.
This is the reason, he said, that “I support any initiative that would ferret out the truth, exercise responsible journalism, without diminishing freedom of expression and the press.”
ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo said fake news affects not just public officials but ordinary citizens, too.
“Hindi lang po gobyerno ang biktima niyan. Every individual nagiging biktima,” he said, citing daily complaints that his office receives from private citizens falsely accused on social media.
Tulfo also called on the public to take responsibility: “Kapag alam mong fake, huwag mong i-share. Dapat may mabigat na parusa sa nagpapakalat ng fake content (If you know that it is fake news, don’t share or spread it. There should also be a law that would penalize those who spread fake content.”
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay stressed the need for stronger enforcement alongside legislation. “Enforcement is key. Kailangan makahuli tayo, maka-sample tayo para mapakita natin sa lahat ng tao na we mean business (We should arrest people [who spread fake news], we should set an example to prove that we mean business),” she added.
Former interior secretary Benhur Abalos noted that cybercrime has overtaken theft as the most reported crime in the country.
He cited an incident where an old robbery video circulated online as if it were new, prompting police to clarify the matter through official channels.
Abalos also called for greater investment in digital capability at the local level.
“Our laws must catch up with the speed of technology. It should be a continued development program that should be amply funded),” he added.
Remulla urged fake news purveyors to stop what they are doing, warning of its negative effect on society.
“Fake news can cause panic. I mean, it [fake news] can unsettle people’s feelings and we don’t want that to happen,” he said.
Escudero urged the public to be discerning in what they read or see on social media sites, lamenting that disinformation further increased since the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte last March 11. – With Raymond Africa
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is gathering evidence to pin down 20 vloggers for the spread of disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” on social media platforms, Director Jaime Santiago said yesterday.
Santiago said charges would be filed against the 20 individuals, whose identities he refused to divulge.
He likewise said the NBI is close to identifying who is bankrolling the vloggers’ activities.
He said he would provide more updates in the coming days but refused to give additional details on the agency’s ongoing probe to unmask the mastermind behind the disinformation campaign.
“Alam nyo, hindi ko lang pwede sa inyong isiwalat ‘yung mga listahan namin. But we have already a list nitong vloggers na ito na nagpapakalat ng fake news (I can’t disclose our list. But we already have a list of vloggers behind the spread of fake news),” he told reporters.
He said the NBI is coordinating with other government agencies, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), on the issue.
“Last week lang, nag-meeting na kami ng DICT, ng NTC, nag-usap-usap na kami kung paano namin once and for all masawata itong mga fake news spreaders, mga vloggers na nagbibigay ng fake news at saka yung creators na makapag-create lang kahit hindi tama yung ginagawa nila (Just last week, we had a meeting with the DICT and the NTC and we discussed how to once and for all tackle the spread of fake news and its spreaders, including vloggers and content creators sharing fake news),” he said.
Santiago said the NBI has established a pattern in the spread of fake news or the timing of the posts, bolstering suspicions that there is an unseen hand guiding them.
“Tinitingnan namin, bakit dumadami? Bakit parang iisa ang tema nila? Sumasakay sa kaguluhan ng ating political atmosphere (We are looking at why these are increasing, why [the posts] have a single theme. It seems that they are using the current political atmosphere to get exposure),” he said, adding that most of the fake news dwell on politics and are against the government.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla echoed Santiago’s statement that someone or a group is bankrolling the spread of fake news in the country.
“Yes. I think you also have the same guess as me, right?” Remulla told reporters.
He warned fake news peddlers of the charges that can be filed against them for what they are doing.
“We can get a form of cybercrime against them in the process and that is a very, very different kind of law,” he said, referring to Republic Act 10175, or the Anti-Cybercrime Act of 2012 that can be used to charge them.
He said authorities may also run after and file charges against fake news peddlers residing abroad.
“Actually, the borders are now getting less and less. There will come a time that even running after those who spread it from distant shores will be very possible,” he said.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The DOJ chief said the government is not trying to curtail the freedom of expression of content creators.
“Hindi naman (That is not the case). Just speak the truth. I think that is everybody’s responsibility as a citizen to speak the truth all the time,” he said.
Sen. Grace Poe said the NBI’s move to identify the financiers behind the spread of fake news should not be taken as “censorship” but rather “as a step toward protecting the public from calculated deception.”
“While freedom of speech is a fundamental right, it’s not absolute and can be limited to protect public order, morality, national security, and the rights of others. The law does not protect peddlers of lies,” Poe said in a mix of Filipino and English in a Viber message to reporters.
“But at the same time, our approach must be balanced – grounded in law, due process, and respect for the rights of all,” she also said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said he supports initiatives to end the spread of fake news as he has been the subject of “many fake news and malicious disinformation.”
He said the NBI move is “only a stop-gap measure,” adding that amendments to the Cybercrime Prevention Act should be introduced to totally stop the spread of lies through the internet.
“We need to amend the law by adding stiffer penalties to put an end to this once and for all,” he said.
LAWS
Senate President Francis Escudero said any law that will be passed against the spread of disinformation must consider the basic rights of the people to express their opinions.
He underscored, however, that such expressions must make sure that they are within the provisions of the law.
“Hindi unlimited ang kapangyarihan ng isang tao na magsalita pero hindi rin tayo dapat gumawa ng anumang bagay na magko-constitute ng tinatawag nating prior restraint o isang bagay na maaaring magbigay takot para pumigil sa ating mga kababayan na ilahad kung ano man ang nasa isip at nasa puso nila (The power of the people to speak up is not unlimited but we should not craft measures that will constitute prior restraint or something that will instill fear to prevent the people from saying what is on their minds and hearts),” he said.
Senatorial candidates from the “Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas” vowed to push for stronger legislation and better enforcement mechanisms to combat fake news, deep fakes, and online misinformation.
Former Senate president Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said he is ready to refile a bill to penalize not just fake news but on all forms of digital falsehoods.
Reelectionist Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino recounted how he was wrongly accused of involvement in a shooting incident.
“Alam niyo naman na biktima din ako nung first week of March. ‘Di umano namaril daw ako, pero nag-apologize naman ’yung isang news organization sa live TV (I was also recently a victim of fake news. The post said that I shot somebody. BUt the news organization has already apologized to me on live TV),” Tolentino said.
This is the reason, he said, that “I support any initiative that would ferret out the truth, exercise responsible journalism, without diminishing freedom of expression and the press.”
ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo said fake news affects not just public officials but ordinary citizens, too.
“Hindi lang po gobyerno ang biktima niyan. Every individual nagiging biktima,” he said, citing daily complaints that his office receives from private citizens falsely accused on social media.
Tulfo also called on the public to take responsibility: “Kapag alam mong fake, huwag mong i-share. Dapat may mabigat na parusa sa nagpapakalat ng fake content (If you know that it is fake news, don’t share or spread it. There should also be a law that would penalize those who spread fake content.”
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay stressed the need for stronger enforcement alongside legislation. “Enforcement is key. Kailangan makahuli tayo, maka-sample tayo para mapakita natin sa lahat ng tao na we mean business (We should arrest people [who spread fake news], we should set an example to prove that we mean business),” she added.
Former interior secretary Benhur Abalos noted that cybercrime has overtaken theft as the most reported crime in the country.
He cited an incident where an old robbery video circulated online as if it were new, prompting police to clarify the matter through official channels.
Abalos also called for greater investment in digital capability at the local level.
“Our laws must catch up with the speed of technology. It should be a continued development program that should be amply funded),” he added.
Remulla urged fake news purveyors to stop what they are doing, warning of its negative effect on society.
“Fake news can cause panic. I mean, it [fake news] can unsettle people’s feelings and we don’t want that to happen,” he said.
Escudero urged the public to be discerning in what they read or see on social media sites, lamenting that disinformation further increased since the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte last March 11. – With Raymond Africa
