SEN. Panfilo Lacson wants to find out if the 375 “social media specialists” hired by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) in 2020 are part of alleged state-funded “troll farms.”
Lacson yesterday said he will quiz PCOO officials about the “incredible surge” in its hiring of contract of service (COS) workers, which the Commission on Audit has earlier questioned because of the P70.6 million that the agency paid to the contractual workers.
“What are the job descriptions of those hires? How much public monies are being utilized and where and how is it being sourced?” Lacson said.
Lacson aired his concern after senators on Monday filed Senate Resolution No. 768 seeking an investigation, in aid of legislation, into reports that public funds are spent on the operation of troll farms which spread misinformation and fake news on social media platforms.
The senator has earlier claimed that a government official with a rank of undersecretary has been recruiting people to establish at least two troll farms per province to discredit political rivals or those not aligned with the Duterte administration.
He said the information came from a former employee who was recruited by the undersecretary.
Presidential spokesman Sec. Harry Roque has denied Lacson’s allegation, but said that if it is true, “the official in question must be doing it in his personal capacity.”
PCOO undersecretary Kristian Ablan said the COS workers were “social media specialists” but not online trolls.
Ablan likewise said that the PCOO has asked the Department of Budget and Management to give them additional plantilla positions for COS positions. In a recent update, Ablan said the DBM has granted their request and gave them 34 plantilla positions.
The additional personnel, he said, would be deployed to manage new government programs and projects that emerged during the pandemic.
