THE House of Representatives may need to amend the Anti-Terrorism Law to classify video manipulation or “deepfakes” as an act of terrorism following the spread of a fake audio of President Marcos Jr. urging the military to stand against China because of the two country’s territorial row in the West Philippine Sea.
Lanao del Norte Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo said Congress has the option to amend Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 because video or audio manipulation has serious national security implications, adding it can easily be used to sabotage the government.
“If there is a need to amend our laws and declare this type of behavior as a form of terrorism then we will refer to our leader in Congress, House Speaker Martin Romualdez,” the lawmaker told a press conference. “It just shows how desperate the opposition is against our president, President Bongbong Marcos, because he is doing a spectacular job in managing our foreign policy to the point that they try to sabotage him and that’s why I feel this should not be taken lightly.”
Dimaporo called on the National Security Council and all other concerned agencies to “take this very seriously because this is sabotage of our President’s foreign policy.”
House leaders earlier called on the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and its Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center to look into the spread of the deepfake video online which made it appear that the President was calling for military action.
Part of the video is a fake audio of the President giving orders to the “armed forces and special task groups” to act however they want should China “attack” the Philippines.
In the video, photos of China’s illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea were shown while the audio played.
The PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) has already launched an investigation into the manipulated online video in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
The PNP has said it has identified the possible source of the video and is still investigating the extent of the person’s involvement.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said those behind the video manipulation are not only “sabotaging” the President but also the Filipino people to serve their selfish ends by spreading disinformation to divert the public’s attention from important issues.
“This kind of people, they’re not only sabotaging the President but it (their act) disrespects each and every individual Filipino. They don’t care about you, they just want to say what they want, which is wrong,” he said.
Deputy Majority Leader and PBA Party-list Rep. Margarita “Atty. Migs” Nograles said the recent deepfake incident targeting the President underscores the need for vigilance and awareness in the face of emerging cyber threats.
“It is alarming na ganito ‘yung nangyari and sa Presidente pa ginawa and it is evidently (a) political thing. We don’t think this is going to be the first or the last. Not just the President.
We don’t know who will be next,” Nograles, a lawyer, said.
