Acidre hits vlogger-journalist: Only showbiz reporters write rumors
Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre —Photo from his Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre reminded Krizette Laureta Chu, a journalist who also maintains a political blog, that only reporters covering entertainment beats write stories based on rumors as she supposedly aired sentiments on social media without any factual basis.
During Friday’s hearing of the House of Representatives’ tri-committee, Acidre quizzed Chu about her recent post regarding claims that many police officers are about to resign after the International Criminal Court (ICC) took custody of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
When Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre IIII clarified that there was no mass resignation among police officers, Acidre asked Chu where she got her information from.
“Have you ever made an effort to verify these posts from official sources?” Acidre asked.
“Yes sir, because there were people, there were already policemen, and I am sure our policemen can also say that there were policemen that are on Tiktok that are voicing out their […] feelings, so if you could kindly read the rest,” Chu replied.
“Apparently the resource person, Mr. Chair, has gotten this information from other social media posts. And critical matters such as this, Mr. Chair, she did not make any effort — or unless you’re contesting it — any effort to verify it from official sources,” Acidre countered.
Acidre believes there should be legal consequences as Chu’s allegedly misleading post bordered on national security concerns. Furthermore, Acidre said that “serious journalists” like Chu should be mindful when sharing something, as only showbiz reporters post rumors.
“I think we have to draw the line whether the canons of journalism — especially that Mrs. Krizette Chu is a journalist by profession — that there should be a clear demarcation between personal posts and especially, what should be determined I think Mr. Chair should be the content of the post rather than who the one writing is,” Acidre said.
“Her being a journalist, make sure that a serious journalist — as she mentioned — will not publish rumors, because basically the way she explains it, is that she has made this post on the basis of social media rumors. The ones who publish rumors are actually those who are showbiz reporters,” he added.
Chu however said that the fact that PNP clarified these rumors means there were talks about a mass resignation.
“Kaya ako nag-include ng ‘daw’ (The reason why I included ‘possibly’) these were just impressions. The fact that our PNP had to write a press release means kami na wala kaming (us who do not have) statistics , these were the impressions that were coming to us,” she said.
“I am not an insider in the PNP, and they had to release that information, it means that they are correcting the general impression of masses like us. The fact that they had to write it means that there is a general impression,” she added.
“When you make those impressions, you don’t have any regard?” Acidre fired back.
Chu was among the several vloggers and social media personalities who finally attended the hearing of the tri-committee, after skipping the first two hearings.
Aside from Chu, former Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, Elizabeth Joie Cruz, MJ Quiambao-Reyes, Dr. Richard Mata, Dr. Ethel Pineda Garcia, Mark Anthony Lopez, and Aeron Peña were also present.
Their attendance comes after tri-committee co-chairperson and Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez warned that social media personalities may be cited for contempt if they continue to skip the next hearing.
Fernandez last Wednesday said the tri-committee, like all other committees in the House, is allowed by Congress to summon individuals to testify during inquiries in aid of legislation — and any violation of subpoenas can result into the issuance of contempt orders.
READ: Vloggers may face contempt if they skip House hearing anew – House reps
The three panels have been tasked to probe the spread of disinformation online after several resolutions were filed and different privilege speeches about the matter were delivered.
READ: 40 socmed users, platform reps invited to House fake news probe
Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers was one of the lawmakers who delivered a privilege speech, after different fake rumors spread about him and the other chairpersons of the House quad committee, which was then probing illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operators, the illicit drug trade, and extrajudicial killings in the past administration’s drug war.
According to Barbers, there may be a need to establish a regulatory framework for social media use, just like how mainstream media organizations and legitimate news outlets adhere to a set of ethical standards.
Filipinos have long been considered to be one of the — if not the most — prevalent social media and internet users across the globe.
However, heavy social media use also means that Filipinos are susceptible to misinformation and disinformation: last May 2024, lawmakers have urged the public to exercise discretion as amid the spread of videos where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s voice is being mimicked to announce that the Philippines is getting ready for war against China.
READ:
PCO has already disowned the video, saying that the video was made to sound like the President — stressing that Marcos has not made such an order to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
