Marcoleta rebuffed: 黑料社 agencies not invited for not being quizzed
Photo from Rep. Rodante Marcoleta’s Facebook page.
MANILA, Philippines — Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel has rebuffed Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta after the latter questioned why news outlets were no longer invited by the tri-committee, noting that they were present during the previous hearing but were not questioned.
During Friday’s hearing of the House of Representatives tri-committee, Marcoleta asked why representatives from the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star were not present. When Pimentel said that they were not invited, Marcoleta asked why the committee secretariat decided on their own to refrain from asking the two national broadsheets to show up.
“Mr. Chair I remember also, the committee committed during the last hearing that I attended that we will also invite representatives of Philippine Inquirer and Philippine Star because of the issue that I raised. I raised then the issue that we are not only concerned with the fake news and the false narratives and false information being peddled in our society, but we are concerned as well with the truth that is being suppressed,” Marcoleta said.
“Rep. Marcoleta, according to the CommSec, the representatives from Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Star were present during the last hearing, however, accordingly, there were no members who asked questions to them […] so then maybe we can invite them next time,” Pimentel said.
“We did not include them anymore today because they were already present during the last hearing,” Pimentel added.
Marcoleta then asked why the lack of lawmakers who asked the two newspapers was used as a basis to stop inviting their representatives. In response, Pimentel said another set of resource persons were invited for Friday’s discussions.
“We required them to attend the last hearing, and now we have invited other resource persons […] According to CommSec, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star were not invited,” Pimentel said.
“May we know the reason why they were not invited today? The CommSec has the liberty to decide on this? Or the chairpersons are the one authorized to decide on whether to invite people or not?” Marcoleta asked.
“Cong. Marcoleta, you know the process, for every hearing, we have a set of resource persons to be invited. It is already very clear that they were not invited today because to be fair with them they were present during the last hearing and nobody asked questions, kaya nga hindi na sila inimbita because we are focusing on other resource persons,” Pimentel fired back.
During the tri-committee’s hearing last February 4, Marcoleta, through Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, moved to invite the two nationwide broadsheets and two research firms — Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations — as he accused the institutions of being involved in alleged disinformation and misinformation on the internet and social media.
READ: Marcoleta wants broadsheets invited to online disinformation probe
Several vloggers and social media personalities — including former Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles — appeared before the tri-committee after they skipped the first two hearings.
During the hearing on Friday, the following vloggers also took their oath to tell the truth before the by the House tri-committee:
- Elizabeth Joie Cruz
- Former Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cruz-Angeles
- MJ Quiambao-Reyes
- Krizette Laureta Chu
- Dr. Richard Mata
- Dr. Ethel Pineda Garcia
- Mark Anthony Lopez
- Aeron Peña
The vloggers attended after lawmakers, including 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 in the issuance of contempt orders.
READ: Vloggers may face contempt if they skip House hearing anew – House reps
The tri-committee is composed of the House committee on public order and safety which is headed by Fernandez, the committee public information, and the committee on information and communication technology.
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
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.
