Bato urges House TriComm to also invite pro-administration vloggers

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa urged the House of Representatives Tri-Committee (TriComm) to broaden its investigation into fake news by including pro-administration social media influencers, rather than solely focus on Diehard Duterte Supporter (DDS) vloggers.

“Kasi kung interesado talaga sila na bibigyan ng solusyon ‘yung sinasabi nilang fake news or what kung ano talaga ‘yung objective ng kanilang investigation, kung ito’y hindi panggigipit sa mga vloggers na kritikal to the administration ay dapat imbitahan nila lahat-lahat pati na ‘yung mga vloggers na favoring the administration,” Dela Rosa said in an interview with Radyo Natin Romblon on Thursday.

 (If they are truly interested in solving the issue of fake news, or whatever their real objective is, they should not just target vloggers critical of the administration but also invite those who favor the administration.) 

On Tuesday, the TriComm issued subpoenas to several social media personalities for failing to attend the hearing despite receiving show cause orders. 

The senator questioned whether the hearings are genuinely intended to aid legislation or are being used to single out pro-Duterte vloggers critical of the current administration.

 “Lahat dapat fair. Hindi lang DDS. They don’t have to single out the DDS vloggers. Lahat dapat eh imbitahan nila para magkaalaman kung talagang ito’y in aid of legislation. 

(Everything should be fair. They should not just focus on DDS bloggers. They should invite everyone to know if this investigation is indeed in aid of legislation.)

The Mindanaoan senator also said that the TriComm should ensure that its inquiry is “free from politics.”

The TriComm, composed of the Committees on Public Order and Safety, Information and Communications Technology, and Public Information, also issued show cause orders to Facebook Philippines and ByteDance Philippines, the local arm of the company that owns TikTok.

GMA News Online has sought the side of Rep. Ace Barbers, one of the panel chairpersons of the TriCom and will post his response once available.—LDF, GMA Integrated News

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