SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers denounced the legal maneuvers of certain social media vloggers attempting to derail the legislative efforts of the House Tri-Committee, which is working on regulations to curb misuse and abuse by online content creators.
Barbers, chair of the House’s Quad Committee and head of the Dangerous Drugs panel, criticized the filing of certiorari and libel cases against him and other committee members, dismissing them as baseless. Confident that the cases will not hold weight, he pointed out that he never named specific individuals in his statements regarding so-called “narco-vloggers.”
The solon from Mindanao earlier delivered two privileges at the House plenary denouncing some alleged narco-vloggers for their disrespect, use of expletives, and other abusive words against some members of the House’s Quadcom and the Tri Committee which is tasked to craft a law to sanction abuse and misuse by vloggers in social media.
“If those who filed the libel cases against me all felt alluded to as narco-vloggers, then it could be seen or interpreted that indeed they were. Bakit kayo masasaktan kung hindi kayo guilty?, Barbers asked.
“I always abide by the Constitutional provision on free speech and expression, but this cannot and should not be used as a license to besmirch people’s reputations and throw expletives at their subjects, concoct false or fake narratives and propaganda lines. And I firmly believe that they are not doing it for free,” he said.
Barbers said many of those who filed the petition before the Supreme Court and filed libel cases against him have been summoned to appear before the Tri-Com hearings but almost all of them failed or refused to do so.
“Malinaw dito na gusto nilang gamitin ang mga Korte na fodder o panangga sa kanilang pagpapa-kalat ng kasinungalingan at paninirang puri ng mga tao na kontra o di umaayon sa kanilang mga politikal na adhikain,” he said.
He added: “And common sense dictates that many, if not all, of these particular vloggers are mouthing the same propaganda lines of their principals. Okay lang sa akin na punahin ang mga palpak o mali sa aming trabaho, pero pag mumurahin o babastusin nyo na kami ng walang malinaw na dahilan at deliberate na di kukunin ang aming panig sa isyu sa inyong pagba-vlog, ibang usapan na yun,” the solon from Surigao del Norte said.
“Ang hindi nila pag-attend ng Tri-Com public hearings ay nangangahulugan lang na ang mga ito ay may pagka-duwag at di kayang paninidigan ang kanilang mga pinagsasa-sabi at ikinakalat na mga kasinungalingan at paninirang puri sa social media,” he added.
Barbers urged the public to always exercise caution and discernment in consuming social media or online contents from sources who are known to be parroting certain lies, deception, misinformation and other political propaganda lines.
“Hinihiling ko sa publiko na huwag tayo basta-basta maniniwala sa mga content creators na nagmumura, sinisiraan at nagkakalat ng kasinungalingan sa kanilang mga subjects sa social media na hindi man lang kinukunan ng panig ang kanilang subjects o one-sided lang ang storya nila,” he said.
The House’s Tri Committee, composed of the Committees on Public Order and Safety chaired by Laguna Rep. Dan Hernandez; Public Information under Tobias Tiangco and Communications and Technology under Rep. Jose Aquino III had conducted hearings aimed to hammer out a bill or policy to regulate vloggers and bloggers using the various social media platforms.
The complainant-vloggers earlier filed a “Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition” against Reps. Hernandez, Tiangco, Aquino III and House Speaker Martin Romualdez before the Supreme Court. The High Court has yet to issue a verdict on the issue. (30)
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