Senator Robinhood ‘’Robin’’ C. Padilla today Dec. 6 today said malicious disinformation should not go unpunished as it violates the rights of others.
As chairman of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, Padilla said the constitutional right to freedom of expression should never be abused.
"Pag nilagyan na natin ng malisya na gusto mo siraan ang tao, yan ay mali na (When we add malice in an attempt to destroy another person's reputation, that is not right). Yan ho ang pagtapak na sa karapatan ng kapwa mo. At dapat lang yan may karampatang penalty
(That is violating the rights of a fellow person. And there should be a penalty for that)," said Padilla at the hearing of the Senate committee on justice and human rights.
"Gawin man nating civil man yan o ano man yan, kailangan po talaga meron yang parusa (Whether the penalty is civil or in another form, we should make sure we punish this wrong)," he added.
According to Padilla, there is nothing wrong with creating content on news or social media platforms - but it is a different matter if the freedom of expression is abused and ‘weaponized’ against others.
Thus, there is a need for a law to ensure punishment for those who abuse the constitutional right to "freedom of expression,’’ he said.
"Hindi pupwedeng kapag sinabi nating kalayaan pwede mo nang tapak-tapakan ang kapwa mo, gumawa ka ng imbento, hindi naman siguro ganoon. Kailangan talaga pag sinabing kalayaan e pantay-pantay tayo diyan. Di pwede yan na wala tayong susundin na batas kaya tayo may batas, kaya tayo may kalayaan gumawa ng batas para sundin natin. (We cannot allow people to use the freedom of expression to trample on the rights of others by using fabricated stories). Di pwedeng free-for-all ito para tayong nagsusuntukan lang sa bar di pupuwede. Kailangan sumunod sa batas (We cannot have a situation similar to a free-for-all inside a bar. We should craft a law that everyone will follow)," he added.