The alleged "commercialization of vloggers" will be dissected by the House of Representatives in the continuation of its inquiry on fake news and disinformation on Tuesday, Feb. 18, with a particular interest on the vloggers who will have the mettle to face the solons.

Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Adiong said Monday, Feb. 17, that the House of Representatives might issue a subpoena to several vloggers and content creators invited to the hearing if they fail to explain their absence in the first hearing and continue to ignore the summons. 

During the first hearing of the so-so-called tri-committee (tri-comm), only three of the 40 invited resource persons showed up. Those who were absent were issued a show cause orders by the House of Representatives.

"If there's no valid reason for their absence this time, baka umakyat na yan sa ano... i-subpoena na sila (maybe it will be escalated to issuing them a subpoena)," Adiong said in a press conference.

The lawmaker said it is important to investigate such matter considering that the spread of fake news and misinformation have become more rampant, especially this election season.

'Commercialization of vloggers'

1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez says they will reiterate their invitation to the vloggers as the House seeks a "proper discourse".

"Why it is important is because we're already touching on the surface, yung tinatawag na foreign interference," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez expressed concern about what he called the "commercialization of vloggers," or those who "sell their opinion to the highest bidder".

"Freedom of speech, understandable po yun (It's understandable). It's a right of everyone," he said.

"Pero pag binebenta mo na ang iyong salita para sa salapi (But if you're already selling your voice for money), if you are selling your opinion to the highest bidder, and if that highest bidder is a foreign entity, there should be some limitations," he added.

Chinese link?

Gutierrez said they already discovered during the first hearing an alleged link between efforts to misinform Filipinos and Chinese social media accounts.

"There is allegedly a link between Chinese backing of misinformation in the West Philippine Sea and political campaigns for certain individuals in the country," he said.

If social media users in the country have become used to using hyperbole and spreading fake news in the past, the House members said, "We have to become more accountable with our own words."

For Gutierrez, the spread of fake news and misinformation must be criminalized. Those who spread fake news, particularly those who have the machinery, must be taken to task.

The use of social media, as far as spread of misinformation is concerned, must also be regulated considering that it is already a "national security issue," Adiong added.