Taguig City 2nd district Rep. Pammy Zamora (PPAB)

The arrest of a female blogger from Cebu--accused of allegedly spreading fake news--serves as a reminder to irresponsible content creators that disinformation carries serious consequences, a ranking congresswoman said.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Taguig City Rep. Pammy Zamora said the arrest by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of 30-year-old Wendelyn Magalso for posting manipulated content about the President "is a stark reminder that freedom of expression is not freedom to deceive".

"May hangganan ang pagiging 'content creator,' lalo na kung ginagawa mo ito para manira, magpakalat ng kasinungalingan, at kumita mula sa panloloko. Kung pipiliin mong magkalat ng fake news, may kapalit iyan (Being a content creator has its limits, especially if your purpose is just to spread lies and earn from fake news. If you choose to spread fake news, that has a consequence)," she said.

According to the NBI, Magalso altered a social media post of a TV news site by inserting fabricated quotes attributed to President Marcos.

One manipulated caption falsely claimed: "Legal na daw ang druga grabe ka naman Marcos ngayon harapin mo lahat nang hamon kong makakabalik ka pa pagka looy sa mga inosente (They said drugs are already legal. You are incredible, President Marcos. You should face it when you can no longer return to power. I feel pity for the innocent ones)."

She also reportedly edited the President’s video statement to mislead viewers.

The NBI Central Visayas Regional Office said it acted after receiving a complaint from a news site and conducting its own cyber patrol.

Magalso admitted she made the post to earn money from views and later apologized to the President.

“Hindi ito simpleng opinyon. Ito ay tahasang panlilinlang (This is not a simple opinion. This is deception),” Zamora said.

“At kung ginagaya mo pa ang Pangulo o lehitimong media outlet para magmukhang totoo, malinaw na intensyon mong manloko (And if you use the President and the legitimate media outlets to make your fake news look like ture, it has a clear intention of deceiving people),” she stressed.