House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The House tri-committee (tri-comm) is reportedly bent on citing for contempt and ordering the detention of several social media personalities and vloggers, including former Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Trixie Cruz-Angeles, if they once again snub the joint panel hearing on fake news.

Aside from Cruz-Angeles, those facing contempt citations are Aeron Peña, Allan Troy “Sass” Rogando Sasot, Elizabeth Joie Cruz, Dr. Ethel Pineda Garcia, Jeffrey Almendras Celiz, Lorraine Marie Tablang Badoy-Partosa, Mark Anthony Lopez, Mary Jean Quiambao Reyes, and Richard Tesoro Mata.

Led by its overall chairman Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez, the tri-comm will hold its next hearing on Friday, March 21.

During House hearings in aid of legislation, resource persons are cited for contempt when they are deemed uncooperative to the inquiry or suspected of hiding something.

The tri-comm had earlier issued show cause orders to individuals linked to the spread of misleading online content, after they failed to attend the first hearing on the problem of fake news.

Despite multiple summonses, severa of invited resourc persons failed to appeal. This prompting the committee to escalate legal measures, including issuance of subpoenas to be served against the vloggers.

“Disinformation is a national security issue. It erodes public trust, destabilizes institutions, and manipulates democratic discourse. We cannot allow social media to become a free-for-all platform for deception and propaganda,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez says the committee is enforcing contempt citations to uphold the integrity of congressional investigations.

“Congress has the authority to summon individuals to testify on matters of public interest. Ignoring lawful orders is a direct challenge to our institution and the democratic principles we protect,” he explained.

The hearing will take place amid what solons described as an intensified disinformation campaign from pro-Duterte content creators, which appeared to have been triggered by former president Rodrigo Duterte's recent arrest and incarnation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Earlier, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers clarified that the fake news probe wasn't intended to suppress the freedom of expression or of speech. 

“In fact we are all aware that this is provided for in our Constitution and we’d like to respect the right of every one to his own opinion or to his own expression. Contrary to what others may be thinking, this is not in any way a tool to suppress their expressions or opinions on certain issues, whether they may be political or economic or even other points of views,” Barbers said.

It was Barbers' privilege speech last Dec. 16, together with a resolution authored by Senior Deputy Speaker Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., that prompted the inquiry.

Barbers said he and his colleagues want certain rules or best practices to govern the dissemination of information on social media

Who else were invited?

The scheduled hearing Friday will also feature testimonies from key government agencies, social media platforms, media organizations and civil society groups.

Officials from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Commission on Elections (Comelec), Department of Justice (DoJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been invited to provide insight into regulatory and enforcement measures against disinformation.

Representatives from Google Philippines, Meta (Facebook), and ByteDance (TikTok) are also expected to address concerns over the role of their platforms in spreading misinformation.

Social media figures, including Jay Sonza, Vivian Velez, Enzo Recto, and George Ahmed Paglinawan, have also been summoned to testify.