Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 8) — Malacañang on Tuesday denied knowledge of the troll farms being organized by an undersecretary, as claimed by Senator Panfilo Lacson.
“Wala po kaming alam diyan [We know nothing about that],” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.
“Hindi po ‘yan polisiya ng gobyerno [That’s not a government policy], ” he added.
If the allegations are true, Roque said, the official in question must be doing it in his personal capacity.
According to Lacson, a government undersecretary has been organizing internet troll farms across the country to target political rivals or those not aligned with President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
He did not disclose the official’s identity, but said he found out about it through a former employee who was offered to take part in the scheme.
“Kasi ito yung ino-offer at nalaman ko tuloy na nag-o-organize sila sa bawat probinsya na mag-establish ng troll farm,” the senator alleged. “Sabihin natin, kada probinsya, dalawang troll farms ang pinapa-organize.”
[Translation: That is what was offered, and so I learned that they’re establishing troll farms for each province. Let’s say for every province, they want two troll farms organized.]
Lacson, nonetheless, said he also believes the official is not authorized by the government to do such a thing.
“Whether or not it is sanctioned by Malacañang —well I hope not, and I don’t believe so — maybe overeager lang ‘yung official na ‘yun na magpakitang gilas sa kanyang ginagawa [Maybe the official is just overeager to show off what he’s doing],” he said.
Critics have accused the Duterte administration of hiring online trolls to attack the opposition.
According to a study released by international group Reporters Without Borders, the so-called cyber-troll armies have become a big business since Duterte’s 2016 election campaign and have since been amplifying government propaganda.
CNN Philippines’ correspondent Eimor Santos contributed to this report.
