Metro Manila, Philippines — The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition of several vloggers who claimed their free speech rights were violated during a House inquiry on online disinformation.
The Court said no violation occurred because the vloggers were only invited as resource persons in a valid legislative inquiry.
The petitioners earlier sought to block the House from requiring their attendance at a joint hearing of three committees.
They accused the panel of infringing on their speech and cited then Surigao del Norte representative Ace Barbers’ privilege speeches, where he described them as “paid trolls” and “malicious vloggers.”
They alleged the hearings aimed to intimidate them and control their content.
But the Court ruled that Congress acted within its authority to examine the spread of false or misleading information.
Inviting the vloggers to testify, it said, did not amount to censorship or punishment and was part of fact-finding for potential legislation.
The Court also reminded lawmakers to treat resource persons with courtesy, noting that some exchanges during the hearings were unnecessarily harsh.
It added that the inquiry followed the House’s internal rules and sought to strengthen policies against disinformation without restricting legitimate expression.
In a concurring opinion, Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen noted that the petition had become moot since the hearings had ended, but maintained that the inquiry served a valid purpose, addressing the dangers of deliberate and malicious spread of disinformation online.
