Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 29) — Administration officials claimed that Facebook is censoring and curtailing free speech when it decided to shut down pro-government pages which were tied to inauthentic or bot-like behavior on social media.
“Ang konkretong aksyon po ay ‘wag pong supilin ang kalayaan ng malayang pananalita ng mga personalidad o mga pages na pabor po sa gobyerno,” Roque said in a Tuesday press briefing. “The effect is censorship kasi ang laman ng page na ‘yun, nabura.”
[Translation: The concrete action (sought) is for Facebook not to suppress freedom of expression among personalities or pages in favor of the government. The effect is censorship because the content of these pages were removed.]
He described Duterte as an advocate of freedom of expression.
Roque, a former human rights lawyer before joining the Cabinet, went on to say that the idea of banning Facebook from the Philippines is not on the table yet, saying that the President has not taken any concrete steps so far.
Last week, Facebook announced it took down 57 accounts, 31 pages, and 20 Instagram profiles – most of them pro-Duterte – over “coordinated inauthentic behavior” out to spread lies online.
Roque said that while the pages are not maintained by the government, Duterte was upset in particular over the shutdown of “Hands Off Our Children” page, which supposedly calls out communists who recruit kids as their combatants.
“Ang punto dito: bakit kapag pabor sa gobyerno, tinatanggal? Kapag pabor sa oposisyon, hindi tinatanggal? Bakit ang fact-checkers, laban sa gobyerno?,” he added, blasting why Rappler and Vera Files were chosen to carry out these mandates.
[Translation: Our point is: why are pro-government pages taken down and opposition pages are not? Why are fact-checkers against government?]
Roque said the selection of fact-checkers in the Philippines was the product of talks led by then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte’s defeated running mate who is now House Speaker.
Facebook tapped independent and country-based fact-checkers to combat disinformation online after the platform became under fire for reportedly allowing trolls and foreign governments to control or intervene with elections through undue influence on voters in some countries.
Roque floated the idea that government will hire its own fact-checkers, claiming that it’s not just the Philippines complaining about Facebook’s policies. He went on to question Facebook’s basis for deleting these pages, saying that the claim that these are backed by trolls and used to disseminate fake news was “not the issue.”
“Ang sinasabi lang ng Presidente, dapat maging patas sila,” he said. “Bakit ang freedom of speech binibigay lang nila sa mga kontra-gobyerno?”
[Translation: The President is telling Facebook to play fair. Why is freedom of speech only given to those against the government?]
Media and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned curtailment of free speech and of the press when Rappler founder Maria Ressa was found guilty of libel and ABS-CBN was denied a congressional franchise under Duterte’s reign. Roque has claimed that these incidents were not against press freedom but involved a criminal case before the courts and a congressional action.
The Philippines has fallen from the world press freedom index in the past few years, with nonprofit Reporters Without Borders blasting “state troll armies” sowing disinformation on social media similar to Russia and Vietnam. Filipino journalists have also been attacked by pro-government activists, while several have been killed in the line of duty.
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House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano expressed “grave concern” over reports of Facebook’s partisanship, when it allegedly deactivated accounts that voiced support for state forces, while keeping those that criticize the government. He said Congress will launch a legislative inquiry on the issue.
“Upon passage of the 2021 Budget in the House of Representatives, rest assured that we shall initiate the appropriate proceedings in aid of legislation to truly determine if the reported actions of Facebook are detrimental to the Constitutional freedom of expression guaranteed to all Filipinos, regardless of political color, rich or poor, left or right,” Cayetano said in a Facebook post.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who has claimed that press freedom is protected under the administration, echoed President Rodrigo Duterte’s condemnation of the popular social networking site.
