37 out of 40 influencers failed to show up at a hearing on online disinformation at the House of Representatives. Seven of them have been issued show-cause orders.
The House Committees on Public Order and Safety (CPOS), Public Information, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) held its first hearing on online disinformation on Tuesday, February 4. 40 bloggers and social media personalities were invited — many notably vocal supporters of the previous Duterte administration — but only 3 showed up.
Among the absentees were former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Spokesperson Lorraine Badoy, former Presidential Press Secretary Attorney Trixie Cruz-Angeles, former actress Vivian Velez, former broadcaster Jay Sonza, SMNI News broadcaster Jeffrey Celiz, and bloggers Sass Sasot, Krizette Chu, Lord Byron Cristobal or Banat By, Jun Abines, Alex Destor or Tio Moreno, and Mark Anthony Lopez.
As Santa Rosa Representative Danilo Fernandez read excuse letters from absentees, the committee issued show-cause orders to Abines, Angeles, Chu, Lopez, Elizabeth Joie Cruz or Joie De Vivre, Richard Mata, and Aaron Peña or Old School Pinoy. The show-cause order compels them to attend the next hearing to explain their absences. Failure to appear can lead to citations of contempt and arrest orders.
In her letter, Angeles stated that she declined the invitations as she “questions the legality of the inquiry as well as the proposed legislation for being violative of the constitutional guarantee of free speech.” Other absentees also stated in their letters that they were advised by legal counsel not to attend the hearing.
Abang Lingkod Partylist Representative Joseph Paduano requested the House’s legal department to look into the possibility of filing a disbarment case against Angeles.
‘Wag Lokohin Ang Taumbayan’
Surigao Del Norte Representative Ace Barbers said in his privilege speech that the hearing aims “to establish a regulatory framework for social media, similar to how the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) regulates television and radio broadcasters, and how the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) upholds ethical standards for print media.”

“Our goal is to develop a code of conduct for content creators, ensuring accountability and ethical responsibility in this rapidly evolving digital space,” he said.
He reiterated the purpose of the hearing later on in response to the excuse letters sent by the absent influencers.
Barbers added, “Hindi pwede na gawin pong rason ng mga [influencers] na cinu-curtail natin ang freedom of speech nila. ‘Wag niyo pong lokohin ang taumbayan. Wala hong curtailment or suppression of freedom of speech dito. Kaya nga kayo inimbita rito e…para makapag-pahayag din kayo.”
Of the 40 influencers invited, only political strategist Malou Tiquia, vlogger Marc Louie Gamboa, and Atty. Enzo Recto attended the hearing.