By Rodolfo Dacleson II
(March 21, 2025) – The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Friday urged the House of Representatives to file a measure for online content moderation in the country based on international standards to curb disinformation and protect free speech at the same time.
PCO secretary Jay Ruiz suggested considering the Digital Services Act of the European Union to create such a law. He said online content moderation in the Philippines is slow and ineffective since the biggest social media platforms have no local offices in the country.
“When you complain about these (disinformation) posts that we can take down, it takes a long time,” said Ruiz during the inquiry of the tri-committee in the lower chamber into fake news. “We have to focus on the platforms, first of all, to self-regulate them.”
Ruiz stressed that the government must prioritize the fight against false information online with younger generations being more vulnerable.
“We now live in two worlds: The cyber world and the real world. The children right now spend more time in the cyber world. If you give them constant disinformation, if you give them constant lies and negative news, what will happen to the next generation of Filipinos?” said Ruiz.
On Thursday, the PCO inked a memorandum of agreement with the Cybercrime Investigation Coordinating Center to address fake news and online scams.
ALSO READ: Malacañang signs agreement to further combat fake news, online scams
It came after fake news and disinformation suddenly became widespread to discredit the International Criminal Court’s arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“We are being divided online. It’s very polarized and yet it’s Filipinos and Filipinos fighting each other. It’s not good for the country to see our countrymen being divided by hate speech,” said Ruiz.
Earlier this month, Pres. Bongbong Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos to stay vigilant against fake news and false information amid the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections.
He was the biggest beneficiary of online disinformation during the 2022 elections, according to independent fact-checking coalition Tsek.PH.
(PM)
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