The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is currently probing whether there are individuals or groups orchestrating the spread of fake news in the Philippines, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said on Monday.
“Pinag-aaralan naming mabuti kung bakit gano’n ang tema ng mga vloggers natin ngayon. Meron bang namumuno sa kanila? Tinitignan po namin ‘yan,” Santiago was quoted as saying by a GMA News Online report.
According to Santiago, the NBI has already begun coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) as part of the investigation.
He revealed that they are monitoring at least 20 vloggers believed to be actively spreading misinformation online. Santiago noted that many of these vloggers seem to focus on the same themes or narratives.
“Tinitignan namin bakit dumadami. Bakit parang iisa ang tema nila? Sumasakay sa kaguluhan ng ating political atmosphere,” he said.
Asked whether the fake news includes reports of the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Santiago said, “Lahat na. Lahat na. Pati ‘yung paninira nila sa mga government officials. Kung anu-ano ‘yung sinasabi nilang balita na hindi namin totoo.”
While emphasizing that the bureau respects freedom of speech, Santiago warned that abuse of this right could cross into criminal territory.
“Binabalanse po namin mabuti. Ako bilang dating hukom… binabalanse ko ‘yan. I understand and respect freedom of speech, freedom of expression,” he said. “Pero kapag lumampas na sa hangganan, nakaka-commit na sila ng inciting to sedition, nakaka-commit na sila ng libel, kailangan sawatain natin ‘yan.”
Santiago was at the DOJ to attend the graduation of several new NBI agents, who will be deployed to the bureau’s cybercrime and forensic divisions.
