THERE is an urgent need to institute accountability mechanisms against spreaders of false information in order to uphold and strengthen democracy, which is put in peril because of their activities, Sen. Erwin Tulfo told global parliamentarians in Geneva.
Tulfo is the head of the Philippine delegation to the ongoing 151st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Switzerland, where he delivered a speech detailing how fake news negatively affected public perception of the government and the political atmosphere in the Philippines.
‘We, in the Philippines, have seen how fake news and malicious online campaigns can erode public trust, distort democratic discourse, and even incite anger and violence. What begins as a false post or manipulated image can spread faster than facts, and the damage, once done, is often irreversible,’ Tulfo said during the meeting among lawmakers from Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member-countries, Korea, Japan, and China, on Sunday.
While discussing the ill effects of fake news, Tulfo noted the importance of respecting and protecting freedom of speech in democratic countries. ‘Our task, therefore, is not to silence voices, but to safeguard [the] truth; to ensure that the digital public square remains a place for informed dialogue, not deception,’ Tulfo, a veteran journalist turned lawmaker, said.
‘We must work together as parliamentarians to strengthen legal frameworks that hold accountable those who deliberately spread falsehoods, without endangering legitimate expression,’ he asserted.
Apart from legal measures in combating disinformation and misinformation, Tulfo also advocated investing in media literacy, especially among the youth, so citizens can better discern truth from lies. ‘Ultimately, the fight against disinformation is not only about defending our leaders; it is about defending democracy itself,’ he concluded.
Tulfo, a member of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, has been pushing for transparency in the government to fight the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation in the Philippines
In July, Tulfo filed Senate Bill 768, which seeks to penalize the generation and spread of fake news or information deliberately presented as factual content with the intent to mislead or deceive the audience.
He also filed Senate Bill 1361, or the ‘People’s Freedom of Information Act,’ which would help strengthen accountability in government and combat fake news in the Philippines.
Before becoming a lawmaker, Tulfo worked over three decades as a multimedia journalist.
Tulfo leads the Philippine delegation in participating in the IPU Assembly and related meetings which will run until October 23. The Philippine delegation is composed of Sens. Raffy Tulfo and Imee Marcos; Reps Ferdinand Hernandez, Kristine Singson-Meehan, Ma. Georgina de Venecia, Maria Rachel Arenas, Faustino Michael Carlos Dy III, Brian Llamanzares, Jonathan Clement Abalos II and Florabel Yatco.