Malacañang on Monday welcomed the creation of a Joint Anti-Fake News Action Committee by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), calling it a timely and critical action in the fight against misinformation and disinformation, particularly in sensitive criminal cases.
In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro underscored the administration’s full support of the inter-agency collaboration, stressing the urgent need to curb false information spread which undermines public trust, peace, and national stability.
Castro said the newly-formed joint PNP-DICT committee is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to promote accurate and verified information.
“Napakaganda po niyang gagawin. Kanina lamang po ay nagkaroon po tayo ng pagmi-meeting kasama po si DICT Secretary Aguda, kasama po ang Pangulo. Pinag-uusapan po kung papaano talaga pong mapapahinto itong fake news,” Castro said.
The creation of the committee comes in the wake of the successful arrest of the three suspects in the kidnapping-slay case of Filipino-Chinese businessman Anson Que and his driver, she said.
Despite the law enforcement breakthrough, Castro expressed concern over the continued circulation of false claims which labelled the arrested individuals as mere “fall guys.”
“Mayroon pa ring mga fake news peddlers na nagsasabi na ang mga nahuli daw ay mga fall guys lamang. Ito ay hindi maganda na mula sa mga fake news peddlers or sa ibang mga tao na nagsasabi na ang ibinabalita mismo ng gobyerno at ng mainstream media ay fake,” she said.
Castro called on all sectors—including government agencies, traditional media, and responsible social media content creators—to unite in combating disinformation that could mislead the public and distort their perception of truth and justice.
“Lahat po tayo … magtulung-tulong po tayo na sugpuin ang fake news na ito. Kapag ang fake news ay lumaganap, mismong sarili nating pagdedesisyon ay maaari na tayong magkamali dahil ito ay impluwensiya lamang ng fake news,” she said. | PND
