Waray Party-list Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel on Monday filed a bill that seeks to criminalize the act of creation and dissemination of fake news online.
Under House Bill 2971, both misinformation and disinformation will be considered a cybercrime and there will be corresponding penalties for such action.
“Sana mapigilan na [ang fake news]. Sana maging responsable sa data and facts na hindi distorted kasi maraming mga kabataan natin na madali ang access sa social media. Ito, madaling maniwala sa katotohanan na inilalabas ng iba. Kahit nga tayo. Kung tayong nakapag-isip [ay nabibiktima pa], paano pa ang kabataan natin na inosente?” Noel said in an interview during DZRH’s Dos Por Dos on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
According to Noel, his top motivation for creating the bill was rooted when Republic Act 11469 or Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was enacted.
He shared that the provision in Section 6 of the act proposed to penalize and imprison peddlers of fake news about COVID-19 but it was declared void.
“Sabi ng Supreme Court, hindi pu-pwede yun dahil wala namang definition ang fake news sa Cybercrime act nuong 2012 at wala rin siyang nakalagay na penalty. So, void 'yung section section 6 na yun dahil nga sa mga provision na ito,” he said.
Noel said the proposed bill will amend Sections 3 and 4 in the Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Under the proposed HB 2971 bill, it defined fake news as “misinformation and disinformation of stories, facts, news, and news which is presented as a fact, the veracity of which cannot be confirmed, with the purpose of distorting the truth and misleading its audience”.
“‘Yung atin lang, matakot naman yung tao na manloko. ‘Yung iba kasi, maglalagay sa social media, maganda [yung content] with works of graphics pa. Maraming naniniwala. Ako mismo, na-shoot na many times,” he said.
The proposed penalty for fake news peddlers will be a degree higher than prison correctional but it is subject to change.
“Nag-propose tayo ng degree higher dun sa prison correctional which is 2 years and 4 months to 8 years, up to the minimum of prison mayor. That is just a proposal. This is just a bill na isasalang natin sa isang komite, that is decided by our peers who are representatives of the people,” he explained.
For fake news peddlers who is hidding under dummy and poser accounts, the solon said they will seek help from the Department Of Information And Communications Technology (DICT) to coordinate with social media companies such as Facebook and Instagram.
