House drops contempt axe against vloggers

The House Tri Committee looking into the spread of false information through social media cited in contempt several pro-Duterte vloggers who snubbed its fourth hearing on Tuesday despite being repeatedly summoned by the panel.

The social media personalities facing detention on the premises of the House of Representatives are former anti-insurgency task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy-Partosa, her then co-host in a Sonshine Media Network International program Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, and blogger Allan Troy “Sass” Rogando Sasot.

Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Paduano moved to cite them in contempt for refusing to “answer summonses without a legal excuse,” in violation of Section 11(A) of the House rules.

Badoy, Celiz and Sassot were invited since the panel launched its probe in February but they never showed up. Information obtained by the committee said the three were out of the country, with Badoy in Hong Kong and Sassot currently residing in Beijing, China.

Mark Lopez, another vlogger, was also cited in contempt on Tuesday for allegedly maligning the panel in a social media post following his earlier testimony.

During the previous hearing, Sassot attempted to testify via Zoom. However, the committee denied her access, saying Zoom was exclusively for House members joining the congressional inquiry.

The three were part of the group of vloggers summoned by the committee to explain their roles in the spread of “fake news.” Other personalities, including former press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, finally appeared before the lawmakers after skipping the first two hearings.

Meta’s director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia Dr. Rafael Frankel told lawmakers the online company had proactive measures, including a fact-checking system, in place to curb the spread of false content.

Frankel explained that this system and the fact-checkers could proactively act on their volition or without any action on the part of Meta. He said these moderators can flag certain content such as hate speech, incitement to violence, harassment, and terrorism if they violate Meta’s community standards.