Lawmaker urges halt to ‘presidential son’ rumor

Deputy Speaker Jay Khonghun of Zambales on Sunday denounced as baseless and irresponsible social media claims that a “presidential son” was harassed along the North Luzon Expressway, and called for an end to the spread of disinformation surrounding the alleged incident.

Khonghun said circulating unverified claims only fuels alarm and misinformation.

“Kung wala namang nangyari at malinaw na itinanggi na ng Malacañang, tigilan na natin ang pagpapakalat ng fake news. Ang ganitong klaseng haka-haka ay nakakasira at nagdudulot lang ng kalituhan sa publiko,” Khonghun said.

Malacañang denied that any such incident occurred. Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said in a Viber message to reporters Saturday night that no road harassment involving any presidential son took place.

Social media posts had claimed that shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, a three-vehicle motorcade blocked a vehicle allegedly carrying a presidential son along NLEX. The posts further alleged that about 15 men from Bulacan-registered vehicles later confronted the convoy after it reportedly overtook cars occupying all three lanes.

Khonghun described the fabrication or amplification of false incidents involving members of the First Family as “dangerous and irresponsible.”

“Hindi biro ang gumawa o magpakalat ng ganitong istorya. It undermines public trust and diverts attention from real issues that deserve serious discussion,” he said.

The lawmaker stressed that public discourse must be grounded on verified facts.

“In an age where information travels fast, verification is more important than sensationalism. We must not allow rumors to dictate the national conversation,” Khonghun said.

He warned that unchecked disinformation weakens democratic discourse.

“If we allow this kind of misinformation to go unchecked, deception becomes normalized. That erodes the very foundations of informed democratic discourse,” Khonghun said.

Khonghun urged netizens to rely on official sources and exercise responsibility online.

“Simple lang po ang pakiusap namin: verify before you share. Huwag maging instrumento ng kasinungalingan,” he said.