Fake news exposed

Last week, Senator Tito Sotto called out the anonymous blog and Facebook page, Silent No More PH, for their post that tagged him and six other Senators “Malacañang Dogs” for not signing Senate Resolution 516 which urges the government to “undertake the necessary steps to stop the spate of killings, especially of our children.” Upon the release of Senate Resolution 516, even some mainstream media reported it that Senate President Aquilino Pimentel, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Senators Richard Gordon, Cynthia Villar, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Gregorio Honasan and Manny Pacquiao did not sign the resolution. However, it was revealed by Senator Sotto that they did not get a copy of the resolution in the first place.

“I take offense in how this resolution is being projected in social media…, I have never seen the shadow of this resolution so paanong I did not sign? Obviously parang fake news ito.” – Senator Tito Sotto

I believe that there are certain things that we must be watchful for like whether the seven senators were intentionally excluded from the resolution to destroy their image as was claimed by Sen. Cynthia Villar; because if this is true, then it shows that the political enemies of President Duterte are now moving to discredit his allies to take back the power they once had.

It’s evident that ever since President Duterte won the election last year, some politicians did not stop from smearing his image to change the people’s opinion, but failed up to this day. With the recent revelation of Senator Villar, we must be vigilant especially on the possibility that the enemies of President Duterte are trying to take control of the Senate since they cannot succeed in controlling the public.

I remember the time when Senators Pangilinan, Trillanes and Hontiveros spoke strongly against fake news, but they are now curiously quiet when the one who propagated the fake news is an anti-Duterte page/blog. For me, this shows their bias when talking about fake news. It seems to me that they don’t care as long as they are not the ones being targeted. Even the mainstream media are quick to report when the topic is fake news in social media but are also curiously quiet about reports of some mainstream media that say Senator Sotto and the other six senators “did not sign” resolution 516.

According to Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles in an FB Live, fake news/ false news is already punishable by the law where she cited Section 18, Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code: “Any person who by means of printing, lithography, or any other means of publication shall publish or cause to be published as news any false news which may endanger the public order, or cause damage to the interest or credit of the State.”

However, the main problem that I see here is the anonymity of blogs like Silent No More PH. They seem to present themselves as persons who fight for the people but they use their anonymity as an escape from their accountability. How can we believe the words of people who cannot stand for their words, how can we believe that they truly express the voice of the people and fight for the public if they cannot even fight for their own voice? Sen. Trillanes was able to sue me and I can be sued by anyone who has an issue against me, and that is because I do not hide behind a logo; I do not hide behind anonymity; I fight for every word that I post in my blog. Same goes for Sass Rogando Sasot, RJ Nieto who unmasked himself and revealed that he is behind the blog Thinking Pinoy, Atty. Bruce Rivera, Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles, Maharlika, Mr. Riyoh and all known pro-Duterte bloggers. The funny thing is that those who tag us as propagators of fake news are the ones who are hiding themselves.

Now, a fake news was exposed, some reports appeared to have been edited from “did not sign” to “were not able to sign”; the question is will the politicians who claims to be against fake news stand up to this occasion and go against an anti-Duterte blog and some mainstream media?