Tolentino: Makati firm invited to Senate inquiry
THE Makati-based ad firm has been invited to attend the next hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones to be held on Monday next week.
This was disclosed by Senate Majority Leader Francis ‘Tol’ Tolentino in a media interview Thursday.
“Yes invitations have been sent yesterday,” said Tolentino, who is leading the probe on foreign espionage and interference. “Our end point here is to really strengthen our [democratic] system. ‘Di man natin kayang gawing bulletproof ito, but to make democracy stronger in our country.”
He said that the committee will allow the Makati firm to either refute or air its side regarding the allegedly questionable deal it signed with the Chinese embassy in 2023 to provide, among others, keyboard warriors to push pro-Beijing narratives on social media amid the West Philippine Sea dispute.
Asked how he would like to make the country’s Commonwealth-era laws more responsive to the sophistication of espionage equipment being currently used to gather sensitive information and aid foreign interference in the internal affairs of the State, the senator cited three aspects: higher penalties, more stringent regulations, and greater public awareness.
“Higher penalties, and perhaps, make some of the crimes committed non-bailable. Kasi ngayon, bailable pa. Yun siguro yung paiigtingin nung batas,” he noted.
“Also, to raise public awareness that there are some elements out there trying to destroy our democracy, and unwittingly, our gadgets and social media are being used without us knowing.”
Asked how the law he envisions would affect locally based troll farms aiding foreign entities to attack Philippine institutions, Tolentino replied that such operators could be held liable.
“Pwede sila, kasi knowingly, they participated in a concerted effort to undermine the government of the Republic of the Philippines.”
He added that keyboard warriors could also be penalized as accomplices or accessories.
“Binibigyan sila ng instructions, o tirahin mo ito, i-amplify mo yung ganito. At nagre-report pa sila sa Chinese Embassy, sa Director for Communications, na ito na po yung update, that we reached 50,000 organic engagements.”
An international law expert, Tolentino said that troll farm operators and keyboard warriors cannot invoke “freedom of expression” since this right is attached only to humans, and not to fake accounts that they create posing as real persons.
Tolentino is also thinking of adopting relevant provisions from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), considered one of the world’s toughest privacy security laws whose mandate includes compliance by social media platforms and stuff penalties for violations.
