19-3-2025 (MANILA) The Philippine House Tri Committee has issued stark warnings to prominent social media personalities who have repeatedly shirked parliamentary scrutiny. The committee’s patience has worn thin with eleven influential figures, including former government officials, who now face potential detention for contempt.
At the heart of this constitutional showdown stands Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles, who previously held the prestigious position of Presidential Communications Office Secretary, alongside Dr. Lorraine Marie Badoy-Partosa, once the voice of the nation’s anti-communist task force. These high-profile individuals, together with noted social media commentator Allan Troy Sasot, known in digital circles as “Sass”, head a list of personalities who have consistently evaded parliamentary questioning.
The parliamentary probe has taken on increased urgency as concerns mount over the manipulation of public discourse through social media channels. Santa Rosa Representative Dan Fernandez, who chairs the tri-committee, emphasised the gravity of the situation, drawing direct links between disinformation and national security vulnerabilities.
In a particularly telling development, tech giants Meta and ByteDance, the parent companies of Facebook and TikTok respectively, have been served with show cause orders following their conspicuous absence from previous hearings. The committee expects representatives from their Philippine operations to appear alongside Google Philippines in forthcoming sessions.
The investigation’s scope has broadened to encompass regulatory frameworks, with Friday’s session set to hear evidence from an impressive array of government bodies, including the Commission on Elections, Department of Justice, and the Philippine National Police. Their testimony is expected to shed light on enforcement mechanisms against digital falsehoods.
Notably, several accused parties have sought refuge in legal technicalities, citing pending Supreme Court petitions as justification for their non-attendance. This defence has been met with scepticism from committee members, who view it as a coordinated attempt to obstruct parliamentary proceedings.
Representative Robert Ace Barbers has been keen to dispel concerns about potential censorship, emphasising that the investigation’s primary objective is to establish robust governance frameworks for social media content dissemination, rather than curtail constitutional freedoms of expression.
