PBA party-list Rep. Margarita “Migs” Nograles. PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos have been urged to discern information obtained over the internet amid the spread of videos where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s voice is being mimicked to announce that the Philippines is getting ready for war against China.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, PBA party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles said that the best source of information would be legitimate government sites like the Presidential Communication Office (PCO) and actual videos of hearings, press conferences, and other activities of public officials.
“So maybe with that, let’s be vigilant and be informed that […] there’s an emerging threat to cybersecurity internationally with the government, and even locally. Let us not quickly believe online, let us know what the truth is and what fake information is,” Nograles told reporters at the Batasang Pambansa complex.
READ: ‘Deepfake’: PCO disowns clip of Marcos ‘attack order’ vs China
READ: Palace debunks viral deepfake video of President
Watch press conference
“I think the best way to know what really the truth is, is to watch the press conference, the committees, get information coming straight from the departments, those from the Presidential Communications Office, get these from reliable and true sources and refrain from immediately believing what we watch online,” she added.
According to Nograles, it is also the reason why the House of Representatives has taken the initiative to hold press conferences and launch Congress TV.
“That’s also the essence why we do this press conferences because the people deserve to know what is true. It is easy to sell fake news, misinformation, the spread of rumors and controversial matters that are not true—it’s easy to spread this on social media especially with the emerging technology,” she explained.
READ: China opposes ‘stoking bloc confrontation’ in West Philippine Sea
Congress TV
“That’s why we have Congress TV so that the people can see what is happening and what is being discussed by the different committees here in Congress,” she added.
Videos uploaded by a certain “Dapat Balita” page on YouTube — and then reuploaded into other social media sites — claim that the Philippines under Marcos is now on a war footing against China.
The video then shows different clips supposedly taken from the West Philippine Sea (WPS), overlayed by Marcos’ fake voice which talks about fighting the Chinese if they do not give up claims to the disputed region.
PCO has already disowned the video, saying that the video was made to sound like the President—stressing that Marcos has not made such an order to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“It has come to the attention of the Presidential Communications Office that there is video content posted on a popular video streaming platform circulating online that has manipulated audio designed to sound like President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.,” PCO said.
“The audio deepfake attempts to make it appear as if the President has directed our Armed Forces of the Philippines to act against a particular foreign country. No such directive exists nor has been made,” it added.
READ: US, Japan, PH to China: Stop ‘coercive use’ of coast guard in SCS
Political in nature
Nograles’ fellow members in the House’ so-called “young guns” said it was clear that the motive was political. However, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez said this is a new law as it affects the country’s foreign policy and ultimately, national security.
“But this is now, it’s now (crossing) a fine line […] we can assume maybe that this is politics. Fine, granted. But the politics that they are now playing is really threading a fine line with national security concerns. Because we understand the reason for politics, crafting fake news to try to sway votes. But we have to understand someone is listening across the sea,” Gutierrez said.
“Our neighbor China might take this seriously, this deepfake as if it was true and verified. This is a very dangerous prospect, so I think we really have to take this seriously. This is no longer just politics. This is already a national security concern […] This is a new front. This is a new low,” he added.
Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong meanwhile said that the deepfake deprives Filipinos of transparency, as it diverts the people from Marcos’ actual stand on the issue.
“‘These kinds of people, they are not only sabotaging the President but they also disrespect each and every individual Filipino, they do not care about you, all they want is to spread their false narrative. So, it counters transparency and accountability and your right to be well informed with policies that would affect your everyday life,” Adiong said.
“I mean this is really something that we need to delve into because it now borders national security — not only national security but also our foreign policy directive. So this is how they disrespect each Filipino — they are taking away your right to be well-informed with policies that will affect your lives,” he added.
Marcos has taken a firm stance on the Philippines having sovereign rights to the WPS, noting several times that the country will not lose an inch of its territory while he is President.
Early this April, Marcos joined United States President Joe Biden and Japanese President Kishida Fumio for the first ever trilateral summit between the three countries. Eventually, all three leaders called out China for its aggressive actions over the South China Sea, asking the country to stop using its Coast Guard in a coercive manner.