Philippine Lawmakers Debate Fact-Checkers and Censorship in Fight Against Misinformation

The Philippine House of Representatives held a hearing on June 5, 2025, to discuss strategies for combating the spread of false information online. The government's plan to employ fact-checkers was a central topic. Representative Robert Ace Barbers raised concerns about potential prior censorship, stating, "Would it be possible that there could be some system of prior censorship before a content is posted online?" Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) responded that the DICT is developing an AI-powered system to detect fake news and online scams. Representative Geraldine Roman expressed concerns that establishing a government watchdog agency over content creation might lead to censorship, a violation of freedom of speech. The hearing highlighted the complexities of balancing the need to control misinformation with the protection of free speech. The hearing concluded with a call for further study into the matter.