After her term ends on June 30, Vice President Leni Robredo is considering taking legal actions against individuals spreading fake news on social media.
GMA News reported that Robredo’s spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez in the Vice-President’s weekly radio program said “in the coming weeks and months, we will launch a major initiative to address and combat the proliferation of fake news and lies on social media. It is clear that this kind of trend is detrimental to our democracy and the public discourse.”
“It is being discussed among groups of lawyers to file a lawsuit against those who continue spreading disinformation, and also possibly against those platforms that host such materials like the social media platforms that we currently have,” Gutierrez, quoted in the report, said.
The lawyer further said Robredo’s camp is not doing this “solely for Robredo.”
Gutierrez also cited reports saying that Robredo was the number one target of disinformation on social media before the May 9 polls and that her presidential race rival, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., was the top beneficiary of such false news.
“This is also for the welfare of our entire country and society. We need to bring out the truth. Our discussions must be based on facts and data, and not on fake news,” the lawyer said.
The Vice President earlier confirmed that her team was looking into alleged irregularities reported during the conduct of the 2022 elections.
The Office of Vice President meawhile will conduct a final general assembly on June 27, days before she steps down from office Vice President-elect Sara Duterte has been invited to attend the Gutierrez said the assembly might be held at the Quezon City Reception House, which is the current headquarters of the OVP.
“On the 27th, the Office of the Vice President will have a general assembly — the last general assembly under the leadership of VP Leni. To my knowledge, an invitation has already been extended to VP-elect Sara if she wishes to attend,” the lawyer said.
Gutierrez said there had already been meetings with Robredo and Duterte’s staff, but both the outgoing and incoming Vice Presidents have not yet discussed the transition plans in person, GMA News reported.
“The coordination is orderly. Our transition is smooth and that is our real purpose at this point. We are ready for the change of leadership at noon of June 30,” Gutierrez said.