House prosecution spokesperson and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co urged Filipinos not to judge Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial based on social media reels, warning that selectively edited content could fuel disinformation about the evidence presented in the proceedings.
Co was reacting to concerns that portions of the defense’s cross-examination of Commission on Audit Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) supervising auditor Xylene Mae del Campo could be clipped and circulated online without context.
Defense counsel Kristine Ferrer had repeatedly asked Del Campo whether COA documents on the OVP’s confidential funds specifically contained terms such as “corruption” or “misappropriation,” to which the auditor answered in the negative.
“Mukhang ito ‘yung nangyari na since day one. May nakita tayong isang strategy din na magbibitaw ng mga tanong and in the same breath ay babaluktutin ‘yung tanong na ‘yun,” Co said during a House press briefing.
She warned that misleading narratives could spread through social media “algorithm bubbles” without independent verification.
“So ‘yung fear natin, and nakita na natin to noon, at ‘yun din po ‘yung mandato ng mga tagapagsalita para iklaro, maaari talagang lumala yung disinformation, fake news sa social media algorithm bubbles na maaaring ang ating mga kababayan ay makulong kung the same kind of content without external validation ang makita sa ating mga social media feeds,” Co said.
Earlier, a spliced video of House prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno of Akbayan Party-list posted on social media stirred controversy as it created the misleading impression that the prosecution was admitting it had no evidence and was only on a fishing expedition.
Co urged Filipinos to follow the actual proceedings and evidence instead of relying solely on short-form social media content.
“Sa puntong ito, vulnerable tayong lahat sa fake news, sa disinformation, kaya po kailangan mas extra mindful tayo at nakatunguhay mismo doon sa prosesong nangyayari live sa impeachment proceedings, hindi po nakasalalay lang sa mga reels na maaaring nating makita,” Co said.
House prosecution counsel and spokesperson Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. also addressed the defense’s focus on the absence of the word “corruption” from the COA Notice of Disallowance covering part of the OVP’s confidential fund spending.
Tolosa said Del Campo had explained that COA conducted a compliance audit, not a fraud audit aimed at determining corruption.
“Ang tanong, bakit hindi lumabas doon sa Notice of Disallowance na merong corruption? Para sagutin ‘yan, sasabihin ko, naging tugon ng witness dahil hindi naman fraud audit ang ginawa nila, hindi naman corruption ang hinahanap niya,” Tolosa said.
He said the audit instead examined whether the confidential fund spending complied with Joint Circular No. 2015-01 governing the use and liquidation of confidential funds.
“So nakita nila may paglabag, so ‘yun ang naka-indicate doon sa Notice of Disallowance, ‘yun ang reason bakit nagkaroon ng Notice of Disallowance,” Tolosa said.
Co said the central issue remains accountability for public money and unanswered questions over where Duterte’s confidential funds went.
“Sa dulo nito, panghawakan na gusto natin dito pananagutan, gusto natin dito ayaw na maulit ‘yung corruption, ayaw na maulit ‘yung may perang ginasta daw, and hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin natin natitiyak kung saan po ito napunta,” she said.
“‘Yung report na sinasabi dito napunta, napakadaming anomalya. Dapat po nagtatanong lang tayo. Hindi po dapat sina-shutdown ‘yung paghahanap natin ng sagot,” Co added.
RAW:
HOUSE prosecution spokesperson, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, is urging Filipinos not to judge Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial based on social media reels, warning that selective content could fuel disinformation about the evidence presented in the proceedings.
Co was reacting to concerns that portions of the defense’s cross-examination of Commission on Audit Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) supervising auditor Xylene Mae del Campo could be clipped and circulated online without context.
Defense counsel Kristine Ferrer had repeatedly asked Del Campo whether COA documents on the OVP’s confidential funds specifically contained terms such as “corruption” or “misappropriation,” to which the auditor answered in the negative.
“Mukhang ito ‘yung nangyari na since day one. May nakita tayong isang strategy din na magbibitaw ng mga tanong and in the same breath ay babaluktutin ‘yung tanong na ‘yun,” Co said during a House press briefing.
She warned that misleading narratives could spread through social media “algorithm bubbles” without independent verification.
“So ‘yung fear natin, and nakita na natin to noon, at ‘yun din po ‘yung mandato ng mga tagapagsalita para iklaro, maaari talagang lumala yung disinformation, fake news sa social media algorithm bubbles na maaaring ang ating mga kababayan ay makulong kung the same kind of content without external validation ang makita sa ating mga social media feeds,” Co said.
Earlier, a spliced video of House prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan Partylist) posted on social media stirred a controversy as it created the misleading impression that the prosecution is admitting they had no evidence and were only on a fishing expedition.
Co urged Filipinos to follow the actual proceedings and evidence instead of relying solely on short-form social media content.
“Sa puntong ito, vulnerable tayong lahat sa fake news, sa disinformation, kaya po kailangan mas extra mindful tayo at nakatunguhay mismo doon sa prosesong nangyayari live sa impeachment proceedings, hindi po nakasalalay lang sa mga reels na maaaring nating makita,” Co said.
House prosecution counsel and spokesperson, Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. also addressed the defense’s focus on the absence of the word “corruption” from the COA Notice of Disallowance covering part of the OVP’s confidential fund spending.
Tolosa said Del Campo had explained that COA conducted a compliance audit, not a fraud audit aimed at determining corruption.
“Ang tanong, bakit hindi lumabas doon sa Notice of Disallowance na merong corruption? Para sagutin ‘yan, sasabihin ko, naging tugon ng witness dahil hindi naman fraud audit ang ginawa nila, hindi naman corruption ang hinahanap niya,” Tolosa said.
He said the audit instead examined whether the confidential fund spending complied with Joint Circular No. 2015-01 governing the use and liquidation of confidential funds.
“So nakita nila may paglabag, so ‘yun ang naka-indicate doon sa Notice of Disallowance, ‘yun ang reason bakit nagkaroon ng Notice of Disallowance,” Tolosa said.
Co said the central issue remains accountability for public money and unanswered questions over where Duterte’s confidential funds went.
“Sa dulo nito, panghawakan na gusto natin dito pananagutan, gusto natin dito ayaw na maulit ‘yung corruption, ayaw na maulit ‘yung may perang ginasta daw, and hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin natin natitiyak kung saan po ito napunta,” she said.
“‘Yung report na sinasabi dito napunta, napakadaming anomalya. Dapat po nagtatanong lang tayo. Hindi po dapat sina-shutdown ‘yung paghahanap natin ng sagot,” Co added.