A BILL seeking to criminalize the deliberate spread of fake news was recently filed in the House of Representatives, proposing prison terms of up to 12 years and fines reaching P2 million.
Reelected Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a former law dean, said the bill aims to address the limitations of current laws like the Revised Penal Code and the Cybercrime Prevention Act (Republic Act No. 10175).
“These falsehoods, often disseminated at scale through social media or synthetic content like deepfakes, have the power to incite confusion, manipulate public perception, and provoke civil disorder,” Rodriguez said in his explanatory note for House Bill No. 11506 or the Anti-Fake News and Disinformation Act.
While freedom of speech is protected under the Constitution, Rodriguez said it does not cover obscenity, defamation, incitement to violence, false advertising, or speech that poses a danger to public order.
The bill excludes satire, parody, personal opinion, honest mistakes, and good-faith reporting. It also provides judicial safeguards, including legal remedies and appellate review, to prevent abuse.
Under the bill, acts punishable by law would include the intentional creation and dissemination of false information, operation or funding of troll farms, inciting violence or panic, and undermining democratic institutions.
Violators face imprisonment of six to 12 years and fines ranging from P500,000 to P2 million.