Public warned vs fake news as AFP bares foreign influence in VP trial

MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution team has warned Filipinos against falling for fake news surrounding the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, amid an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disclosure that foreign malign influence operations are increasingly riding on local controversies, including the impeachment and flood-control issues.

Prosecution team adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers urged the public to scrutinize information circulating online and, whenever possible, go directly to the evidence being presented before the Senate impeachment court.

“Every day may fake news,” Barbers said, describing the steady stream of online narratives targeting members of Congress who endorsed the impeachment. He said that when critics cannot answer issues on substance, they resort to personally attacking those raising the questions.

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His warning came after retired Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea, said malign information operations have increasingly shifted from traditional pro-Davao and pro-China narratives to domestic controversies.

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“Ngayon, mas mahirap ma-detect sapagkat impeachment sumasabay d’yan, Sanjia sumasabay d’yan, and other local issues; flood control sumasabay d’yan,” Trinidad said.

Trinidad said the pattern involves taking advantage of local issues and twisting narratives to favor China while attacking government officials who stand up on these issues.

He said such influence operations seek to shape public perception without the use of conventional military force.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said the military is monitoring developments in the information space and coordinating with other government agencies to determine the facts behind issues being circulated online.

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Greatest weapon

“Our greatest weapon is the truth,” Padilla said, explaining that AFP intelligence and cyber units work together to establish facts and provide the public with information anchored on empirical data.

The two military officials also said the West Philippine Sea should unite Filipinos across political, regional, and religious lines as foreign malign influence operations expand from maritime disputes into domestic issues and social-media feeds.

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For Barbers, the revelation makes it even more important for Filipinos to personally follow the impeachment proceedings and distinguish evidence from online narratives.

“Ang panawagan namin palagi sa ating mga kababayan, Kung maaari, subaybayan ninyo. Pakinggan ninyo at dinggin ninyo ’yung ebidensyang inilalatag. Nang sa ganu’n, ay maiwasan natin ’yung maniwala tayo sa fake news,” he said.

Barbers said the prosecution’s message is not to dismiss criticism or opposing views, but to ensure that the public has access to the facts and evidence needed to make its own judgment.

“Ebidensya ang dapat maging pakinggan,” Barbers said, stressing that the impeachment should not be reduced to a contest between personalities or political camps.

Barbers said the impeachment process is ultimately about accountability under the Constitution, not personalities or political camps.

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“At the end of the day, ang mahalaga ho dito ay ang ating konstitusyon, ang ating saligang batas. Meron pong tinatawag na accountability mekanismo,” he said. /cb