PHILIPPINE lawmakers should consider crafting laws that would penalize public relations  and advertising agencies engaged in peddling disinformation, rather than individuals engaged in troll farms, experts said on Tuesday.

“[We should] penalize masterminds, especially black PR (public relations) firms engaged in disinformation. There has to be a way to penalize the masterminds rather than individual trolls,” Rachel E. Khan, a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines, told lawmakers during a House of Representatives hearing.

“We won’t achieve anything if we go after individuals rather than those who brought them or those who pay them,” she added in Filipino.

Ms. Khan was speaking before the House joint committee on public safety, public information and communications technology, which launched an inquiry into the prevalence of disinformation in social media platforms, described as a “national security threat.”

“Our goal is to develop a code of conduct for content creators, ensuring accountability and ethical responsibility in this rapidly evolving digital space,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in the same hearing, according to a statement.

“We need to hold accountable the people at the top, the elites in the advertising and PR industries…. we should not only go after the low-level workers,” said Jonathan Corpus Ong, professor of global digital media at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“We should also focus on ‘big tech’ corporations,” he added.

Lawmakers should also consider “different kinds of legislation,” focusing not only on penalizing social media users who spread false information.

A proposal against online disinformation should include “compliance measures” for social media platforms to participate in transparency mechanisms with researchers.

“If the law is not specific and not transparent, a ‘top-down’ regulation can actually do more harm than good,” said Mr. Ong.

Ms. Khan said congressmen should consider legislating a mechanism allowing fact-checkers to counter disinformation through a “rapid response mechanism,” just like in Taiwan.

“This approach has been effective in addressing false information quickly. We can replicate it if there is collaboration among and support from fact-checking organizations,” she said in Filipino. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday evening adopted the Senate’s changes to a bill, extending Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) franchise for another 25 years, allowing the chamber to send it straight to Malacaсang for President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s signature. 

Senators on Monday approved on final reading House Bill No. 10926, which seeks to grant Meralco the franchise to construct, operate, and maintain its electric distribution systems in the greater Metro Manila area, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Batangas, Quezon, Laguna, and Pampanga. 

Meralco is the main power distributor for the National Capital Region and nearby areas, covering 39 cities and 72 municipalities, delivering electricity to at least 7.6 million Filipinos. It provides power to a region responsible for half of the country’s gross domestic product output. 

“The Senate passed with amendments House Bill No. 10926, renewing for another 25 years the franchise granted to Meralco,” Cagayan Rep. Ramon C. Nolasco, Jr. told the House floor.  

“We have been informed that the committee on legislative franchises, which sponsored the aforementioned bill, as well as the authors, has no objections with the Senate to the said measure,” he added.  

Bills seeking to provide a legislative franchise to companies first originate at the House, undergoing the same legislative process as regular bills, according to the Energy department.  

Congressmen gave their final nod to the bill in November, approving it four years ahead of its initial concession’s expiry.  

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio  

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a bill establishing a carbon pricing framework for Philippine companies in a bid to meet the country’s climate targets amid climate change concerns.

In a voice vote, lawmakers approved House Bill No. 11375, which mandates Philippine enterprises to offset its operational carbon footprint by reducing its carbon emissions, investing in low-carbon ventures or through carbon credits.

“The measure creates a carbon pricing framework that requires companies exceeding government-set emission targets to spend or invest in environmental sustainability projects to offset their carbon footprint,” Bohol Rep. Edgar M. Chatto, who heads the House climate change committee, told the House floor.

The Philippines ratified in 2017 a United Nations agreement to keep global temperatures rise below 2°C this century.

Medium and large-sized enterprises would be required to partake in the government’s decarbonization efforts, complying with a carbon threshold to be set by the Climate Change Commission.

Covered companies are required to submit a yearly compliance report to the Environment department’s, which should contain greenhouse gases emission levels and its “reduction activities” to lessen their carbon footprint. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

A House of Representatives committee on Tuesday approved an unnumbered substitute bill extending the validity of IDs for Filipinos with permanent disabilities to 10 years from five, easing the burden of reapplication for new identification cards.

“Many find the frequent need to renew their ID inconvenient and unnecessary, especially for individuals whose disability status is not likely to change over some short periods,” San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria J. Zamora told lawmakers before the House persons with disabilities (PWD) panel approved the proposal.

“The unnumbered substitute bill seeks to address these concerns by extending the validity periods of the ID cards and making corresponding adjustments to provisions concerning penalties and the issuance process,” she added.

Persons with temporary disabilities would be given an ID with a two-year validity, which could only be renewed “only after reassessment… by an appropriate medical practitioner,” according to a copy of the bill obtained by BusinessWorld.

Anyone caught faking their disability or using fake IDs could face up to two years in prison and fines of up to P100,000. – Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio