House Tri Committee subpoenas ‘no-show’ vloggers, influencers

PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The House Tri Committee (Tri Comm) on Tuesday issued subpoenas to social media influencers and vloggers who failed to attend the congressional hearing despite receiving show cause orders, along with a warning that continued defiance could lead to legal consequences.

Those who failed to attend include Trixie Cruz-Angeles, Krizette Laureta Chu, Sass Rogando Sasot, Mark Anthony Lopez, Lorraine Marie Badoy-Partosa, Jeffrey Almendras Celiz (Eric Celiz), Dr. Richard Mata, Ethel Pineda Garcia, Joie De Vivre (Elizabeth Joi Cruz), Aaron Peña and Mary Jean Reyes.

The move to issue subpoenas was made by Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano.

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“We have received a copy of several letters coming from resource persons that were issued the show cause order during the Feb. 4 hearing,” he said.

Paduano noted that most of the said influencers provided similar justifications for their absence — their petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court.

The subpoena against Suzanne Batalla was later put on hold after she submitted a medical certificate explaining her absence.

Paduano clarified that none of them had been cited for contempt but emphasized that the committee must now escalate its actions.

Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop, sitting as chair of the Tri Comm hearing, quickly affirmed the motion.

“There’s a motion to issue subpoena to all those mentioned by the Honorable Paduano for not attending and answering the show cause order issued by the three committees. Duly seconded. Do I hear any objection from the members? Hearing none, the motion is carried,” Acop ruled.

Paduano said Cruz-Angeles, who had publicly questioned the legitimacy of the congressional inquiry, was issued a show cause order due to her actions against the hearing.

“Firstly, the joint committee issued the show cause order against Attorney Angeles not because of her non-attendance… but because of the content of the communication that she submitted before this committee, which directly challenges our jurisdiction to conduct inquiry in aid of legislation,” he explained.

Paduano reminded Angeles that, as a lawyer, she is obligated to respect the Constitution, particularly the provision granting Congress the power to conduct investigations in aid of legislation.

“We would like to remind Attorney Angeles that as an officer of the court and a member of the legal profession, she’s bound to respect and abide by the Constitution,” he said.

He further announced that the committee’s legal department is considering filing a disbarment case against Angeles for her repeated violations of legal ethics.

“The Joint Committee directed the Legal Department to study and consider filing possible disbarment case against Attorney Angeles because we believe that an officer of the court must conduct herself as a true advocate of law rather than being the one directly promoting its defiance,” Paduano said.

According to records, Angeles had previously been suspended twice by the Supreme Court – first in 2016, when she was suspended for three years for allegedly neglecting a client’s case despite receiving legal fees; and again in 2023, when she was suspended for six months for purportedly using abusive language in a legal pleading.

Paduano also cited Supreme Court jurisprudence that legislative investigations should not be halted simply because a pending court case exists.

“The mere filing of a criminal or administrative complaint before a court or quasi-judicial body should not automatically bar the conduct of legislative investigation,” he said, citing the Standard Chartered Bank vs. Senate case.

He also referenced the Arnold Nazareno vs. Nery Sinig case, which distinguished legislative inquiries from court proceedings.

“Legislative investigation in aid of legislation and court proceedings has different purposes. On the other hand, inquiries in aid of legislation are undertaken as tools to enable the legislative body to gather information and legislate wisely and effectively,” he said.

As a final directive, Paduano moved for the reissuance of unserved show cause orders.

“For those all-unserved show cause orders coming from this committee last February 4 hearing, I respectfully move that those unserved show cause orders be issued again and that the SAA (sergeant at arms) should coordinate with the Philippine National Police to properly serve such show cause orders,” he said.

The Tri Comm granted the motion.

Show cause orders to Facebook, TikTok

The joint panels investigating the proliferation of fake news have also issued show cause orders to the Philippine offices of Facebook and TikTok for their non-attendance at the recent hearing on disinformation.

1RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez highlighted that the committee received a letter from White and Case on behalf of Meta, stating that Facebook Philippines was not authorized to receive the invitation.

“Just for the information of the body, we received the committees in receipt of a letter from Counsel from the US stating that META cannot be invited,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez emphasized that similar to Google Philippines’ participation despite being part of an international entity, Facebook Philippines should have attended the hearing.

“Although Google and Alphabet is international, Google Philippines chose to appear. So, I think, Mr. Chair, this would not stand as a reason for Facebook Philippines not to attend,” he said.

“Given that they have failed to substantiate the reason for their absence, may I move, Mr. Chair, that the show cause order be issued for Facebook Philippines?” he added.

To this, Acop sought clarification on the entities to be issued show cause orders, suggesting an omnibus approach.

“Could you please enumerate the platforms that would be issued at show cause order? Altogether na lang po, Mr. Chair, omnibus,” Acop said.

Gutierrez then addressed the absence of ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, which had sent a letter citing an unsubstantiated engagement in Singapore as the reason for non-attendance.

“They’ve sent a letter to the committee stating that they could not appear due to an engagement in Singapore. Unfortunately, the engagement was not substantiated,” he said.

He proposed issuing show cause orders to both ByteDance Philippines and Facebook Philippines.

For clarity, Gutierrez specified the individuals to whom the orders should be addressed.

“For ByteDance, Philippines, that is Ms. Peachy Paderna. And for Meta platforms or in the case of Facebook Philippines, this is Mr. Genixon David,” Gutierrez said.

The Tri Comm, comprising the Committees on Public Order and Safety, on Information and Communications Technology, and on Public Information, is intensifying its investigation into the spread of disinformation and fake news online.

The recent hearing aimed to assess the role of social media platforms in the dissemination of misleading content and to explore potential regulatory measures. (PNA)