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The House of Representatives deferred the consideration of the proposed budget of the DICT and its attached agencies following an interpellation concerning online safety, digital scams, and platform accountability. DICT/Facebook
MANILA — Lawmakers are pressing for heavier platform accountability, prompting calls for Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to address the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in a congressional inquiry centered on digital safety.
“The House of Representatives of the Philippines has called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to face the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) during a House hearing on social media safety,” DICT said in its social media post.
The development comes as the House of Representatives deferred the consideration of the proposed budget of the DICT and its attached agencies following an interpellation concerning online safety, digital scams, and platform accountability.
According to the social media post shared by the DICT, the upcoming discussions will heavily focus on "concerns related to harmful online content, platform accountability, and measures to strengthen online safety for Filipino users."
Lawmakers trained their sights on Meta during the budget deliberations, pointing out the tech giant's massive Philippine user base contrasted with a lack of substantial local corporate presence.
PHILRECA party-list Rep. Presley De Jesus raised issues regarding harmful online content, child safety concerns, and misinformation following recent violent incidents.
“After the Ateneo de Zamboanga school shooting, DICT and CICC publicly raised the possibility of blocking Facebook as a last resort over delayed takedowns of violent content, child safety concerns, and misinformation,” De Jesus pointed out.
He questioned the department on what transpired during recent consultations in Singapore.
Representing the DICT as the budget sponsor, Rep. Brian Poe Llamanzares said that officials flew to Singapore to consult with Meta and work toward a memorandum of agreement (MOA) addressing the influence on minors and other platform-related concerns.
“If I'm not mistaken, members of the DICT and CICC flew to Singapore to consult and explain the situation here in the Philippines to Meta. And I believe they're working towards an MOU, an MOA rather, with Meta to be able to address the growing concerns of influence on minors here in the Philippines, among other concerns that are happening within the Meta platform,” said Llamanzares.
Lawmakers further underscored the gap between Meta's massive footprint in the country and its accountability structures.
Highlighting that the Philippines ranks as the fifth largest user base globally, De Jesus noted that Filipinos generate a lot in terms of engagement while being left without a direct, formal recourse channel.
“Imagine, the entire sa buong mundo, pang lima tayo, and we're only, what, 120 million Filipinos compared to other countries billions. But again, so we're being ignored. I'm not trying to blame the ICT… Ito po yung sinasabi natin. We keep on making their businesses big. But in return, hindi mo lang tayo mapansin. Not even as office here in the Philippines, hindi maibigay sa atin,” De Jesus said.
Llamanzares agreed with the sentiment, stating, "It's ridiculous. Considering that the Philippines is the fifth largest population on Meta, that Meta does not have an actual country manager and a real office here in the Philippines considering the amount of capital that this country provides Meta through its engagement on the platform".
DEMANDS
To address these vulnerabilities, the DICT outlined two strict non-negotiable demands being pushed through a newly formed technical working group: requiring Meta to open an actual corporate office in the country for legal accountability, and mandating the use of the national ID system for creating or maintaining accounts.
Llamanzares noted that similar identity verification frameworks have already been implemented in other nations like Brazil.
Llamanzares also said the department wrote to Meta’s CEO.
“Well, from the DICT, they themselves wrote directly to Mark Zuckerberg to ask him to confront these issues which we are facing. Although, there was no response.”
Despite these ongoing measures, lawmakers stressed the need for measurable outcomes and strict monitoring of agency deliverables before approving funding allocations.
Citing the lack of visible, immediate results in curbing scams and protecting minors, De Jesus moved to defer the budget deliberations, a motion that was supported by the majority and formally approved by the leadership.
“Until those matters are satisfactorily addressed and the Department can present measurables, deliverables, Madam Speaker, it pains me, but I have no choice,” he said.
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