The cooperation of the State and the management of social media networks will be the key to protecting Filipino youths from the misleading and immoral content found on the internet, Sen. Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla said on Wednesday.

Padilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, said that while he respects the freedom of speech and expression provided by the Constitution, no one should allow the abuse of such freedoms.

“Hindi po porke’t sinabi na kalayaan ay free-for-all. Ang kalayaan, ang definition niyan, una sa lahat proteksyunan ang karapatan ng bawa’t isa. Yan po ang ibig sabihin ng kalayaan at ang una nating dapat proteksyunan dito bago ang lahat ay ang ating kabataan (Freedom is not a free-for-all thing. Freedom must include the protection of people’s rights – and the first rights to be protected should be those of our youths),” he said in an interview on SMNI.

“Kung gusto natin ng totoong pag-unlad, gusto natin talaga ang makita ninyo ang kabataan natin ay may mapuntahan at magkaroon ng magandang kinabukasan, kailangan po ang kalayaan natin ay may direksyon at ang direksyon na yan unang una sa lahat, maka-Diyos, maka-kapwa tao, makabayan (If we want true progress, if we want to see our youths have a bright future, we need to ensure freedom that is pro-God, pro-people, and pro-country),” he added.

Padilla is also considering delivering a privilege speech on the Senate floor on the matter, saying it is time the state adopts a hard stance on the issue.

“Kailangan po ay maging matigas na tayo rito. Ito po ay dadalhin natin sa bulwagan at paguusapan po namin ito. Ipi-privilege speech po natin itong sitwasyong ito dahil hindi ito biro. Tandaan natin kung ang mangyayari sa ating kabataan puro ganito at magkakabuntisan tayo at ang ating solution ayudahan ang mga kabataan natin, aba mag-Republic of Ayuda na lang po tayo. Yan na lang itawag natin sa bansa natin. Di po dapat ganoon. Dapat ang ating bansa ay kilala tayo ang ating paniniwala na sa lahat tayo po ay nakilala sa buong daigdig na naniniwala sa Diyos at may moralidad. Dapat natin yan panindigan (We must take a hard stance on this. We will bring this to the Senate floor via a privilege speech. This is no joke. We cannot afford to just give aid to teens who get pregnant; we must also defend our morality),” he said.

Likewise, Padilla pointed out the state is a “parens patria” with the duty to protect the youth from abuses – and it cannot be remiss in such duty.

Padilla earlier expressed alarm over the misleading information on social media platforms. He said the situation requires that the government take action.

Also, Padilla assured there will be wide consultations with stakeholders in studying the government’s response.

“Hindi po ito pagkitil sa karapatang pamamahayag, ito po ay tamang pagaruga ng estado sa kabataan. Hindi po dapat mag walang kibo ang estado ukol dito. Habang patuloy ang paglawak ng papel ng social media sa ating lipunan, hindi naman po magiging kalabisang sisiguraduhin ng pamahalaan ang responsableng paggamit nito. Malinaw ang ating layunin: ang siguraduhing ang nasabing regulasyong ito ay magiging patas at hindi tatapak sa karapatang pantao ninuman (This is not curtailing the freedom of speech. This is the proper care for youths by the state. The state cannot remain quiet. While social media expands its influence on society, the government must ensure its responsible use and stop any abuse. Regulations, if any, must be fair and will not violate the basic rights of anyone),” he said.

But Padilla also said social media networks should send representatives to Senate hearings so lawmakers can craft laws not just to stop scammers on social media but also to protect youths from inappropriate content.

“Sana mas mabigyan nila ng pansin ang mga kampanya ng gobyerno lalong lalo sa usapin ng moralidad at kapakanan ng kabataan. Yan lamang po, wala po tayong sinasabi ipagbabawal natin sila, hindi po. Makipag-cooperate naman kayo (Social media platforms should be considerate of the government’s efforts in upholding morality and youths’ rights. We are not saying we will ban them. But we need them to cooperate),” he said.

“At sana po, ang gusto natin ipaliwanag dito sa mga social media sites, ang Pilipinas una sa lahat ay very religious country. Tayo ay pinamumugaran ng iba’t ibang relihiyon. Ito dapat ay kino-consider ng social media sites na tayo po ay hindi tayo ganoon ka-liberal. Tayo po ay may mataas na moralidad. Yan po sana at maproteksyunan natin ang kulturang Pilipino na tayo ay konserbatibo (We want social media sites to know the Philippines is a very religious country, home to various faiths. We have a high degree of morality and social media platforms should respect our culture),” he added.

On Tuesday, Padilla voiced dismay that while there are bills aiming to curb teenage pregnancy, misleading information on social media is a huge stumbling block.

Citing preliminary findings of a study, he said 78% of young Filipinos in 2013 have their own mobile phones, 59% have access to the internet, 53% have social media accounts, and youths spend an average of six hours online daily.

During the pandemic, 93% of youths have smartphones and nearly 9 out of 10 have access to the internet, while 31% have received sex photos or videos through phones or the internet. 31% of information on sex received by Filipino youths came from social media.

“Nakakaimpluwensya ng hindi karapat dapat sa kabataan lalo ang sex video at sex photo, ang mga dating sites na walang control. Pati sa Twitter may pumunta rito nire-report sa amin may child pornography at prostitution. Anong gagawin natin? Sayang ang gobyerno kung walang gagawin (Sex videos and photos can have undue influence on the youths. Even Twitter has been used for child pornography and prostitution. What can we do? Government cannot sit idly by),” said Padilla.

Source: http://www.senate.gov.ph