The House of Representatives prosecution panel is mapping out strategic countermeasures to combat an expected wave of misinformation and disinformation ahead of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong announced Saturday.
Adiong, who serves as a spokesperson for the House prosecution team, revealed that addressing the spread of fake news is a top priority, labeling it as one of the most formidable hurdles the panel will face as the high-profile proceedings draw near.
He emphasized that his designation as a panel spokesperson is a deliberate move to guarantee the timely and accurate dissemination of trial updates.
“That’s one of the reasons why nagtalaga ng spokesperson – para ma-counter ‘yong mga naratibong hindi tama (That’s one of the reasons why a spokesperson was appointed – to counter incorrect narratives),” Adiong said.
“Ang pinaka-purpose ng House prosecution team is to provide clarity to the public, and the way to do that is to combat the rising of fake news (The main purpose of the House prosecution team is to provide clarity to the public, and the way to do that is to combat the rise of fake news),” he added.
To maintain transparency and control the narrative with factual data, the House prosecution panel plans to conduct regular media briefings once the trial officially commences.
Adiong called on the citizenry to closely observe the historic proceedings, framing public vigilance as a collective responsibility.
“We are urging everyone to actively monitor the impeachment trial. Ito ay sagradong duty hindi lang ng House at Senate. Pinag-uusapan natin dito ‘yong accountability mechanism ng Konstitusyon, which all of us are stakeholders (This is a sacred duty not only of the House and the Senate. We are talking about the accountability mechanism of the Constitution here, of which all of us are stakeholders),” he stressed.
The Senate, having already convened as an impeachment court, has officially served a writ of summons to both the prosecution and the Vice President’s camp.
According to Adiong, the House prosecutors are currently awaiting the defense team’s formal response to the articles of impeachment, which is mandated for submission by June 1.
“From there, we hope that the Senate can schedule already the pre-trial, which is basically the laying down of ground rules, markings of evidence, and the identification of potential witnesses from both sides,” Adiong explained. “That would actually give us an idea how the flow of the impeachment trial would go.”