NBI urged to look into 'paid' vloggers maligning Quad Comm's probe into POGOs
The House of Representatives quad committee has urged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe alleged paid vloggers maligning the panel.
The committee's chairman Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers wrote to NBI director Jaime Santiago on Nov. 25. He asked for help identifying, investigating, and filing charges against individuals creating and posting "damaging and misleading vlogs" relating to the panel's probe into illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGO.
In his letter, Barbers requested the NBI to "secure and preserve all digital evidence related to the vlog, including metadata, upload details and related activity logs."
The lawmaker also submitted evidence including vlogs and posts that claimed he and his brother Surigao del Norte Gov. Lyndon Barbers were linked to illegal drugs.
"Very obvious na well-organized at bayaran ang mga vloggers na ito na gustong sirain ang pangalan ko, ng kapatid ko, at mga quad comm members. Sabi nila, ito 'yung mga bayarang grupo ng tagapagkalat ng kasinungalingan. Siguro nasasaktan na ang kanilang mga employers na POGO operators at drug lords dahil sa patuloy na quad comm investigations," he said in a statement on Dec. 1.
Barbers also said vloggers have also made posts about Representatives Benny Abante, Dan Fernandez, and Stephen Joseph Paduano.
He appealed to the NBI director to pursue criminal charges against the individuals for violating Sec. 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The House's quad committee is a mega-panel investigating links between POGOs, the illegal drug trade, Chinese syndicates, and extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. It is composed of the Dangerous Drugs Committee headed by Barbers, Human Rights Committee helmed by Abante, Public Accounts Committee chaired by Paduano, and Public Order and Safety Committee led by Fernandez.
