NSA secretary aghast over FB “warning”

PHILIPPINE National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon cannot hide his irritation and amazement after being warned by Facebook that his post last April 14, 2022, calling on Filipinos to unite against “all organizations above ground and underground” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was deemed by Facebook as not following its “standards.”

“What’s wrong with this to restrict me,” Esperon, without a doubt the country’s most informed official on threats to national security, asked.

“I should know better than you (Facebook) do on matters of national interest,” he added in a post a day later, on April 15, 2022.

But for Undersecretary Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Facebook’s behavior is nothing new.

Badoy has been a regular victim of Facebook’s censorship, noting that last year alone, her personal account has been blocked repeatedly, the longest at more than 60 days, based on the report of Facebook’s fact checkers, Rappler Philippines and Vera Files.

“They did the same exact thing to me- Rappler says I was wrong in claiming that KABAG is CPP NPA NDF,” Badoy said.

Badoy was referring to the front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) all seeking a seat in Congress in the coming May 9, 2022 elections under the partylist system—Kabataan, Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, ACT and Gabriela.

“So, they (Facebook and its fact checkers, Rappler/Vera Files) did it to an undersecretary and one of the Spokespersons of the NTF ELCAC – and they got away with it.

“So, of course, they can do it to the NSA. Can you even begin to imagine the implications to this if we let this go unchallenged,” asks Badoy.

The task force said they have already raised with Facebook the issue of censuring Esperon but got no response.

Facebook’s threat against Esperon drew angry responses among netizens, with broadcast journalist Jay Sonza leading the charge.

“Dito masusubok ang bayag ng gobyerno laban sa bayag ng Independent Fact Checker Rappler at Vera Files.

“Imagine the fact checkers checking on the head of the National Security Agency on matters of national security issues. This is the height of being ‘intremedida’ and arrogance on the part of Rappler/Vera Files for acting as social media police versus the guardian of state security matters,” Sonza wrote.

“Vera Files and FB fact checkers, mas marunong pa sa government agency in charge, now I’ve seen everything, isn’t it time to make these hooligans responsible for their actions, it just looks like they are the campaigners for the other side and not an objective entity,” wrote Maria Asuncion Nievez.

“Let’s make them responsible for accountable for everything they will fact check and pls. name them, they should not be able to fact check incognito, nasasalaula ang katotohanan,” she added.

Another reactor, Mizraim Bobby Sevilleno wrote: “Rappler is a threat to the National Security and needs to be shutdown to protect the state.

“It (government) should declare war against the fact checkers who help the enemies of the state to stop the threat (to) the country,” he added.

“The government must quickly act on this against the Rappler and Vera files who both unstoppably create deceptions on matters of national security to the great damage and prejudice of the state. These entities must be sued in Court in order to face appropriate sanctions,” added Graciano Ladaban Ganias.

As of this writing, Sonza’s shared post elicited more than 12,000 reactions, and over 2,000 comments and shares.