The 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 (𝐔𝐀&𝐏), in collaboration with Cirrolytix Research Services, held a forum on “𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬,” focusing on threats to democratic resilience, information integrity, and institutional trust in the country.
The discussion examined how 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐅𝐈𝐌𝐈) can shape public perception and affect governance and democratic processes in the Philippine context.
In his keynote message, 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞, saying that allowing falsehoods to spread can weaken democratic foundations.
“𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭, 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞; 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥,” he said, adding that sustained efforts over the past years are helping strengthen factual awareness and public understanding.
Among the featured speakers were 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐬. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐨, who discussed issues ranging from political warfare in the West Philippine Sea to influencer-driven disinformation campaigns.
