Eight vloggers, including former press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, columnist Mary Jane Quiambao-Reyes, and writer Krizette Laureta-Chu, attended the third hearing on fake news by the House Tri-Committee at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Friday, March 21, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Filipino social media influencers have attended a state-sponsored seminar in China, former Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Sec. Trixie Cruz-Angeles admitted in a House hearing Friday on fake news and online disinformation.

The Chinese government allegedly covered all expenses of the vloggers, mostly pro-Duterte social media influencers, Cruz-Angeles told lawmakers.

At the House Tri-Comm’s hearing, Deputy Speaker David “Jayjay” Suarez of Quezon questioned Cruz-Angeles about the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) of China and its role in training media practitioners from different countries. 

Suarez presented a photo of the attendees to the NRTA seminar, which included Cruz-Angeles and other pro-Duterte vloggers. 

“You are fully aware that they do conduct training programs for media practitioners mula sa iba’t-ibang bansa?” the lawmaker asked.

Cruz-Angeles acknowledged she was one of the invitees. She also named fellow participants in the seminar that took place from May 23 to June 5, 2023, in China. 

“Myself, Pia Morato, Tio Moreno – who was there as a journalist and I think an information officer – Mr. Mark Lopez and Attorney Ahmed Paglinawan,” she said. The others, she could not recall their names.

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When pressed by Suarez about the funding of the trip, Cruz-Angeles admitted that the seminar was “sponsored,” with the Chinese government covering travel, accommodation, and seminar costs.

“Yes, sir,” she confirmed when asked if China had paid for everything.

Suarez emphasized that the program was a “state-funded activity” of China aimed at training media practitioners, including vloggers. 

Cruz-Angeles said that the seminar introduced attendees to emerging trends in social media. 

“They introduced new techniques in social media such as short-form videos, how to take them and other technical aspects. They also gave a background on China,” she said. 

Suarez also turned to Mark Anthony Lopez, confirming his participation. 

“Sir, 'yan lang po ‘yung na-attendan ko po,” Lopez said. 

The lawmaker then asked whether the seminar influenced their posts.

Cruz-Angeles downplayed its influence on her political views, saying she was already well-versed in China’s history.

“The new learning was their teaching of short-form videos – reels, TikTok and one-minute YouTube videos,” she said. 

Lopez, on the other hand, said he gained an understanding of “how China media works.”

PALAWAN PART OF CHINA?

Meanwhile, posts circulating on social media have been making false claims that China owns the group of islands of Palawan, a lawmaker said.

1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said in a statement that many people believe the “blatantly false claims.”  

He pointed out that content suggesting Palawan is “beyond our territory” was “consciously created,” with users employing Chinese characters to defend the posts. 

“Pag-aari daw ng China ang Palawan,” he said, emphasizing the dangerous spread of disinformation. 

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TikTok, which was the only social media platform present at the hearing and represented by its public policy manager Peachy Paderna, said the committee that it would address the issue. 

“We do not allow misinformation that causes harm, including disinformation that could lead to individual or community harm,” she said, adding that TikTok works with the appropriate teams to review flagged content and is committed to keeping harmful content off the platform. 

But Gutierrez criticized this response as reactionary. He pointed out that the flagged posts were frequently reposted by other users, causing them to go viral. 

Paderna said Tiktok employs proactive measures to tackle harmful content. 

She said the platform uses machine technology to review videos quickly and has implemented a sweep to detect and remove misleading material. 

“We rely on community reports to identify violations of our community guidelines and engage independent fact-checkers,” Paderna said.

But, Gutierrez said flagged posts are reposted allowing the disinformation to spread further, even if individual videos are taken down.