Lacson: Duplicate FB accounts may be part of 'scare tactics' of those against anti-terror bill

The duplicate Facebook accounts of some Filipinos may have actually been created as part of the "scare tactics" of those against the anti-terror bill, which is now up for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Monday.

"Nakakabahala in the sense na pwede isama 'yan sa scare tactics. For all we know, 'yung kumokontra ang nagpapakalat niyan para matakot ang mga tao by dishing out disinformation," Lacson, author of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, said in an interview on CNN Philippines.

"For all we know, sila rin may gawa niyan, part ng scare tactics nila 'yan na mag-post sa FB or social media ng mga panakot," he added.

Lacson said the bill can be accessed and read by the Filipino people if they have questions about the measure.

"Maliwanag naman nakasulat lahat, this is a public document na pwedeng basahin ng mga tao to see for themselves kung totoo ba ang mga information na lumalabas," he said.

He reiterated that the proposed law does not equate activism to terrorism and that warrantless arrests have long been provided for by other existing laws in the country.

"Ito ang mga disinformation campaign na kumakalat ngayon. Kaya ibalik ko sa kanila, baka sila rin may gawa ng trolls na nananakot na may dadamputin," Lacson said.

On Sunday, various groups have issued statements against reported fake and empty Facebook accounts. Several netizens expressed concern that these duplicate social media accounts could be taken advantage and be used to post contents which may link them to terrorism that would be penalized by the proposed law.

Facebook already issued a statement on the issue and urged the netizens to continue reporting these accounts.

"We understand the concerns raised by our community in the Philippines. We're investigating reports of suspicious activity on our platform and taking action on any accounts that we find to be in violation of our policies," it said.—AOL, GMA News