Meta Ban Considered if PH Office Ignored, Deputy Speaker Says

Deputy Speaker Janette Garin on Saturday said banning Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, could be an option if it continues to ignore the Philippine government's call for the company to establish a local office in the country. At a news forum in Quezon City, the lawmaker said the House might consider banning Meta in the Philippines “if it continues to refuse to set up an office here, or even assign just one or two people, as long as there is a Philippine office that we can talk to.” Garin said the warning to ban Meta was meant to “send a strong message” to the social media giant to heed calls to establish a physical office in the Philippines, “not just a marketing office,” amid concerns over scams, fake accounts, and exploitative content. The issue of a possible Meta ban came to light after the House of Representatives deferred action on the proposed P19.49-billion budget of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for 2027. The deferment was made during the plenary deliberations on Wednesday “pending the resolution of serious and long-standing concerns involving Meta.” Meanwhile, Philreca party-list Rep. Presley De Jesus said Meta should send its top executives to the Philippines. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, he added, might want to visit the House of Representatives “and really show us how important and serious the Philippines is to Meta.” —VBL, GMA News