Roque to discuss fake news allegations with Intel chief

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (PCOO file photo)

MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he will try to discuss with National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo the accusations that the latter allegedly shared misleading posts on his personal Facebook account.

Monteagudo was earlier grilled by the Makabayan bloc members during House deliberations on NICA’s proposed budget for 2021 for sharing posts that targeted progressive groups.

“I’ll try,” Roque said when asked if he would raise the matter with the NICA chief.

He, however, said the judgment on NICA’s budget is within Congress.

“If Congress approves the budget of NICA nonetheless, I think the policymakers have given him their go signal,” he said.

Kabataan Rep. Sarah Jane Elago earlier said Monteagudo’s posts tagged members of the Makabayan partylist bloc as “communist terrorists stealing public funds to fund terrorism”.

Roque said he knew too little about the posts to make further comments.

“I do not know if he actually called them terrorists; number two, I don’t know the context by which he used them,” he said.

According to Roque, if progressive groups were terrorists then cases can be filed against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

Facebook earlier took down more than 100 fake accounts that targeted activists.