Trying to pass AI work as human-made? New bill proposes P2-million penalty
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Pia Cayetano has filed a bill aiming to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Philippines, outlining several proposed penalties for unethical AI use, including a hefty P2-million fine for faking your work.
In a statement on Wednesday, July 2, Cayetano explained that while AI has presented opportunities for the country, it poses dangers.
“These innovations carry risks. AI systems rely on data and models that may be incomplete, biased, or manipulated, reflecting the subjective or commercial choices of developers. These raise concerns such as algorithmic bias, discrimination, and AI hallucinations, where systems generate false or misleading outputs with confidence,” Cayetano said in her explanatory note.
Anyone caught developing or selling AI systems without prior registration will face a fine of P500,000 to P5 million, or imprisonment of six months to three years. Their business permits will also be revoked.
Meanwhile, any person caught using AI to commit crimes will face a fine of P2 million to P10 million, or imprisonment of six months to 12 years.
The bill also penalizes those who use AI to spread disinformation, with fines ranging from P1 million to P5 million and imprisonment of three to 10 years.
“Knowingly passing off AI-generated content (e.g., fake images, news articles, endorsements, voice recordings) as human-made for purposes of deceit, manipulation, or commercial gain shall be penalized with: i) Impose a fine of Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000) to Two Million Pesos (P2,000,000), or imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years or both, in the discretion of the court,” the bill stated.
Should the bill be passed in its present form, it would mandate the creation of the National AI Commission (NAIC) under the Department of Science and Technology.
The NAIC would have jurisdiction over all matters concerning AI, from its development to regulation.
The agency would have to develop a Philippine AI roadmap and maintain a national registry for AI.
The NAIC would also “undertake ethical and sustainability reviews of AI systems in coordination with sectoral regulators and ensure that systems align with social, environmental, and intergenerational goals.”
The bill also noted that AI might cause worker displacement, with employers seeking to cut costs by using the technology to replace employees.
The bill proposes that all employers who want to adopt an AI system must have AI job classification standards, and they have to submit an AI Deployment Impact Report to the NAIC.
Cayetano cited the European Union’s AI Act of 2024, which provided a legal framework for ethical AI use, as one of the basis for the law.
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