Highly partisan

Why am I not surprised? A Philippine senator shared a video of an interview with two students who expressed why they did not support the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. It turned out the interview was not real but had been generated by Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

That is why Sen. Ronald Bato Dela Rosa is now being ridiculed for sharing the said video, and even managed to say, “Mabuti pa ang mga bata, nakakaintindi sa mga pangyayari. Makinig kayo, mga yellow at mga komunista!” He even had to go further by mocking his perceived enemies. Surely no “yellows and communists” are listening to him.

The senator did not even check if the interview was real or not. After seeing the supposed interview and agreeing with what the students said, he immediately shared the video online. His gullibility shows if not anything else. If he believes in ghosts and saw an interview of a person claiming to have talked to the white lady of Balete Drive, would he immediately share it on the

internet?

This is where we are today. It's so easy to spread misinformation and disinformation on social media. A few seconds of striking a keyboard and the whole world already knows. As for me, I make it a point to fact-check or vet anything that is spread online. I’m sure Sen. Dela Rosa has staff that can do that for him if he doesn’t want to be bothered with fact-checking. He now bears ridicule alone.

I also want to question how he can be an impartial senator-judge in the impeachment case against Sara Duterte if he is loyal to the Duterte family. He even filed a motion to dismiss the impeachment. So, if the hearing proceeds, is it a foregone conclusion as to how he will vote? He doesn’t have to listen to the volume of evidence the prosecution will present because he has made up his mind. And he's not the only one with strong loyalties to the Duterte family.

Another senator stated that if he were to be burned, his ashes would still smell like a Duterte. As the internet is quick and harsh to react, there are those calling his bluff. Are these the senator-judges who will be in the impeachment hearing against Sara Duterte? That seems like a flaw in the system. I would think a judge must be impartial. No political leanings whatsoever. Unfortunately, the incoming Senate is comprised of highly-partisan senators.