EPISODE 127: Free Speech, Fake News, and Congressional Inquiries

Does a congressional inquiry into the spread of fake news online violate the right to free speech or is it considered a legitimate fact-finding exercise in aid of legislation? Listen to the #SupremeCourtPH Podcast with guest Atty. Dante B. Gatmaytan, a Member of the Constitutional Law Department of the Philippine Judicial Academy. Atty. Gatmaytan is a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law where he teaches Constitutional Law, Legal Method, and Local Governments. Before entering the academe, he was a public interest lawyer focusing on environmental and natural resources law, Indigenous People's rights, agrarian reform, and local governance. He also previously served as head of the Information and Publication Division of the UP Law Center and as director of the Institute for the Administration of Justice. Supreme Court Chief Communications Officer Atty. Mike Navallo and Atty. Gatmaytan discuss about freedom of speech and legislative inquiries within the context of the case of Ernesto Abines Jr. et al. v. House of Representatives et al., GR No. 278101. This decision was penned by Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier and promulgated by the Supreme Court En Banc on July 8, 2025.