AFP works to restore ‘taken down’ allied Hands Off Our Children Facebook account

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 25, 2020): AFP works to restore ‘taken down’ allied Hands Off Our Children Facebook account (By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan)

CALOOCAN CITY, Sept. 25 (PIA) -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is now working to restore the Hands Off Our Children (HOOC), a social media account the military organization has promoted, after Facebook-Philippines took down its official account.

During the Laging Handa public briefing hosted by the Presidential Communications, AFP Spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said no less than Chief of Staff General Gilbert Gapay personally asked representatives from the social media giant to restore the HOOC FB account during a courtesy call made by the FB-Philippines Policy Team led by Clare Amador to the AFP chief on Wednesday in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“Bahagi ng naging discussion sa pag-uusap ay kung bakit naisama sa natanggal ang Hands Off Our Children. Ito pong Hands Off our Children ay isang organisasyon ng mga magulang na ang kanilang mga anak ay naenganyo sa communist terrorist group na makisanib sa kanila mamundok at lumaban sa ating pamahalaan,” Arevalo said.

“Ito [Hands Off Our Children FB account] ay isang pagkakataon para mabigyan ng advance information ang mga magulang upang hindi na mangyari sa kanila ang sinapit ng kanilang anak,” he explained, saying the HOOC FB account comprises a group of parents who are fighting to protect their children against violent extremism.

“Baka pwede nilang tignang mabuti ang pangyayaring ito sapagkat baka po hindi nila nababatid sa pagte-take down nila ng mga accounts na hindi man lamang nila binisita ang nilalaman ay nagagamit na sila ng kalaban ng estado,” he added, emphasizing that FB should look into the process they observed in unilaterally removing accounts so as to avoid inadvertently helping some enemies of the state.

Arevalo, however, submitted to FB’s ownership of the platform, but at the same time, urged the social media giant to give due regard to the cause or advocacy the account owner supports.

“Hindi kami nagtatago ng pag-suporta sa mga organisasyon kagaya ng Hands Off Our Children na may magandang simula ay pinaniniwalaan ng Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas,” he emphasized. (PIA NCR)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1054265