Photo credit: Senate PH

Actress Angel Aquino and content creator Queen Hera appeared before the Senate Committee on Women and Children this Thursday, September 4, to testify on the growing problem of deepfake pornography.

Queen Hera gave an emotional account of her personal ordeal, revealing that photos of her daughter were exploited on the dark web. “This is not a trivial matter or a harmless prank,” she said. “This is a grave violation of dignity, privacy, and human rights. As a mother, it has been heartbreaking and deeply painful to see how this exploitation has affected her well-being, her reputation, and her safety.”

Aquino, on the other hand, strongly condemned the use of her face in an explicit deepfake video. “Days ago, I found out there was a deepfake video using my face. A friend from the industry was the one who told me,” the actress shared. While acknowledging that being in the public eye comes with certain trade-offs, Aquino stressed that it does not give anyone the right to demean or harass celebrities. “Putting ourselves out there doesn’t give people consent to take us apart or do whatever they want with us,” she said.

During the hearing, Senator Bam Aquino pressed the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) for concrete strategies to combat the spread of harmful deepfakes and protect victims of digital exploitation.