MANILA, Philippines: Malacanang on Thursday said it was now considering taking legal action against the proliferators of "deepfake" videos showing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seemingly directing the military to launch hostile actions against another country.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Patricia Kayle Martin, in a radio interview, said that they have now sought the help of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and National Security Council (NSC) to track down the creators of the videos where artificial intelligence (AI) was used to mimic the voice of the President.

The videos have since been taken down.

The PCO learned about the video featuring the President through its mainstream media and social media platforms monitoring, said Martin.

"Well, actually, we reached out to DICT 'no at sa ating (and to our) National Security Council when the deepfake videos came out and they're very active in the investigation about this. But it's not just about determining those behind this that we're after, we will also take necessary action against those spreading false information," the official said.

Martin said that the DICT suspected that a foreign actor was behind the deepfake videos. While the President wasn't surprised by videos intended for fun, the recent posting was a cause for concern because it could potentially harm relations and sow chaos.

Martin then urged the public to stop spreading fake news as this may lead to serious repercussions and endanger the country's foreign relations and national security.

Martin said big social media platforms like Google, TikTok, and Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), have all expressed willingness to help the government fight online threats.

These platforms are the PCO's partners in its Media and Information Literacy Campaign.