MANILA - Senator Nancy Binay said Wednesday "influencers" or those who promote products and services on their social media accounts should be taxed.

"Apparently it's already an underground economy. I don't know if it's a billion (peso) industry already," Binay said during a Senate hearing on fake news.

"Government is trying to raise funds, but apparently there is an industry that is not captured by the BIR," she said.

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A resource person at the hearing, lawyer and blogger Trixie Cruz-Angeles, agreed with the senator, saying it was an "excellent suggestion."

Influencers "operate in the same way" as public relations people, Angeles said.

"It would be nice to see people registering their companies that way it's easier to spot which trends are manufactured, which trends are assisted," she said.