Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Fee on Elections (Comelec) introduced on Monday that it amended its social media pointers for the 2025 midterm elections, eradicating the availability regulating the social media accounts of personal people.
In a memorandum dated November 18, the Comelec dominated that solely official social media accounts, pages, and different on-line and internet-based marketing campaign platforms of candidates and political events shall be required to register with the Comelec Schooling and Info Division.
This choice was made after consultations with stakeholders, throughout which the difficulty of freedom of expression was mentioned and thought of, in response to the Comelec.
“The liberty of expression is a basic proper enshrined within the Structure, serving as a cornerstone of a democratic society by making certain open dialogue, the free change of concepts, and the safety of particular person opinions, permitting Filipinos to talk freely on varied points, together with politics, governance, social points and the elections,” the Comelec’s memorandum learn.
Final November 12, Alliance of Involved Academics president Antonio Tinio had a dialogue with Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia to debate the rules on social media regulation as a part of the digital election marketing campaign.
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Based on Tinio, Garcia conceded that it was an overreach, prompting the Comelec to suggest the modification of pointers on social media registration.
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READ: Comelec to resolve on eradicating regulation of personal social media accounts
The Comelec additionally mentioned that solely candidates, political events, party-list organizations, and their licensed representatives might submit their registration varieties for his or her official social media accounts and pages, web sites, podcasts, blogs, vlogs, and different on-line and internet-based marketing campaign platforms.
The ballot physique will even require a notarized affidavit of enterprise to make sure that candidates and their social media marketing campaign managers shall not misuse social media, synthetic intelligence, and web know-how for disinformation or misinformation in opposition to any get together or the electoral course of, the Comelec, and the Philippine election system.
“Nor will the identical social media marketing campaign be funded or utilized by any overseas entity to affect and intervene within the Philippine election and Comelec affairs,” the Comelec added.
The Comelec maintained that the registration of social media accounts should be accomplished on or earlier than December 13, 2024.
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