CANDIDATES for the May 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) must register their social media pages used for campaigning, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.
Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said that while the measure is good, the monitoring might be challenging, considering anybody can make a Facebook page and use the candidate’s name.
Garcia, who will run for mayor in the 2025 polls, told SunStar Cebu on Friday that he will abide by any Comelec resolutions concerning social media regulations for candidates.
He said he has yet to discuss the matter with his social media team, as he urged fellow candidates and members of his political party to adhere to any forthcoming guidelines that aim to ensure fair and transparent campaigning on digital platforms.
Guidelines
In a resolution dated Sept. 17, the guidelines for digital election campaigns for the 2025 NLE include the use of social media platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet for the digital campaign, as well as the prohibition and punishment for spreading disinformation and misinformation for the 2025 NLE and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) Parliamentary Elections.
“You should register if you have nothing to hide; we won’t do anything to them, we won’t interfere with their content or their social media platforms because we can’t do that—we don’t have a social media regulation law in the Philippines,” Comelec chairman Garcia said in a sideline interview after a forum at Cebu Normal University on Friday, Oct. 25.
As of the moment, 62 national candidates and nearly 200 local candidates have registered, with the deadline set for December 13, the poll body chair said, as he underscored the importance of the registration process.
While he admitted that the Commission lacks the authority to regulate social media content directly, registration will enable them to oversee election-related activities.
Candidates were warned that failure to register may raise suspicions about their intentions, suggesting that unregistered candidates could be attempting to spread misinformation or evade transparency in campaign expenses.
“They should remember that if they are not registered, it only means one thing: you want to commit fake news, misinformation, or disinformation. Or perhaps you don’t want to register because you don’t want us to know how much you’ve incurred in expenses and don’t want it reported,” Garcia said.
Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival, who is also running for mayor, said if the resolution intends to monitor the candidate, it would be out of control.
“It’s a good way because it’s good intent. But to implement that, I don’t think it can be implemented, kay kami nga politico di man sad mi mulabay og bati nga page (we politicians don’t post bad things on our page),” he said.
He added that the supporters who will make a fan page for their candidate would also be uncontrollable.
Archival said that he only has two pages, one for personal use and the other for promotional use.
When asked when he would register his page to the Comelec, he said that perhaps he would be doing it in November, adding that he is ready.
Moreover, Comelec said that it has agreements with social media platforms to swiftly remove posts from candidates who do not register.
Provisions
The coverage of the guidelines shall be limited to the regulation of the use, prohibition, and punishment of the misuse of social media, artificial intelligence, and internet technology for purposes of digital election campaigning for the 2025 National and Local Elections and the BARMM Parliamentary Elections.
In its implementation, the Task Force KKK sa Halalan, led by the Education and Information Department (EID) and the Law Department of the Comelec, with the assistance of the deputized law enforcement agencies, and relevant government instrumentalities, shall be tasked to implement and enforce these guidelines in cooperation with accredited citizens arms and partner organizations of the Comelec.
Its function includes reception and review of registration forms, monitoring of registered and unregistered social media and online accounts or websites that are used to endorse or campaign against candidates, issuance of a show cause order, and initial investigation of detected or reported prohibited acts under these guidelines, and motu proprio filing of complaints against erring candidates.
Guidelines
In Article 3 Section 7 of the Comelec resolution, it said that for failure to register, the concerned candidate, political party, coalition party-list organization, and their respective social media campaign managers, as well as the covered private individuals or entities, would be required to explain why a complaint for violation of these guidelines should not be filed against them for their failure to register their social media accounts, websites, and digital and internet-based campaign platforms under these rules.
A request for the removal, takedown, or blocking of the said content, social media or digital platforms, or accounts shall also be made by the Comelec through the TaskForce KKK sa Halalan to the technology platforms and providers, and for the concerned law enforcement agency.
Use of AI
In Article 4 Section 1, the disclosure and disclaimer requirements said that all election propaganda and campaign materials of candidates and political parties that utilize AI technology shall be required to disclose the fact of its use, and appropriate technology is employed to identify its authenticity and legitimate source.
Failure to disclose the use of AI technology and if the Comelec, through the Task Force KKK sa Halalan, detects the use of artificial intelligence technology in any campaign material disseminated or published through the social media accounts without any proper disclosures or use of watermark technology as required by the Comelec, the concerned candidate or party, and their respective social media campaign managers, shall be required to explain why a complaint for violation of these guidelines should not be filed against them.
A request for the removal, takedown, or blocking of the said content, social media or digital platforms, or accounts shall also be made by the Comelec through the task force to the technology platforms and providers, or the concerned law enforcement agency. /CDF, JPS, EHP