Social media for ‘unli’ use by candidates

MANILA, Philippines — Candidates in the May 2019 elections may use Facebook and other social media platforms in their campaign without limit, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

While the poll body will monitor campaign expenditures, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez noted that there is no law regulating or restraining political campaign in social media.

“We have no new or additional regulatory features, (thus) social media remains free to USE for political purposes,” Jimenez said in an interview with The Chiefs over Cignal TV’s One News on Thursday night. 

Jimenez admitted that monitoring campaign expenditures in social media remains a challenge for the Comelec due to absence of laws.

But Jimenez said the Comelec is talking with social media platforms in a bid to track the use and campaign expenditures of candidates.

For its part, Facebook has deployed tracking strategies for the Comelec to monitor the use and expenditures as candidates are required to account for their campaign expenses.

Even before the start of the campaign period, the Comelec expected most of the candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and local government units to use social media.

“There is no such thing as premature campaigning in the law. We know it’s premature seeing those campaign posts – technically speaking – but in terms of legal consequences, (these do not) exist right now,” Jimenez explained.

Jimenez told The Chiefs that the Comelec has created a campaign finance office to check the campaign contributions and expenditures of candidates, a number of whom have already been charged for overspending.

“Steps are being taken. We are cooperating with the Senate and the House to come out with legislation that will address the biggest problem, the loopholes in the law,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez said the Comelec will also be pilot-testing a new technology for the elections in May to check the identity of voters, prevent ghost voters and multiple voting.

Jimenez added that the Comelec is working with various stakeholders to prevent vote-buying, which cannot be solved by technology.

Meanwhile, Legal Network for Truthful Elections project officer Brizza Rosales said the Comelec has three months to come up with stricter regulation on campaign finance.

“During the three-month window period (before the start of the campaign), Comelec can study how to regulate expenditure (in) digital communication,” Rosales said, noting that social media had a crucial role during the campaign in the 2016 elections.

She said the Comelec should come out with rules to regulate campaign expenditure on social media.

National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections secretary-general Eric Alvia said it is almost impossible for the Comelec to regulate campaign expenditure in social media.

Alvia noted that the use of social media is a big help for candidates who cannot afford the high costs of traditional media.