GRANTING the Commission on Elections (Comelec) broader authority to regulate social media in the fight against disinformation is fraught with complex constitutional issues, the poll body’s chief said at the Social Good Summit organized by Rappler held at De La Salle University.
Under the Fair Elections Act, Comelec is authorized to regulate campaigns on “newspapers, television, radio and other forms of media.” While the phrase “other forms of media” could be interpreted to include social media, the law lacks specific provisions for handling election-related content online.
“Always, there’s an issue with regards to the right to privacy, the freedom of expression, and the freedom of speech,” George Garcia, the Comelec chairman, said during the forum on Oct. 19. “That’s why until today, we have no social media regulation law in the Philippines. Doon pa lang may problem na tayo.”
The Philippines has earned a reputation as a hotbed of election-related disinformation. A Facebook executive once branded the country as “patient zero” for the global disinformation epidemic.
In 2022, then-presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. gained support from an “alternative press” composed of vloggers who also worked to revise the historical narrative of his father Ferdinand Sr.’s dictatorship.
Data whistleblower Brittany Kaiser earlier revealed that the Marcoses tapped the political data company Cambridge Analytica to rebrand their family image on social media as early as 2014. Fact-checking collective Tsek.PH also reported that Marcos Jr. was the biggest beneficiary of fake news during his campaign for the presidency
An official from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) acknowledged that while the time is now “mature” for a social media regulation law to be passed, issues on jurisdiction could come into play.
“Philippine law is very jurisdictional kasi. … If it is posted outside the Philippines, wala pa naman tayong treaty patungkol sa bagay na ‘yan,” DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said at the summit.
In 2022, Sen. Lito Lapid filed Senate Bill 1289, which would require social media users to provide identification upon opening an account. The bill is still pending at the committee level.
Political dynasties
Besides disinformation, another contentious issue in Philippine politics is the existence of political dynasties. The 1987 Constitution states an explicit prohibition against these, but Congress has yet to pass an enabling law.
To move forward with the debate, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the definition of a political dynasty must first be established.
“Some people refer to a political dynasty as the same members of the family holding positions simultaneously in one local government, as opposed to some members of the same family holding positions simultaneously but at different parts of the country,” the two-term mayor said.
“That might not be as destructive as when people hold office in the same city, for example, and there are people also who define it as members of the family that come one after the other or inherit a post.”
A 2019 study by the Ateneo School of Government revealed that “fat” dynasties — where multiple relatives simultaneously hold elected posts — occupied 29% of local offices, up from 19% in 1988.
Belmonte, whose father is a former House speaker, said political dynasties tend to undermine checks and balances in government.
“When in one local government, the checks and balances are called but people running from the same family, then that’s not good for our democracy and that’s not good for our country in general,” she said.
In Mindanao, some politicians try to strengthen the political system, as clan feuding, also known as rido, remains rampant, said Isabela City Mayor Sitti Hatman.
“We’re strengthening the parties; we’re strengthening the institutions so there will be more opportunities to look for other families, other names, not necessarily na Hataman na lang lagi or other dynasties,” she said. Ralent M. Penilla
