An election watchdog urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to look at politicians’ spending on advertisements on social media, which recently increased.
University of the Philippines journalism professor Danilo Arao, convenor of Kontra Daya, said previous elections had seen the power of social media to elect officials.
“Mainam sana na ma-call out [ng Comelec],” said Arao.
They have also observed the spending on social media ads by groups and individuals just now, especially less than a year before the 2022 elections.
Because of this, he said, public opinion is influenced even before the campaign period.
So for Arao, the public needs to be critical of what they see on social media. The professor, on the other hand, admitted that politicians could easily get away with technicality.
“Legally puwede mong sabihing hindi siya premature campaigning kaya lang parang mapanlikha ang mga indibidwal at grupong ito, and I think the Comelec should put its foot down,” said Arao.
Meanwhile, Arao also believes that although there is a pandemic, physical debates and limited face-to-face campaigns are better than social media campaigns.
Politicians’ spending on social media ads should be given focus: watchdog
He said not everyone has access to the internet, and personal campaigning cannot be stopped, especially in the provinces.
But he said the campaigns should avoid becoming super-spreaders of COVID-19.
Kontra Daya also hopes that entertainment in the campaigns will be reduced.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said that there would be campaign restrictions for the 2022 elections as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
“Because of the COVID situation magkakaroon ng changes sa actual campaign. ‘Yung mga kampanya where the candidates will be there, rallies, etcetera. Hindi na y’an kagaya noong dati kasi alam mo naman kinatatakutan natin dito ‘yung superspreader events. Campaigns will be superspreader events,” said Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho.
According to Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez, they will lay down rules on going to political rallies.
“We will be proposing and putting into place guidelines that will restrict kung kakayanin ng mga tao na mag-gather sa public rallies,” said Jimenez.
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