Comelec sets deadline for full compliance with policy on online campaign platforms
National candidates for the upcoming midterm elections have until March 7 to make their digital campaign platforms fully compliant or risk having their social media pages taken down, as mandated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In a statement on Monday, the poll body said it issued notices to senatorial candidates, political parties, coalitions, and groups participating in the party list system that were evaluated to be “partially compliant” to submit their deficiencies to the Comelec’s Task Force KKK sa Halalan.
“Noncompliance and/or inaction therewith during the compliance period, or from February 24, 2025, to March 7, 2025, shall constitute as their waiver to the opportunity given by the [Comelec]… to rectify any deficiencies in their [online campaign platforms registration]… Accordingly, their registration shall be deemed, finally, as noncompliant,” it said.
Based on a February 7 resolution released by the Comelec, out of the 66 senatorial candidates, only 29 are compliant, four are partially compliant, and 33 are not compliant.
Among the 155 party lists, 81 are compliant, 12 are partially compliant, and 62 are not compliant.
The number of registered online campaign platforms will slightly increase by February 15: 29 for senatorial candidates and 85 for party lists.
Online registration
For a candidate to be fully compliant with online campaign platforms’ registration, they must have submitted an online registration form from October 9, 2024 to December 13, 2024, as prescribed under Comelec Resolution No. 11064.
They must also upload the required documents and submit correct and functional links to their online campaign platforms.
The candidates must also provide a hard copy of the required documents within five days after submitting their online registration form.
In September, Comelec issued Resolution No. 11064, requiring the registration of all official social media accounts and pages, websites, podcasts, blogs, vlogs, and other online and internet-based campaign platforms of the candidates running for the May 12 elections, as well as their political parties and campaign teams.
It is the commission’s first attempt to regulate election campaigning on social media platforms and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and internet technology for the 2025 national and local elections.
The resolution is also meant to stop the spread of misinformation and disinformation and level the playing field in online campaigning.
It also empowers the poll body to monitor the online campaigning and spending of candidates, with the Comelec noting that candidates may spend millions to pay online influencers, who enjoy a large following on various social media platforms.
