COMELEC will lend social media channels for candidates’ “e-rallies”.
COMELEC — The Commission on Elections said that it will provide a platform for national candidates to conduct “e-rallies” or virtual meetings through livestreams on the agency’s official social media channels.
Under its implementing rules and regulations for the campaign period, the COMELEC said that political candidates will be given 3-10 minutes of airtime for their “e-rallies”, during which they can answer questions from the live comment section.
According to the poll body, it will be releasing a schedule of the “e-rally” time slots for the streams that will take place every night starting February 8, 2022.
The poll body added that the slots will then be assigned at random based on a televised raffle on January 8.
Here are the number of slots allotted per political candidate:
- Presidential candidate: 10 minutes, three slots per night
- Vice-Presidential candidate: 10 minutes, three slots per night
- Senatorial candidate: 3 minutes, five slots per night
- Party-list organization: 3 minutes, five slots per night
- Political party: 10 minutes, three slots per night.
READ ALSO: COMELEC Issues Rules For Campaigning, “e-Rallies” For 2022 Elections
Aside from this, the poll body also set guidelines on online campaigning, which include requiring disclaimers that indicated when posts were paid, or free advertisements.
The posts, according to the guidelines, should bear the legible or audible words “political advertisement paid for”, followed by the name and address of the political candidate or party that will benefit. It should also include “political advertisement paid by”, followed by the name of the payor.
The said rule also applied to any published, printed, and broadcasted election promotions.
According to the poll body, social media “associates” were also considered “individual contractors” who are subjected to reportorial requirements. This include paid online content creators and digital influencers who will use their channels “to promote or defeat the election of a candidate”.
The “individual contractors” must then submit a form and other documents containing details of their transaction.
COMELEC set the campaign period for candidates of national positions and party-list organizations on February 8 until May 7, while the campaign period for candidates of local elective positions will be from March 25 to May 7.
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