Disinformation occurred massively in the Philippines Election May 9, 2022. Based on Vera Files data, from January 1 to December 10, 2021, nearly a third, i.e. 89 of the 336 disinformation disclosure articles published by Vera Files Fact Check relate to YouTube videos. The trend is that video uploaded on YouTube, then spreaded to other social media platforms.
Executive Director of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), Ona Caritos said that the Commission of Election (Comelec) and the authorities in the Philippines made several efforts to combat election disinformation. The first attempt was to form a Task Force Kontra Disinformation. The task force consists of Comelec, Philippine National Police, and National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division.
“We see that Comelec's handling of disinformation through this task force is going well, because Comelec handles disinformation that appears quickly. Although, the disinformation that Comelec responded to was limited to disinformation regarding the technical, process, and Comelec as an electoral institution," said Ona at an online public discussion "Regional Discussion on Election and Democracy" (6/22).
The second action taken by Comelec is to require election participants to register an official online account. This step is intended for two things, namely monitoring the expenditure of campaign funds for election participants, and the disinformation or misinformation spread by these accounts.
Third, Congress tried to passed a law that requires registration of social media accounts in the SIM Card registration process in the SIM Card registration law. If this law is passed, Filipinos are also required to use their real names on social media, and submit a registered phone number to create a social media account.
“So far, the SIM Card registration process and the creation of social media accounts in the Philippines have been very simple. Therefore, Congress is trying to make this obligation to make everyone more accountable. Laws like this have been implemented in China and India,” said Ona. []
This article translated by Catherine Natalia.
