MANILA, Philippines — The government will now accredit bloggers and other social media practitioners to cover presidential activities so long as they have enough followers.
“Social Media accreditation shall be issued to a Filipino Citizen who is at least eighteen (18) years of age, with no less than five thousand (5,000) followers in any social media platform,” says Section 5, “Requirements,” of the “Interim Social Media Practitioner Accreditation” guidelines issued by Communications Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar.
Department Order No. 015, series of 2017 said accreditation was being extended to social media influencers “in the interest of recognizing emerging communications platforms and harnessing the full potential of social media tools in pursuit of the PCOO (Presidential Communication Operations Office)’s mandate to engage the citizenry in order to enrich the quality of discourse on matters of national governance.”
Those seeking accreditation can apply with the Social Media Officer under Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson. Application forms may be downloaded from the PCOO website at www.pcoo.gov.ph.
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