Candidates for the upcoming national and local elections this May only have until this month to register their websites, blogs, official accounts and/or social media pages to the poll body.
The Commission on Elections said that each registered political party, coalition and bonafide candidate have until January 31 to register their online accounts with its Education and Information Department (EID).
This is in pursuant to Section 9 of its Resolution No. 10730, as amended by Resolution No. 10748.
The registered links shall be similar to the one that will be used for the endorsement of the electoral bets or groups’ candidacies.
The rule applies to verified accounts and those that will be verified subsequent to registration.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez also reminded the concerned parties on his social media account.
“Calling all campaigns to register their website and social media accounts on or before 31 January 2022. #votesafepilipinas,” he tweeted.
In connection with the online accounts, Jimenez previously said that the poll body wants to make sure “there’s accountability for the information” that the candidates will release to the public.
“We want to make sure also that they have a credible source they can trust so that people will be able to differentiate between fake news and real news because of where it’s coming from,” he said last December.
“That’s the equivalent of a candidate saying ‘I approved this message.’ (It’s) one of the solutions or strategies for fighting fake news to help people identify credible sources of news,” Jimenez added.
The Comelec on Thursday also launched an online platform which will provide free livestreaming of the national candidates’ online rallies.