Poll observers from EU note socmed misuse, ‘outdated’ laws

TERMINAL CASE A tricycle terminal near an elementary school in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City, was allowed to be used as a common campaign poster area for the May 12 midterm elections. Photo taken on March 27. —LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) said it found “evidence” that some candidates in the May 12 midterm elections artificially boosted their social media followers, which could mislead potential voters, undermining their ability to make informed choices.

It also stated that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) must update and harmonize election laws and address the lack of voter secrecy, which a few of the EU observers considered the “most persistent problem” in Philippine elections.

The group, in a press briefing on Thursday, presented its final report from the observation mission that was held in the Philippines from March 28 to June 2. The mission was composed of 236 individuals from EU member states deployed to observe the country’s electoral process.

“[O]ur findings show that some candidates boosted their campaigns by artificially increasing the number of their followers on social media,” EU EOM chief observer Marta Temido said.

“This is not illegal, but it can mislead potential voters [and undermine] their ability to make informed choices,” she added.

Four cases

The group observed 2,305 social media accounts as follows: 1,496 candidates, 469 political parties, 168 influencers, 105 state institutions, 50 online media outlets, and 17 civil society organizations.

The EU EOM’s database analysis, the report stated, “revealed evidence of artificial growth” in the number of Facebook followers of some candidates.

It presented four cases involving a mayor, a councilor, and a candidate for councilor in three different Metro Manila cities, and a former mayor in Mindanao running for mayor.

The EU EOM said the Facebook followers of these candidates increased by more than a million each within its 44-day monitoring, although there were no campaign activities that could have led to such a significant increase.

“Any individual with an online presence has a pool of followers … and we know that under certain circumstances, this pool may grow rapidly. A viral effect,” said Temido.

Limited impact

“However, if the number of followers increases by tens, or even hundreds or thousands overnight without any visible cause, it could be considered a suspicious attempt to boost [their campaign],” she explained.

The report noted that having a larger follower count increased the average number of impressions.

Of the four cases, however, only two—the mayor and councilor, both incumbents, from Metro Manila—won their races.

Despite this, the EU EOM said disinformation “had a limited impact on shaping the election campaign,” with the group noting that the Comelec’s “tough stance” against the issue helped curb the spread of harmful content.

It noted that the poll body sent 1,326 requests to Meta for removal, of which 94 percent were approved within 24 hours.

Outdated

While the EU EOM praised the Comelec for its efforts against disinformation, it also noted that nearly half the provisions of the 1985 Omnibus Election Code were “outdated,” as it was “superseded by the Constitution and subsequent laws.”

The group said the country’s electoral legislation was “scattered and not harmonized,” noting that the legal framework, primarily based on the 1987 Constitution and the election code, was supplemented by “numerous” Comelec resolutions.

Certain requirements for candidates, such as the need to be a natural-born citizen alongside additional residency conditions, should also be “reconsidered” to ensure that it is “in line with international commitments and good practices on the right to stand.”

The EU EOM also noted the Comelec’s “extensive discretionary powers over candidate registration,” with the agency able to reject candidates who are “making a mockery of or bring[ing] disrepute to the electoral process.”

The “vetting power” of the Comelec to declare a candidate as a “nuisance,” the group said, was based on a “subjective” assessment and “does not provide for specific objective criteria.”

“[T]he Comelec’s wide discretionary authority in the absence of an objective criteria for rejecting candidacies has further restricted fair access to political competition,” the report said.

“This approach has made it especially difficult for newcomers and nontraditional candidates to enter the race, reinforcing public perceptions that elections are shaped more by the elite, limiting political pluralism, and the playing field remains uneven,” it added.

Voter secrecy

The report also noted a “limited number” of EU observers’ impression that “the most persistent problem was an almost complete lack of voter secrecy” during the voting process.

“In a context characterized by concern about vote-buying, institutional provisions to keep votes secret, alongside education of voters and electoral staff regarding the importance of vote secrecy, should be considered a key protector of a free vote, […] free from coercion of any kind,” it said.

“The election administration should provide adequate means of voting in secret in terms of polling layout and booths, as well as train electoral boards and focus voter education on the importance of a secret vote,” it added.

Updating election laws

These considerations, it said, should also be implemented in other special voting arrangements such as local absentee voting, as well as voting by persons with disabilities, indigenous groups, and prisoners.

Comelec Chair George Garcia welcomed the EU EOM’s recommendations and agreed that laws on elections need to be updated.

“The laws that we have for elections were established way back in 1985. It really should be changed, amended, modified, and revised, because all the problems of the Comelec result from our inability to legislate, make laws. We have to follow the existing laws … even if its not up to date,” he said.

“As I said yesterday, I hope these recommendations would help us in convincing the Congress that it’s high time to amend certain laws when it comes to the elections,” he added.

Garcia said the commission is “very much willing” to make adjustments in the coming elections.

However, when it comes to amending the contents of the Constitution, Garcia admitted it was “not yet realistic” given the difficult process it would have to go through.

“But that is something for everybody to think about, the proposals to amend certain parts of our Constitution, especially on the qualification of candidates,” he said.