Celebrities can campaign without limit on social media provided it is for free

Celebrities who will campaign for candidates for the May 2019 polls by using their social media accounts may do so without limit, provided that they will do it for free, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that the campaign ads of candidates on social media that will be charged against the spending limit will cover only the cost of the production of the ad and the cost of promotion, meaning the fee paid to have the “boost”  or to make the post visible to more people.

“The overarching idea here is that social media is a free space to express our opinion. Unless there is a financial transaction, we do not regulate that. We do not go into it,” Jimenez said at a Kapihan forum in Manila.

“There is no clear violation when an actor or actress expresses opinion on social media because that same right goes out for everyone. What we are after here is that, magkano ang ginastos?,” Jimenez added.

If there is any financial transaction involved with the candidate or the political party, Jimenez said the endorsers are required to report it under Fair Election Act

Jimenez acknowledged it remains a challenge to spot whether the celebrity endorsers were paid or not in campaigning using the social media.

“If we don’t regulate campaigning on social media, then the spending limit under our laws will be a mere illusion, at lagi na lang may pagtataguan ng pera [na ginastos sa kampanya],” he said.

“The Comelec is obligated to try this,” Jimenez added.

Election laws only allow a candidate for the Senate to spend P10 per voter.

A candidate for party-list representative can spend P3 per voter.

Political parties can spend P5 for every voter for their bets for the national elections. —LDF, GMA News