ACT Teachers President Antonio Tinio today announced significant breakthroughs in a dialogue this morning with COMELEC Chairman George Garcia regarding the election body’s new guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and social media and election-related red-tagging concerns.
In response to concerns raised by MAKABAYAN and various sectors, Chairman Garcia committed to amending the controversial social media guidelines by removing the mandatory registration requirement of social media accounts owned by private individuals that will be used for electoral campaigning.
Comelec Resolution 11064 requires that private individuals or entities register with Comelec on or before December 13 their social media accounts that will be used for campaigning during the election period. The Commission en banc will then approve and publish a list of all registered social media accounts.
“The guidelines are clearly overreaching and will have a chilling effect on citizens’ constitutional right to free expression,” Tinio stated.
The dialogue also addressed the persistent issue of red-tagging during elections. “We raised our grave concern about the systematic red-tagging of the Makabayan coalition and the progressive parties under its wing, including ACT Teachers, by state forces during previous electoral exercises. This practice has endangered our members and supporters and undermined fair democratic participation,” Tinio explained.
Chairman Garcia’s commitment to issue specific guidelines against red-tagging, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Deduro vs. Vinoya, marks a significant development. The court declared that acts of red-tagging, vilification, labelling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security. “We hope that, with Chair Garcia’s commitment, Comelec follows through with a resolution prohibiting red-tagging during elections. This would be a significant step towards protecting progressive parties and candidates from state-sponsored vilification during elections,” Tinio emphasized.
“We will remain vigilant in ensuring these commitments are fulfilled and properly implemented. The right of teachers and all citizens to participate in the democratic process without intimidation or undue restriction must be protected,” Tinio concluded.
Tinio was joined by ACT national chairperson Vladimer Quetua, ACT NCR Union president Ruby Bernardo, MPSTA board member Christian George Eppie, and QCPSTA Vice President for High School Aric Ancheta in today’s dialogue.#
