Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman George Garcia lamented the lack of social media regulation in the Philippines, highlighting the poll body’s struggles during the 2025 midterm elections.
During the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on Monday, September 1, Garcia recalled the agency’s partnership with Meta, specifically for platforms like TikTok and Facebook. Although the partnership continues, Garcia pointed out that it is not enough for Meta to merely follow their request to remove misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation on social media.
“Ang problem po natin madam Chair…iba ang parameters nila sa atin. What may be immoral to us, may not be immoral to them. Especially U.S. [United States] kalimitan, ang nag i-iscreen [ng content]. Kahit po nasa Singapore sila, ipapadala pa rin nila sa headquarters sa U.S.,” he explained.
“What may be illegal to us, may not be illegal to them. Sa kalimitan po na de-deny nila ‘yung ating request to take down. Gusto po namin mag sit down sa kanila [at itanong] na ano ba talaga ang gusto nila na ipakita ng Philippine election commission para lang makapag take down sila ng hindi pahihirapan ng linggo o buwan,” he added.
Adding to this, Garcia lamented the fact that the poll body still needs to plead to private entities for specific content to be taken down.
“Alam niyo po, napaka unfortunate and ironic, madam Chair. Nakakalungkot din po, the Philippine COMELEC, that under the Constitution, under Article 9(c) is tasked to conduct the election in sure fairness in the conduct of election. Nakikiusap [pa] po kami sa private entities para lang mag tanggal, mag take down, etc. [ng mga social media content],” Garcia stated.
“Unfortunately, po, hanggang ngayon, because we do not have [a] law regulating social media in the Philippines, and ‘yung issue po kasi ng constitutionality ng intrusion into the freedom of expression or the freedom of speech. Although admittedly, po kapag po eleksyon ang pagtakbo po is not an absolute right, it’s a privilege,” he added, explaining the contrast between radio, television, and newspapers.
Emphasizing social media regulation in the country, Bataan 1st District Representative Antonino Roman asked Garcia for a transparency report on the content that was taken down, following their request.
Garcia said they are currently preparing the report for Congress and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., citing that it was the Task Force KKK (katotohanan, katarungan sa halalan) who collated everything that was taken down and that was not taken down.
