MANILA — The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on Tuesday approved "subject to style and amendments" House Bill 2820 which provides for the "fair use of the internet and social media for the holding of free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections."

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"It may well be considered as a bill of first impression as there is no such proposal in Congress in the past and in so far as it is the lone measure that is pending before us," Quezon Rep. Keith Micah Tan, author of the bill, said in his sponsorship speech as he noted the role of social media in election campaigns.

"In this light, this bill, which seeks to regulate the use of the internet and the social media as a lawful election propaganda, aims to empower the Comelec in the monitoring of partisan political activities," Tan said in his explanatory note to HB 2820.

A poll body official, however, could not say yet how they can crack down on trolling.

"What we are asking really is a law because that is really our problem because the Fair Election Act, when we made rules and regulation implementing that law, we had some legal questions saying that [it] is only for conventional media and it will not cover those digital platforms or social media. So this is a first step," said Efraim Bag-Id of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Campaign Finance Office.

"I think if there is a law, then we may be able to fill up certain gaps in our policy. Sometimes there is a difficulty of enforcing when there is no law. That's the predicament we're having," Bag-Id added.

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Bag-id believes the poll body can enforce this if it becomes law. However the official could not yet specify how the Comelec can crack down on trolling.

"To be honest your honor, we don't have yet the precise formula on that, but we will seek dialogue with the other stakeholder so we can get the best information on how to deal with that. As of now, I cannot give [an] answer," Bag-id also said.

Bag-id suggested that the bill include a section mandating a right to reply so that vloggers will be required to accommodate the replies of candidates, just like in the Fair Election Act.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel for his part also noted the rise of group chats, social media groups or file-sharing apps, which have allegedly become a venue for disinformation.

Legal Network for TruthFul Elections Executive Director Ona Caritos told the panel that in the United Kingdom, there is a bill that could penalize media platforms with a fine for failure to take down abusive language.

Earlier in the same hearing, the panel also approved the Committee Report and the substitute bill to House Bill 755 or the proposed Election Holiday Act, as well as the committee report on the Substitute Resolution to House Resolution 717 which inquires into the viability and feasibility of adopting the experimental use of automated elections system in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

All these measures will be submitted to the full House of Representatives for action.