We are so Amused

March 7, 2022 Sideglance

The recent announcement of a partnership shown by the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Commission on Elections and Philippine online news website Rappler to purportedly bolster the integrity of the coming elections in May of this year is quite frankly amusing if not borderline ridiculous.

The explanation provided by COMELEC in its website prior to the signing of the MOA was stated, as mouthed by its Spokesperson James Jimenez, like this, “We in the Commission believe that a clean, credible, honest and transparent elections require the assistance and vigilance of valuable partners.

And we are always open to pursuing partnerships with private organizations, such as Rappler, that will help provide truthful information to
the public and promote transparency and accountability in the electoral process,” Spokesperson James Jimenez said.”

The statement by COMELEC in their press release regarding its partnership with Rappler continued this way, “Under the partnership agreement, Rappler commits its resources to help COMELEC disseminate helpful information and engage the public both online and offline.

Rappler’s awareness building efforts would include providing engaging content, shareable infographics, and educational videos. To enable a broader response on responding to common complaints on election day, such as missing names on voter’s lists, Rappler will work with COMELEC for the necessary information and action.

An online show, podcast, workshops and seminars are also in the pipeline. Once the Precinct Finder and Post Finder are activated, they will also be made available on Rappler’s website. This move will make these services more mobile-responsive and provide voters easy access to important information, especially on election day.”

The statement made by Jimenez that they need the assistance of Rappler as a “valuable partner” for a clean, credible, honest and transparent elections is a clear indication that the COMELEC might have misplaced, hopefully inadvertently, its thinking cap when it allowed the forging of such an agreement.

Several observations need to be pointed out, and which would require an appropriate response and explanation by COMELEC, such as that while Rappler seems to ostensibly enjoy a modicum of familiarity as an online news website it does not have that sort of physical presence such as those delivered by the other members of the fourth estate.

If COMELEc really wanted to have a partner that can widely disseminate critical information about the elections then they should have gone
to the radio networks and signed a MOA with all of them, or at least those they believe provide credible information.

If only COMELEC will go to the hinterlands and isolated communities they will readily discover that the most accessible news outlet for farmers are radios and their broadcasted programs. I have yet to see an honest to goodness farmer tilling and planting in his plot of land while at the same using his cellphone or laptop to listen for election updates from Rappler.

Another observation is that Rappler is not capable of providing the visual pleasure or comfort such as those provided by television networks.

If COMELEC really intends to maximize its information dissemination campaign for the benefit of the voters then the logical thing to do is to partner with all of the available television networks if necessary and commission them to serve as credible election updaters before, during and even after the elections. That is what they are going to do anyway.

Finally, it is already admitted that the internet is one of the main purveyors of fake news or disinformation, and it can be hacked. If we are talking about the reliability of the information that would be shared by COMELEC to the voters then it would be foolish to have this propagated thru the internet.

Simply put the “partner” that COMELEC forged an agreement with is not that all popular among listeners, viewers or readers of news and
information since it does not command that many viewers, listeners or readers in the first place especially among the general population who would rather listen to DZRH, watch GMA 7 programs or read the information provided by Inquirer.

If at all, Rappler in disseminating election information would be limited to those voters who spend most of their time checking the internet on matters for their personal consumption and interests, and even with their volunteers they would be hard pressed to fulfill their obligations under the MOA.

In fact if the motive of COMELEC would be properly analyzed one can surmise that what they really wanted was not a partner to insure a clean, credible, honest and transparent elections as spox Jimenez had said but an advertising agency or firm to promote online and bolster the doubtful integrity and credibility of COMELEC.