Liking, sharing, commenting, following a candidate's account are excluded from the coverage of electioneering

Be well-informed: Liking, sharing, commenting, following a candidate's account are excluded from the coverage of electioneering 

It may seem from a reading of the earlier provisions that government employees are urged to be absolutely neutral or silent. However, the Administrative Code of 1987 also recognizes the exercise of free speech of these employees during elections. Section 55 states, “Nothing herein provided shall be understood to prevent any officer or employee from expressing his views on current political problems or issues, or from mentioning the names of candidates for public office whom he supports.” 

The view that “liking,” “sharing,” or “commenting,” does not open up for liability for partisan political activity is consistent with the doctrine laid down by the Court in Disini. In Disini v. SOJ, the High Court ruled that there is no liability for libel for merely reacting to a post because there is no imputation or republication. Explaining the nature of these “likes,” “comments,” and “retweets,” the Supreme Court said, “Except for the original author of the assailed statement, the rest (those who pressed Like, Comment and Share) are essentially knee-jerk sentiments of readers who may think little or haphazardly of their response to the original posting.”

“Liking,” “commenting,” “sharing,” “re-posting” or “following” a candidate’s or party’s account, according to the Civil Service Commission’s Advisory on Electioneering and Partisan Political Activity are excluded from the coverage of electioneering or partisan political activity, unless these are resorted as a means to solicit support for or against a candidate or party during the campaign period

It may seem simple, but when would “liking,” “commenting,” “sharing,” or “reposting” be considered as a “means to solicit support or against a candidate?” Recent events on Facebook saw a trend on posts with instructions like “Like” if you support Candidate X, “Comment” if you support Candidate Y, or “Share” if you support Candidate Z. Under these definitions, this could be construed as partisan political activity as it seeks to solicit support for a candidate.

The general guideline is for government employees to be always careful when expressing political views on social media or in engaging in social media campaigns for their candidates. Perhaps, one could refrain from invoking one’s position in the conduct of the Facebook campaign. Most importantly, one’s support or disapproval of a candidate should not affect the discharge of their duties of employees of the government.

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Read more about the Partisan Political Activities in the Age of Social Media at elegal.ph