Kabayan Rep. Ron Salo (Rep. Salo's office)



Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo says bloggers and vloggers should again be allowed to cover this year's State of the Nation Address (SONA), but only after hurdling some criteria. "Traditional media create a more formal means of communicating with the public. In contrast, bloggers/ vloggers use a less formal means of communication, which makes it more interesting for, and easier to understand by, the ordinary people," Salo said on Wednesday, June 21. "This will make the coverage of the SONA to be more accessible, inclusive, and 'maka-masa (have mass appeal)'," said the veteran solon, who is a member of the House Committee on Public Information. "However, due to the high number of bloggers/vloggers and the wide variety of content they produce, the government needs to set the criteria who will be accredited to cover the SONA," Salo said. "This may include relevance of content, number of followers, and credibility of the blogger/vlogger. This will ensure that what the President delivered will be accurately disseminated to the people," he explained. President Marcos delivered his first SONA last year and part of the spectacle was the media accreditation of bloggers and vloggers--the first time ever. They were said to be instrumental in the May 2022 election victory of Marcos, who garnered over 31 million votes. It is not yet clear if bloggers and vloggers would be given access to cover Marcos' second SONA on July 24. Salo further spoke about the advantage of having this kind of alternative media during the President’s annual speech. "Bloggers/vloggers cater to younger audience, as well as those of the population who do not have access to, or are disconnected or disinterested from traditional forms of media," he said. "Through this, a wider population will be able to know the programs and policies of the President and the entire government, as well as updates on the current status of our nation. This will make Filipinos more informed and will enable them to participate in the efforts of our government in national development," he explained. Marcos will deliver his SONA at the House of Representatives.