Known for its widespread use, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said on Thursday, Sept. 19 that they opted not to entirely prohibit the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in relation to the May 2025 polls.
Instead of banning its use, Garcia said that they decided to regulate its use by releasing a set of guidelines. These are stipulated under Resolution No. 11064 which was promulgated on Sept. 17.
He mentioned this during the Senate finance subcommittee's hearing on the proposed P35.47 billion budget of the poll body for 2025 under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
"Ang sa amin po we will not absolutely prohibit the use of AI because maayos at maganda naman po yun kapag nagamit talaga nang maayos kaya lang po we would like to prevent misinformation, disinformation and fake news (We won't completely ban the use of AI because, when utilized properly, it's actually beneficial and good. However, we would like to prevent the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news)," he said.
"Doon po sa nilabas naming guidelines we will closely coordinate with different platforms —X, Google, and such other platforms—so that they will be the one, number one to police their own ranks (We will release guidelines and closely collaborate with various platforms like X, Google, and others so that they can take the lead in regulating their own ranks)," he added.
Garcia said that in previous elections, it took months for malicious content, fake news, or misinformation to be removed when they requested it to a specific platform.
"We're hoping that using the guidelines, we can easily on the same day we can easily request the platforms to remove the malicious info or news or fake news at the same time we will endeavor to register the accounts of candidates that they will be using and the same time we will be punishing those who will be guilty or proven to have committed misinformation, disinformation and fake news," he stated.
"This is a work in progress Mr. Chair, this is our first time in our history that we will have this kind of guidelines for the use of AI/deepfakes and such other platforms," he added.
What's clear under Article IV, Section 1 of the resolution is that all election propaganda and campaign materials of candidates and political parties that utilize AI technology shall be required to disclose the fact of its use and appropriate technology is employed to identify its authenticity and legitimate source.
On the other hand, Section 2 states that disclosures or disclaimers, which shall be clear, conspicuous, and not easily removed or altered, must remain visible or audible for a sufficient duration both before and after the campaign material is presented.
Those who fail to comply will be required to explain why a complaint for violation of these guidelines should not be filed against them.
Under Article V, Section 1, Comelec listed a set of prohibited acts that if committed, will constitute an election offense under Section 261 (z) (11) of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).
In terms of regulation, the poll chief said that this should be a whole-of-government or even a whole-of-nation approach. He stated that they will involve the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the various citizen's arms.
"Mayroon po silang participation nakalagay din po doon sa resolusyon (They have a participation under the resolution), not only on the reportorial part but likewise on the investigation part, we will likewise invite all of them," he added.
Online voting
Senator Imee Marcos, who presided over the hearing sought enlightenment regarding Comelec's plan to pursue online voting for Filipinos abroad. She cited Republic Act No. (RA) 10590 which amended RA 9189 entitled "An Act Providing for a System of Overseas Absentee Voting by Qualified Citizens of the Philippines Abroad", stating that the use of other modes of voting, including internet voting, is merely “exploratory.”
She said that under the law, the Comelec is required to submit its recommendation first to the congressional oversight committee and that Comelec, on its own, embark on a new voting system.
“Can we have a legal opinion on this?” the senator asked, adding that the matter could be the subject of a court case.
Garcia said he will submit the en banc resolution containing the legal opinion on why the CcomelecC will be pursuing internet voting.
Asked by Marcos on the agency's contingency plan in case a court would rule to stop internet voting through a temporary restraining order (TRO), Garcia said the Comelec could revert to mail-in or in-person voting.
In a chance interview after the budget hearing, Garcia said their interpretation of the law is that they are authorized to look for an alternative mode for overseas voting as long as they submit a report to Congress.
"Mukhang nakalagay naman po sa batas ay hindi humingi ng permission o approval ng kongreso kundi i-submit ang report sa kongreso. So iyan po ang interpretasyon at iyan po ang aming ginawang resolusyon kaya po tayo magtutuloy-tuloy sa internet voting (It appears that according to the law, there is no need to seek permission or approval from Congress, but rather to submit a report to Congress. So that's our interpretation, and that's the resolution we adopted, which is why we will proceed with internet voting)," he explained.