Andanar signs department order for social media practitioner accreditation

Mocha Uson is tasked to screen applicants for accreditation of bloggers. (File photo by JOAN BONDOC / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar has signed an interim  policy for accrediting bloggers who want to cover the events of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Andanar signed on August 8  department order no. 15 entitled “Interim Social Media Practitioner Accreditation.”

“In the interest of recognizing emergiung communication platforms and harnessing the full potential of social media tools in pursuit of the PCOO’s mandate to engage the citizenry in order to enrich the quality of discourse on matters of national governance, an interim/provisional social media practitioner accreditation is established,” the DO read.

The DO said social media accreditation shall be issued to a Filipino citizen who is at least eighteen 18 years of age and has at least  five thousand followers in any social media platform.

Social media practitioners who want to cover the  events of the President may apply at the Social Media Office (SMO)  at the New Executive Building in Malacañang.

The SMO, which would be headed by Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, was created under DO 13 on July 14.

Social media was described in the EO as “a person that maintains a publicly-accessible social media page, blog, or website, which generates content and whose principal advocacy is the regular dissemination of original news and/or opinion of interest.”

The DO said accreditation to social media practitioners would be given on a per event basis only unless specified by the PCOO.

It said, however, that accreditation would also be subjected to clearance from the Presidential Security Group.

Once completed and in accordance with the guidelines under the DO, the Social Media Office will review and consider the application within three working days.

It said accreditation given to a social media practitioner may be withdrawn, canceled, or suspended due to “improper use.”