SolGen urges Comelec to junk MOA with Rappler or face court case

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to rescind the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the poll body and news website Rappler on providing election-related information on the May 2022 polls or face a court case.

Calida, in a statement, claimed that the MOA unlawfully gives Rappler, a foreign entity, access to confidential data on registered voters and the power to decide the election.

"The MOA's provisions are also problematic for encroaching the Comelec's power and rights. Rappler's history of disseminating unverified and sometimes, false claims also render it unfit for fundamental purpose envisioned under the MOA," the Solicitor General argued further.

"The OSG, as its (Comelec's) statutory counsel, has urged the Comelec to rescind the MOA within five days or until March 4. Otherwise, the OSG, as People's lawyer, may have to file the necessary case in court to declare the nullity of MOA by March 7."

Rappler countered that it was Calida's claims which were fraught with falsehoods, innuendo, and hallucinations because Comelec had similar partnerships with other media organizations.

"The MOA signed by Comelec with Rappler is simply about helping the poll body disseminate truthful information to voters and ensure transparent elections. Rappler has been partners with the poll body since the 2013 national and local elections," Rappler said.

"So Calida hallucinates when he says this is tantamount to Comelec sharing 'power' with Rappler and allowing its civic engagement arm, Move.PH, to 'decide on all questions affecting elections.' This claim reads like the column and social posts of the lobbyists of a presidential bet," Rappler added.

In closing, Rappler thanked the Comelec for engaging the media in the crucial political exercise in May.

For its part, the Comelec said that Rappler's alleged foreign ownership was still a matter pending with the courts and the Comelec was not the proper venue to decide on this.

"As far as the Comelec is concerned... hindi pa tapos ang kaso, right? Status quo pa yan. So if they are able to operate now, why should they not be considered a legitimate news organization?" asked Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in Tina Panganiban-Perez's 24 Oras report.

Jimenez maintained that Comelec's MOA with Rappler was no different from its undertakings with other media entities aimed at providing factual information to voters for the May 2022 polls.

"Rappler was not given any special treatment," he emphasized.

"The purpose of the memorandum of agreement is to ensure that there exits a free flow of information from the Comelec to the news organizations. Again, this free flow of information is available to all networks," said the Comelec spokesperson. — DVM, GMA News