QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar assured that the accreditation of social media practitioners or bloggers will not be influenced by politics.
“Kapag sila po ay nag-apply, whether pro-Digong, whether dilaw ka or whether wala kang kinakampihan, apolitical or talagang as in observer ka lang ng politika, you are all welcome … at tingnan natin kung yung mga past blogs at write-ups mo are really consistent and until now you’re also consistent. So wala po tayong pinipiling political color, political leaning,” Andanar said.
Andanar said that what is only required is consistency in the blogger’s write-up regarding the President.
Andanar also said that the bloggers still need to secure approval from the Presidential Security Group before covering the President.
“If you want to cover another event then you will have to apply for another accreditation, hindi tulad sa MPC na you just apply once and you can cover all as long as hindi private time ng Presidente,” he said.
The accreditation of the bloggers is distinct from that of journalists and they are separate from the Malacañang Press Corps.
“Bloggers or the social media practitioners are given accreditation not as journalists, not as members of mainstream media and not as Malacañang Press Corps,” Andanar said.
“Again, they are not there as journalists. We regard the journalists as professionals, but we will encourage them to observe journalism ethics,” he added.