MANILA, Philippines – The presidency is just tweets away.

The head of web portal Yehey! Corp. Donald Lim believes cyberspace can be a game changer in the presidential elections in the Philippines.

In an interview on ANC’s ‘Media in Focus’ anchored by Maria Ressa, Lim said the success of US President Barack Obama’s online campaign can be replicated here. Obama’s use of the Internet to mobilize supporters and to raise funds was key to his historic victory in 2008.

“[In the Philippines,] what we are seeing now is the Internet is a very powerful platform to engage an influential group and this influential group can create a lot of ripples through the masa,” said Lim.

With 28 million Filipinos online, 18 million of voting age, Lim said the number is enough to “swing a presidency.” He said though that candidates have to do more than put up websites and ads, and open accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Friendster and Multiply.

“The very essence of the Internet is interactivity and personalization. If in the blog or Facebook profile of Manny Villar for example, you say 'Manny Villar is going to this city.' That doesn't work. It has to be very personalized that's why people add you.”

Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez agreed that the world wide web is redefining political campaigns but said the Comelec is not keen on regulating it like traditional media.

“We know regulation is necessary at some point because the Internet has a potential to be a ‘money dump’ ... but we don’t see it as very feasible.”

Pushing parameters of ‘cyber-decency’

‘Media in Focus’ also examined Internet users’ growing power to express and to criticize.

The show revisited the scandal involving Australian blogger Brian Gorrell. In 2008, Gorrell claimed in his blog  that his former boyfriend, Filipino DJ Montano, swindled him out of $70,000.

Gorrell’s blog seemed to be a tell-all expose, full of drugs, betrayal and high-society cover-ups. A newspaper said the so-called Gucci Gang controversy “made ‘Gossip Girl’ look like a Disney musical.”

In a phone interview from Canada, Gorrell said he succeeded in publicizing his story but admitted that he went over the line.

“I sort of lost focus because the blog did become so big and it expanded so rapidly that in order to procure content for the blog, I had to push my parameters of ‘cyber-decency.’"

BRIAN GORRELL

Gorrell however said he is grateful to the Philippines for lessons that made him a better person.

“I was on the radio, on television, on computer, I seemed to be everywhere. And the lesson I learned is that if you can’t control the message that you’re putting out there, then you should refrain from putting it out there in the first place.”

New libel suit

A new online controversy has led to a libel suit.

The National Bureau of Investigation filed a libel case against a blogger known as ‘Ella’ for accusing government of incompetence in distributing relief goods in the wake of storms Ondoy and Pepeng. The case was filed upon the request of former DSWD Sec. Esperanza Cabral.

Lawyer Marichu Lambino, assistant professor at the UP College of Mass Communication, believes the case will not prosper.

“How can you establish certain factual allegations in your complaint if you don’t know who this person is? How can you say she wasn’t there if you failed to establish who she is?”

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Mong Palatino and Rock Ed Philippines’ Gang Badoy said the issue would have been resolved by a dialogue. Badoy volunteered to help the DSWD after reading Ella’s blog.

Palatino, who is also a blogger, said self-regulation is enough to hold bloggers accountable. For Badoy, laws should define the parameters of a personal blog.

“Is a blog the same as a diary under your bed? Many people treat it that way but it’s on the world wide web. It's so easy for the source to claim it's my opinion and they think they're scot-free? We can't go that way either.”

Catch ‘Media in Focus’ on ANC on Saturdays at 9 pm, Sundays at 6 pm and Tuesdays at 10:30 pm.