Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9) — Getting accreditation to cover the President's events is now much easier.

In its Department Order 15 released today, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will grant accreditation to bloggers and social media practitioners to cover special events attended by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The order will allow Filipino citizens at least 18 years old to cover for free, but requires them to have not less than 5,000 followers on their social media platforms.

According to the order, the purpose of granting interim accreditation is to "generate news and information for the citizenry through social media platforms".

Applications sent through the PCOO website will be reviewed by the PCOO's Social Media Office and are still subject to clearance by the Presidential Security Group.

The accreditation may be cancelled if the blogger is found guilty of abuse of rights and privileges.

The Social Media Office will conduct a test run of the interim order for a period of six months upon its effectivity.