11/19/2009
An official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday reminded candidates for both national and local elective posts that they should stop airing their infomercials and any form of publicity promoting themselves or risk getting disqualified because of premature campaigning, a political activity expressly prohibited under the country’s election laws.Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said that “after they (candidates) file their CoCs (certificates of candidacy), they have to refrain from airing infomercials up to the campaign period. Otherwise, they would be charged with premature campaigning and it could result in a disqualification.”
The filing of CoCs is scheduled to start on Nov. 20 until Dec. 1.
This developed as the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Comelec to comment on a petition challenging the validity of the poll body’s rule on mandatory resignation of appointed officials joining next year’s national elections.
SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the SC gave the Comelec five days to submit its answer to arguments raised in a petition filed by lawyer Romulo Macalintal on behalf of two government functionaries who planned to seek elective posts..
On the premature campaigning issue, the poll body considers as a candidate anyone who has already filed his or her CoC. Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) states that election campaign or partisan political activity outside the campaign period shall be unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate, except during the campaign period.
The campaign period for candidates seeking national elective posts starts on Feb. 9, 2010. Candidates for local posts may begin campaigning on March 26, 2010. They all have until May 8, 2010 to promote their candidacies.
There is still one legal hitch to the Comelec rules on premature campaigning, however.
The case of Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte Mayor Rosalinda Penera remains pending at the Supreme Court. But Sarmiento said the SC’s earlier resolution would be in effect. “Our law is still the same (on premature campaigning) unless the Supreme Court comes out with a reverse ruling… that, of course, will change the game,” he said.
Last September, the high tribunal ruled via an 8 to 7 vote that Penera was guilty of premature campaigning when she held a motorcade immediately after filing her CoC for the 2007 mayoral race in her town.
But Penera appealed her case and the high court is expected to issue its final decision on the matter anytime soon.
Premature campaigning is an election offense, offenders are liable for a 1 to 6 years imprisonment and the removal of the right of suffrage.
Meanwhile, Sarmiento said they are looking to issue a separate resolution that would govern the campaigning through the internet.
“We might issue a separate resolution for the internet (campaigning)… as of now, we can only rule on the traditional tri-media only,” he said.
Every politician believed to be running for the May 2010 polls are maintaining their own website or accounts in social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Friendster.
This developed as the SC ordered Comelec to comment on a legal petition challenging the validity of the poll body’s rule on mandatory resignation of appointed officials planning to join next year’s national elections.
SC spokesman Marquez said the SC gave the Comelec five days to submit its answer to arguments raised by the petition of election lawyer Macalintal for Undersecretary Eleazar Quinto and Director Gerino Tolentino of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Macalintal, who has close links with President Arroyo, had asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order against implementation of section 4(a) of Resolution 8678 of the poll body, which provides that any appointive government official “shall be ipso facto (as a result) resigned upon their filing of CoC on or before Nov. 30, 2009 for the 2010 elections.”
The SC did not issue a TRO.
But Macalintal expressed confidence that “after the submission of comment of Comelec, this case may be submitted for resolution already by next week.”
In the 14-page petition filed last Oct. 19, Macalintal argued that the advance filing of CoCs was only provided under Poll Automation Law (R.A. 8436 as amended by R.A. 9369) for the purpose of printing the names of the candidates in the ballots to be used in the automated elections. With Benjamin B. Pulta
Source: http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20091119hed6.html
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