Comelec may ease campaign health rules

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is open to reviewing its stringent rules for in-person campaigning in light of complaints from candidates and the prospect of further downgrade of pandemic alert levels.

At a hybrid press conference yesterday, Comelec acting chair Commissioner Socorro Inting said the poll body is fully aware of the complaints and emphasized that the guidelines were drafted when the country was still under Alert Level 3.

“When we adopted our rules, the alert level was still at number three from Alert Level 2. Now, there is a possibility that we will be downgraded to Alert Level 1,” Inting said. “So maybe we will review our rules soon for the campaign to be consistent with the alert level.”

Several candidates have complained about the Comelec’s Resolution Nos. 10730 and 10732, which prohibit candidates from shaking hands, hugging, kissing, going arm-in-arm and having selfies taken with their supporters, in line with COVID health safety protocols.

The resolution also requires candidates to secure a permit from the Comelec Campaign Committee (CCC) before applying for a mayor’s permit for their campaign activities. The Comelec permit must be secured within 72 hours to ensure that the event will not be a COVID-19 super spreader.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez explained that the guidelines were meant to ensure the safety of both the candidates and the public as the nation continues to suffer the effects of the pandemic.

At yesterday’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay virtual media forum, election lawyer George Garcia expressed “serious doubts” over the legality of the provisions under the resolution.

Garcia emphasized that there is no specific provision under the Omnibus Election Code that would punish those who violate the resolution.

In his view, certain guidelines could even entice corruption, especially when a political party or a candidate who needs to beat the 72-hour deadline for securing a permit to campaign could resort to bribing CCC personnel.

“At this point, I’m giving the Commission the benefit of the doubt,” Garcia said in Filipino. “There might be wisdom in what they’re saying, but I want to be practical and realistic about it.”

At the same forum, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal also questioned the Comelec’s authority to issue a permit for candidates who wish to hold campaign activities since the poll body has no jurisdiction over health protocols against COVID-19.

Macalintal said that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is the agency tasked to issue COVID-19 protocols.

Macalintal said the Comelec resolution is a violation of the law. “I think this is a violation of the law itself because it is said in the Omnibus Election Code, it is very clear that if the candidates want to conduct a rally what they only have to do is to apply a permit from the mayor’s office. So, there is no interference whatsoever from the Comelec,” he said.

He said that even under Batas Pambansa 880, the Public Assembly Act, it is very clear that only the mayor can issue the permit without any intervention from the Comelec.

For former Comelec commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, the poll body must re-evaluate and improve the resolution.

“I think that has to be revisited and re-evaluated. The best step that can be taken is to write the Comelec to ask them to re-examine it, point out what are the possible errors and operational challenges so they might be able to come out with an amended set of guidelines for campaigning,” Larrazabal told the Kapihan.

He said that the Comelec could also face challenges when the campaign period for local positions starts on March 25 as it would mean that most of the CCC employees would be doing nothing except processing the application permits for campaign activities.

He added that the Comelec resolution could also be used as a tool for political harassment against a candidate, which is something it needs to review.

Complaint from Leni supporters

Supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo called out the Comelec yesterday, following the removal of volunteer campaign materials inside private properties.

Several photos and videos surfaced on social media showing authorities removing materials that supposedly violated Comelec rules on poster sizes, including those in the campaign volunteer headquarters in Quezon City.

But Robredo’s spokesman, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, said posters put up by private persons on private property are protected by the constitutional right to freedom of speech.

“Even Comelec Resolution 10730 limits any removals only to materials produced by candidates or parties. This right of private citizens must be respected,” he added.

Earlier, Robredo’s supporters in Zamboanga City also wrote to the local Comelec office, asking the poll body to cease and desist from removing volunteer-funded campaign materials.

It cited the Supreme Court decision on the case against the Diocese of Bacolod, in which it ruled that the Comelec “had no legal basis to regulate expressions made by private citizens.”

“There is yet no law that grants the Comelec the authority to regulate election paraphernalia that contain declarative speech of non-candidates principally endorsing a candidate,” the demand letter read.

Robredo’s supporters said the Comelec local office exceeded its authority when it took down, confiscated and destroyed some of what it deemed as oversized tarpaulins and posters that were put up by non-candidates.

They said the acts done by the Comelec “qualify as trespassing and theft, which are crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code.”

The Comelec has yet to issue a statement regarding the matter, but Jimenez – who led “Operation Baklas” yesterday – said they took down campaign materials that go beyond the required size and location of posting.

“The size, we’re enforcing as to locations of posting. They voluntarily took them down, but of course there are still a few stragglers, a few remaining materials that are still posted illegally that we would take down,” he said.

Comelec NCR director Jovencio Balanquit said it was a good sign that owners of illegally posted campaign materials complied with the notices issued by the poll body and voluntarily took them down.

But Macalintal reminded the Comelec that it has no power to take down campaign materials posted by private individuals on their private properties even if those materials do not comply with the prescribed size without notice and hearing.

“The said campaign materials are properties of the owners and they cannot be deprived of their constitutional right to use it without due process,” said Macalintal, who was Robredo’s legal counsel in the election protest filed against her by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over the results of the vice presidential race in 2016.

Ferolino’s assurance

Yesterday, Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino assured the public that the poll body’s integrity and the credibility of the May 9 elections are intact.

Ferolino told reporters that issues hounding the Comelec in recent weeks were confined to certain commissioners – apparently referring to the rift between her and retired commissioner Rowena Guanzon over the First Division’s delay in the release of the decision to dismiss the consolidated petition to disqualify Marcos as a presidential candidate.

“I think these issues which cropped up during the past days are just to some of the people and not the commission as a whole,” Ferolino said. “I think that rough patch, that minor issue will not affect the credibility of the commission as a whole and whatever the results will be are not dependent on a few people. We have machines which remain impartial.”

What is important right now, she said, is that “people on the ground” will continue to do their “job without bias.”

Ferolino was the ponente in the consolidated disqualification cases against Marcos, while Guanzon was the presiding commissioner of the First Division whose dissenting opinion in the cases was invalidated by virtue of her retirement on Feb. 3, ahead of the promulgation that came out on Feb. 10.

Commissioner Marlon Casquejo voted the same as Ferolino, denying the petition against Marcos.

Suspicious transactions

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reminded banks and other financial institutions to report suspicious transactions as the country prepares for this year’s elections, an event seen to cause an influx of financial transactions.

AMLC executive director Mel Georgie Racela said all banks and electronic money issuers are required to have an electronic monitoring system and should check if there are “red flags” in the transactions of their customers.

The red flags enumerated by the AMLC are significant or large transactions occurring in a short period of time; unjustified large cash deposits and withdrawals; transactions that seem to be inconsistent with the customer’s financial profile or declared business; unusual transactions or activities compared with normal everyday trade or dealings; structured cash deposits and money transfers; use of multiple accounts by a single transactor; use of several money service businesses to send funds.

“Our advisory was issued in anticipation of the influx of digital transactions or financial transactions during the election period...If there are circumstances that warrant the filing of suspicious transaction reports in relation to vote buying and vote selling, they should file the STR,” Racela said. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Janvic Mateo, Alexis Romero