Official campaign period starts today – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The race is on for the 65 senatorial candidates and 155 party-list groups in the May 2025 midterm polls as the 90-day campaign period for national elections officially began at midnight.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia reminded candidates for national and party-list seats to strictly comply with campaign regulations and to show respect by not campaigning during unholy hours.

“Respect for people who are asleep, no campaigning at 2 a.m. or in the wee hours. There’s perfect time and place to campaign,” Garcia said in a radio interview. The campaign period ends on May 10, two days before election day.

There will be a pause in campaigning on April 17, Maundy Thursday, and on April 18, Good Friday.

For the local elections, a 45-day campaign period runs from on March 28 until May 10.

Garcia said candidates are only allowed 120 minutes to air their political campaigns per television station and 180 minutes per radio station during the 90-day campaign period.

For the entire campaign period, Garcia said, candidates with political parties can only spend P3 per registered voter while independent bets can spend P5. Political parties and party-list groups are each allowed to spend P5 per registered voter.

He said the poll body will closely monitor the campaign spending of all candidates who are required to submit statement of contribution and expenditures (SOCE) after the elections.

For the first time, Garcia said, Comelec will be posting the SOCEs of all candidates to allow the public to scrutinize them.

“You will see who donated, how much was spent and how much was left, or if the required taxes on what was left had been paid, or if the donor was allowed under the law to make donation or contribution to a campaign,” Garcia pointed out.

He reiterated that law enforcers are allowed to arrest without warrant anyone caught in the act of attempting or engaging in vote-buying or vote-selling.

The poll body, he said, is also undertaking measures to prevent vote-buying through e-wallet platforms.

In a related development last night, Garcia told The STAR they are unsure what to do if the Supreme Court (SC) hands down another temporary restraining order (TRO) on the disqualification of another nuisance candidate, as over 20 million ballots had already been printed.

“I can’t say anything at this point. I don’t want to preempt the action of our honorable SC,” Garcia said at the 64th founding anniversary of the Philippine Constitution Association in Makati, where he was the guest speaker.

“What is important is that during the first three issuances of the TRO, the Comelec respected the honorable SC and followed the honorable SC because we honestly believe that this is the rule of law and we will maintain that,” he added.

Roughly six million ballots printed in January were shredded after the SC issued TROs preventing candidates from being declared nuisance or disqualified.

Security guaranteed

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has ramped up security preparations as the official campaign period for national candidates and party-list groups begin today.

At a news briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo revealed the launch of a 100-day security plan last week to ensure order and safety during the election period.

“Route and area security will be provided to candidates as they travel across the country,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

She added that additional police personnel would be deployed in key locations, in coordination with candidates and local officials.

The PNP also reaffirmed its support for the Comelec’s “Kontra Bigay” initiative, which aims to curb vote-buying.

In compliance with the Comelec’s “money ban,” the PNP is setting up checkpoints to monitor individuals carrying amounts exceeding P500,000, especially if placed inside individual envelopes, according to Fajardo.

“While legitimate transactions will be allowed, any suspicious activity will be scrutinized,” she said.

To ensure proper conduct of law enforcers at checkpoints, field commanders have been reminded to be courteous and efficient to avoid unnecessary delays for candidates and supporters.

The PNP also urged the public to respect checkpoint protocols, emphasizing that these measures are in place for security purposes.

‘Oplan Katok’

Meanwhile, the PNP is finalizing additional guidelines for “Oplan Katok,” a program targeting loose firearms.

Fajardo said the initiative would only be conducted during office hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., by uniformed officers in coordination with barangay officials.

The PNP is also considering alternative notification methods, such as email or courier services, to minimize concerns about the door-to-door approach.

The challenge, according to Fajardo, is the sheer number of expired gun licenses – over a million – making traditional notification costly and time-consuming.

On deployment, the PNP is maximizing available personnel, particularly in the 403 areas of concern identified by Comelec.

Areas under yellow, orange and red classifications will have increased police presence, supported by units from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

In Region 3, efforts to dismantle private armed groups (PAGs) have made progress, with the surrender of firearms from the Guinto group, the region’s last active PAG.

“The surrendered weapons, including five .45 caliber pistols, a .380 caliber firearm and a shotgun, were turned over to authorities in Nueva Ecija,” Fajardo said.

She described the development as significant as the PNP aims to dismantle all active and potential PAGs before the March 31 deadline set by PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil.

Fajardo said the surrendered firearms would be made to undergo forensic examination and ballistic testing to determine if they had been used for commission of crimes.

“Initial verification showed that none of the weapons were registered in the Firearms and Explosives Office database, classifying them as loose firearms,” she said.

While mere possession of unregistered firearms could lead to criminal charges, Fajardo said the PNP is weighing its options. She said PNP’s priority is to ensure that these weapons are accounted for and not used to coerce or worse during the elections.

President Marcos joins campaign

In Laoag City, President Marcos will start rallying support for his allies gunning for Senate seats as the campaign period begins.

Marcos, whose administration still enjoys high satisfaction ratings based on a latest nationwide poll, will be very visible during the campaign as he will be accompanied by the senatorial ticket of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas in 21 events.

Today’s kickoff rally in Ilocos Norte’s capital is expected to be a show of force by the so-called solid north, an expression of support for an administration rocked by political controversies fanned ironically by its erstwhile allies.

While Marcos is likely to echo once again the need for unity – a theme that reverberated during his successful presidential bid in 2022 – during the maiden sortie of the administration alliance, things are not quite the same.

His running mate in the now defunct UniTeam coalition, Vice President Sara Duterte, and her allies have become fierce critics of his administration and have been posing a challenge to his leadership.

Duterte, who was impeached by the administration-dominated House of Representatives last week, has been accused of corruption, extrajudicial killings and other wrongdoings, but a large number of Filipinos remain satisfied with her performance, based on survey results released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) last month.

While the poll indicated that her satisfaction ratings had dropped, the same was true for Marcos.

A separate SWS poll, nevertheless, showed that 59 percent of Filipinos were satisfied with the Marcos administration in December, a result that the President believes will help sway voters to support his allies in the midterm elections.

‘Powerhouse’

In a statement, the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas described its senatorial candidates as a “powerhouse” slate and “a formidable roster of political heavyweights” that seeks to advance Marcos’ “vision of progress and transformation.”

“This campaign is bigger than politics. It’s about a Bagong Pilipinas – a new Philippines that every Filipino can see, feel and take pride in,” Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, the alliance’s  campaign manager, said.

“We plan to bring the senatorial slate to 21 campaign rallies across the country in conjunction with the provincial schedule of the President,” he added.

The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ senatorial lineup is composed of former interior and local government secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay, Sen. Pia Cayetano, former senator Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Lito Lapid, former senator and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla, former Senate president Tito Sotto, Sen. Francis Tolentino, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo and House Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar.

Sen. Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, said the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) founded by his father will vigorously campaign against candidates deemed not “godly and righteous.”

Villanueva, a son of JIL president-founder Eddie Villanueva, said he strongly supports the creation of a special committee within JIL for the upcoming May 2025 senatorial elections to “advance the cause of God’s kingdom.”

His father represents the CIBAC party-list in the House of Representatives.

“More than anything, maybe it’s important now to talk about that we campaign against, we campaign vocally against those candidates who won’t really help our people. Those candidates who do not have a good track record, those candidates who promote bills that are not acceptable to our culture and our beliefs as true Filipinos,” he said in a speech before followers in the Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide at MOA Arena on Saturday.

He said JIL members from the Middle East, Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia attended the event.

“I wanted to point out that I strongly support that kind of establishment of the executive committee, especially this coming election… I encouraged not only to campaign for godly and righteous candidates who will help for the cause of God’s kingdom but also to propagate God’s word,” said Villanueva.

Calling themselves “Batang Quiapo,” Workers and Peasants Party senatorial candidates Sonny Matula and Sultan Subair Mustapha are set to kick off their senatorial campaign in the bustling district.

Matula and Mustapha are both law graduates of Manuel L. Quezon University in Quiapo. They will start their national campaign with prayers.

Matula will attend a mass at the Quiapo Church while Mustapha and his supporters will pray at the Quiapo Mosque.

Their supporters will link up and start the campaign. They said they will push for the welfare of workers and farmers if elected in the Senate. — EJ Macababbad, Mark Ernest Villeza, Alexis Romero, Jun Elias, Cecille Suerte Felipe