Saturday, July 26, 2008 Plea to sack politicians in ‘premature campaigning’ junked
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday dismissed the petition lodged by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago asking to punish politicians that are now appearing in various commercial ads as this could be considered premature campaigning.
In a resolution penned by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo, the en banc asserted that there is nothing in the Omnibus Election Code that prevents anybody from appearing in any product commercials.
“For this Commission to simply disregard the legal provision is tantamount to repealing it, which authority is reserved only to the legislature,” the resolution stated.
It further added “the Commission recognizes that there is a need to quell the less than noble practices complained of by the petitioner. However, as the law stands, these practices cannot be restrained or punished."
The Commission further said change must originate from the legislature.
The lawmaker filed a petition with the Comelec, asking to investigate the alleged election offense of premature campaigning committed by some senators and other government officials that are positioning for the 2010 elections.
Some of those who have been seen endorsing products through TV advertisements and giant billboards include Vice President Noli de Castro; Senate President Manuel Villar Jr.; Senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Manuel Roxas III, Richard Gordon and Francis Escudero; and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando.
In her petition, Santiago cited Article 9 of the Constitution stating that it is an election offense for any person to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity outside the campaign period.
However, Section 79 of the Omnibus Election Code states that an individual may only be considered a candidate if he or she has already filed a certificate if candidacy before the commission.
According to the election body, appearing in product or campaign commercials is all part of the freedom of expression as mandated in the Constitution. (MSN/Sunnex)
