THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday cleared Pulse Asia from allegations of violating the ban on the release of its latest pre-electoral survey, saying the prohibition had been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
In a brief statement, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the ban, under Republic Act 9006, has been struck down by the Supreme Court (SC) back in 2001.
“It was already declared unconstitutional in the case of SWS vs Comelec,” said Garcia.
This was seconded by Comelec spokesman James Jimenez in a social media post.
“The provision being cited — Sec. 5.4 of RA 9006 — was struck down by the Supreme Court for being unconstitutional,” said Jimenez.
The Comelec issued the statement after retired Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon claimed that Pulse Asia violated provisions of RA 9006 when it released its April 16 to 21 survey results last Monday.
“Pulse Asia violated the Fair Elections Act. It published a survey less than 15 days before May 9. Sue them!” Guanzon said in a social media post.
The post, dated May 3, 2022 at 8:03 a.m., has since been deleted.
Under Section 5.4 of RA 9006, “surveys affecting national candidates shall not be published 15 days before an election, and surveys affecting local candidates shall not be published seven 7 days before an election.”
