AS far as the Commission on Elections is concerned, premature campaigning, despite costing millions of pesos, is not illegal and is not covered by election laws.
In a televised public briefing, Comelec-Education and Information Department Director Elaiza David said there are no violations being committed by the aspirants since they were not yet considered candidates when the propaganda materials came out.
“There is no premature campaigning. Any expenses spent prior to the campaign period are not included,” said David.
She said the poll body has no official data on such expenditures since political aspirants are not required to report them.
“The reporting only happens at the end of the campaign period. We have no such data,” said David.
In a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), leading political aspirants have spent millions of pesos even before the start of the campaign period today, Tuesday.
Presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson was found to have the most expenses for premature campaign ads — P915.30 million — from January to December 2021.
Lacson was followed by fellow presidential bet Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, whose camp aired ads worth P735.44 million during the same period.
Under the Poll Automation Law, “any person who files his certificate of candidacy shall only be considered as a candidate at the start of the campaign period,” and that “unlawful acts applicable to a candidate shall be in effect only upon the start of the campaign period.”
This provision was affirmed by the 2009 Supreme Court case of Penera vs. Comelec, which paved the way for the removal of premature campaigning as an election offense.
Meanwhile, the first round of the presidential and vice-presidential debates is set to be pushed back to early March, the Comelec said.
In a televised public briefing, Comelec-Education and Information Department Director Elaiza David said instead of the last week of February, the debates may be held instead in the first week of March.
David explained they are still in the process of preparing for the planned debate series.
“Please give us more time for the preparations. We are continuously working and planning,” David said, adding they are still waiting for the approval of the Commission en banc regarding the guidelines for the debates.
“We had the guidelines submitted to the en banc. Hopefully, it will be approved this week,” said David.
The poll body had earlier announced that it would hold two debates every month, from February to April. Unlike in the 2016 elections, the Comelec will solely organize the electoral debates, which will be held in separate venues in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
