JUST days before the start of the campaign period for local candidates in the May 12 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday reminded aspirants to start taking down their unlawful campaign materials.
The campaign period for local candidates will start on Friday, March 28, and run until May 10.
In an interview, Comelec chairman George Garcia reiterated that the poll body will not allow misplaced, oversized, or non-environment-friendly campaign material.
“Come March 28, be it national or local candidates, we will already have jurisdiction to remove their campaign materials. Our advise: take them down now. Otherwise, we will take them down immediately,” Garcia said.
He said the poll body will issue show case orders against candidates who will not remove their illegal campaign materials.
Under Comelec Resolution No. 11086, all prohibited forms of election propaganda shall be immediately removed, or caused to be removed, by candidates or political parties “at least 72 hours” before the start of the campaign period.
Garcia also called on local candidates to teach and train their personnel tasked to put up their campaign materials about the poll body’s rules on where these can and cannot be placed.
“Let us train our personnel tasked for your ‘Operation Kabit’. Let us educate them on where they should and shouldn’t place the campaign materials,” he said.
He also reminded campaign teams to be respectful when conducting their campaign activities.
“If the area already has a campaign poster of another candidate, let us respect that. Don’t put yours on top of it. We can avoid having these conflicts if we have respect for one another,” he said.
The Comelec has repeatedly stated that they expect the local campaign activities to be more intense compared to the campaign of national candidates.
Meanwhile, the Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan) yesterday appealed to the Comelec to probe the alleged red tagging and harassment of their candidates for senator and party-list representatives in the May 12 polls.
In a letter addressed to Garcia, the group asked the poll body to take action on the multiple incidents of harassment, red tagging, and other incidents in violation of campaign rules.
“Makabayan candidates, campaign teams, and volunteers have faced several incidents of harassment, red tagging, and other incidents that we believe violates the Fair Elections Guidelines of the Comelec for this election period,” it said.
“We have documented black propaganda, hateful and red-tagging messages to our candidates, deepfake Al-generated videos and photos, and forceful attempts to prevent our candidates and supporters in holding campaign sorties and house-to-house campaigning,” it added.
The coalition also accused members of the AFP and the PNP as allegedly being part of the harassment and red tagging activities.
“These incidents include negative campaigning, disinformation, and abuse of state resources by elements of the AFP and PNP,” it said, citing as an example social media posts and direct messages supposedly red-tagging Kabataan party-list nominee John Peter Angelo Garcia and another incident red-tagging and harassing Gabriela Women’s nominee Miriam Villanueva via direct messages to her mobile number allegedly by the AFP’s 2nd Infantry Division.
It also claimed incidents of harassment, surveillance, and forceful attempt to stop the campaign sorties of their candidates, their campaign teams, and supporters in Brgy. Mainit, Brooke’s Point in Palawan.
It likewise complained about the supposed removal, defamation, and destruction of Makabayan campaign posters and paraphernalia in various parts of Calabarzon.
Garcia said the poll body shall immediately take action on Makabayan’s letter in accordance with the anti-discriminatory campaign policy that the Comelec is implementing for the forthcoming elections.
“We agree that it would be very hard to campaign when you are being discriminated. Be it due to your gender, religion, disability, or being a member of a particular group,” he said.
“We will not allow this to continue. The Commission will immediately investigate this matter through our Task Force Safe,” he added.
