By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
“Ingat sa biyahe” and other election paraphernalia fill streets and public spaces even though the official campaign period has yet to begin, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) admits it lacks authority to act against these early displays.
Despite voters viewing these as premature campaigning, Comelec-6 director Atty. Dennis Ausan emphasized that candidates cannot be sanctioned for such activities since the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections has not started.
“We see a lot of tarpaulins in various sizes from national and local aspirants, but we cannot do anything,” he said in a press conference.
Ausan noted that Comelec could only address premature campaigning if the law is amended to empower the commission to enforce Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.
Section 80 states that it is unlawful for any person, whether a voter or candidate, to engage in election campaigning or partisan political activity outside the official campaign period.
Ausan highlighted the need to respect the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Penera vs. Comelec.
The Supreme Court, in its decision, clarified that under Section 15 of Republic Act (RA) No. 8436, as amended by RA 9369, a person who files a certificate of candidacy (COC) is only considered a candidate at the start of the official campaign period.
This ruling means that activities conducted before the official campaign period do not qualify as campaigning as defined by law.
“Anything displayed now cannot be considered as campaigning, according to the Supreme Court,” Ausan said.
RA 9369 states that unlawful acts or omissions applicable to candidates, including premature campaigning, only take effect upon the start of the official campaign period.
“Section 80 is there. It was not expressly repealed but was superseded by RA 9369,” Ausan stressed.
The campaign period for national candidates will run from February 11, 2025, to May 10, 2025. For local candidates, it will begin on March 28, 2025, and also end on May 10, 2025.
“It’s not campaigning because when we say campaign, it’s any act done to promote one’s candidacy or defeat another candidate. Since we don’t yet have official candidates until the campaign period starts, there is no premature campaigning,” Ausan explained.
Comelec chairman George Garcia, during the third National Investigative Journalism Conference hosted by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in April, said they would “presume all those who will file their candidacies” as candidates.
He added that once certificates of candidacies are filed, Comelec will apply its policies on premature campaigning.
However, no legal proceedings have been initiated to advance Comelec’s position on early campaigning.
Last October, Garcia expressed hope that the rule stating aspirants will only be considered candidates on the first day of the campaign period would be challenged in court.
Garcia acknowledged there might be issues with the Supreme Court ruling but maintained that Comelec would abide by the Court’s decision.
