DESPITE its warnings against premature campaigning, the Commission on Elections admits it can do nothing about politicians who appear in infomercials before they file their certificates of candidacy.
The logic is simple yet confounding.
Before filing their certificates of candidacy, the politicians are private citizens who may do as they wish without answering to the commission. It is only after they become candidates, with the act of their filing, that the commission gains jurisdiction over their actions.
The problem with this interpretation is that it runs counter to the intent of Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code, which is very clear in its prohibition of early campaigning.
The section reads: “It shall be unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate, or for any party, or association of persons, to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity except during the campaign period: Provided, that political parties may hold political conventions or meetings to nominate their official candidates within 30 days before the commencement of the campaign period and 45 days for presidential and vice-presidential election.”
The operative phrase in response to the Comelec’s position is “any person, whether or not a voter or candidate.”
Under Comelec rules, the campaign period for candidates running for president, vice president, senator and party-list representatives is from Feb. 9, 2010 to May 8, 2010. For local elective positions, it is March 26 to May 8, 2010.
A strict interpretation of Section 80 would mean any campaigning by anyone—not just a candidate—before or after these periods is illegal.
Once this is clear in our minds, all that’s left to do is to determine what constitutes campaigning. This is certainly something the Comelec can do, and it should start with all these infomercials that skirt the law.
