Bawal na umepal! Bill filed vs premature campaigning

By Billy Begas

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel has filed a measure seeking to declare all politicians as “prospective candidates” and prohibiting them from premature campaigning.

Pimentel said those who prematurely campaign would be disqualified from running for or holding public office.

“In the interest of fair play, our bill seeks to restore premature campaigning as an election offense by clearly defining who may be held liable, and when they may be held liable,” Pimentel said.

Under House Bill 9656, prospective candidates shall be banned from ill-timed electioneering 12 months before the official start of campaign period.

“Prospective candidate” shall refer to any person aspiring for any elective public office, whether or not he or she has declared the intention to run in the scheduled elections and subsequently files a certificate of candidacy (COC).

The following act will be deemed as premature campaigning:

– Forming organizations, associations, clubs, committees or other groups of persons for the purpose of soliciting votes and/or undertaking any campaign for or against a candidate;

– Holding political caucuses, conferences, meetings, rallies, parades, or other similar assemblies, for the purpose of soliciting votes and/or undertaking any campaign or propaganda for or against a candidate;

-Making speeches, announcements, commentaries, or holding interviews for or against the election of any candidate for public office;

-Publishing or distributing campaign literature or materials designed to support or oppose the election of any candidate; or

-Directly or indirectly soliciting votes, pledges, or support for or against a candidate.

Pimentel said a person shall be considered as a candidate potentially liable for election offenses upon his or her filing of a Certificate of Candidacy (COC).

For the 2022 elections, the filing of COCs for all elective positions is scheduled from October 1 to 8, 2021 or four months before the February 8, 2022 start of the campaign period for national positions, and five and a half months before the Mach 25, 2022 start of the campaign period for local positions.

At present, a person who has filed his or her COC may be held liable for election offenses only upon the start of the campaign period.

The Omnibus Election Code of 1985 previously prohibited premature electioneering outside the campaign period, and subjected violators to disqualification from candidacy or from holding office.

However, this liability has been abolished by Republic Act 8436 in 1997, which has blanket provision that “unlawful acts or omissions applicable to a candidate shall take effect only upon the start of the campaign period.”

In the 2009 landmark case of Rosalinda V. Penera vs. the Commission on Elections, the Supreme Court affirmed the purging of premature campaigning as an offense when it ruled that a candidate may be liable for violations only upon the start of the campaign period.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)