MANILA Rep. Rodolfo Bacani and former
congressional candidate Manuel "Nonong" Bagatsing, son of former
Manila mayor Ramon Sr., are facing charges of premature
campaigning for failure to remove their posters conveying their
Christmas greetings to this and that barangay even after being
ordered to do so by the Commission on Elections.
If convicted, the two face up to six years in
jail, disenfranchisement, and disqualification from holding
public office.
Bacani is running for mayor of Manila while
Bagatsing’s political plans are not yet clear.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez yesterday
said the poll body found "probable cause" against Bacani and
Bagatsing and the two will be charged at the Manila prosecutor’s
office for violating the Omnibus Election Code.
But Jimenez said the two, especially Bacani,
can still file their certificates of candidacy for the coming
elections as they have not yet been convicted. "But as to how it
will affect their candidacy, if the decision comes out, that we
cannot say yet. We don’t know how long the hearing will last,"
Jimenez said.
Comelec Resolution No. 6520 prohibits the
display of propaganda materials like posters, streamers,
stickers and wall paintings before the election period which is
90 days before Election Day and 30 days after. Anything already
in place must be removed within three days after the candidate
files his COC.
Jimenez said the defense of Bacani and
Bagatsing that they were not the ones who put up the posters is
not the issue but their failure take them down when ordered to
do so.
The Comelec also warned candidates yesterday
that they will monitor their use of the minutes allotted them
for mass media advertisements under the Fair Elections Act. He
said the poll body will use broadcast logs from TV and radio
stations to determine if candidates using mass media plugs have
observed the 120-minute cap on TV advertisements and 180-minute
limit on radio commercials.
"The broadcast logs that we will receive from
the stations will tell us how often, how long, when and where
these political ads were aired," he said.
Jimenez, however, said the poll body is
studying proposals to extend the allowed airtime for political
advertisements on radio and TV. He said they will come out with
a resolution on the matter by next week.
"We will not be reducing the minutes. It will
be a matter of increasing the time limit, whether that would
mean 120 plus so many minutes or changing the scope of the
limitations. Even the law itself allows a little wiggle room so
to speak kasi hindi specified kung ang limitations will apply on
a per station basis or on a different basis."
One proposal, he said, is to make the time
limit apply on a per-station or per-region basis in order to
"level the playing field."
He said past violations of the time limit
have not been punished due to lack of a clear interpretation of
the law.
The Comelec also reminded the candidates that
they have to submit financial statements on their election
expenses 30 days after the elections to enable the Comelec to
check on possible cases of overspending.
Election laws limit a candidate’s expenses to P3 per
registered voter. With some 45 million registered voters this
election year, that would translate to a cap of P135 million on
the election expenses of those running for national positions. –
Gerard Anthony M. Naval
