Comelec warns vigilant public against taking down illegal campaign materials
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2019 09:34:22 +0000
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned the public against taking down illegal campaign materials all by themselves for safety reasons.
“I don’t recommend taking down these [illegal campaign] materials yourself – safety first,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said over the weekend.
He said supporters of a particular candidate who violated election campaign material rules may attack or harm them while doing their patriotic duty without the assistance of authorities.
Jimenez said that one can help by either properly reporting the violations to the Comelec hotline or by furnishing a picture of the violators through its social media account.
He also said that the rule on campaign materials was applicable only to national candidates or to senators and party-list organizations.
As for local candidates, Jimenez said, the Comelec may only impose its rules starting on March 29 when the campaign period for local candidates begins.
“However, we advise the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), the LGUs (local government units), and other agencies that they can take down these [illegal campaign materials of local candidates] if they impact on their respective jurisdictions, like road safety for MMDA and local ordinances for LGUS, among others,” he said.
The 90-day campaign period for national candidates started on February 12 while the 45-day campaign period for local candidates will start on March 29.
During the campaign period, posters and printed materials are limited to a maximum of 2×3 feet, which means that any size above that is in violation of campaign rules and punishable, among other things, by disqualification.
Campaign materials can be posted in designated campaign areas, which will be defined by the local election officer based on the guidelines that will be issued by the Comelec central office. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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