MANILA, Philippines?Dolphy, Kris Aquino and Willie Revillame will have to go on leave from their television shows if they continue to endorse candidates, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said Wednesday.

The PPCRV said the Fair Election Act made it mandatory for actors, columnists and other mass media personalities endorsing candidates to resign or take a leave from their TV shows or media outfits during the campaign period.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was prepared to implement this provision of the law.

The Comelec will ask media personalities who are campaigning for a politician to take a leave from work, or compel their employers to make them take some time off, according to the poll body?s law department director, Ferdinand Rafanan.

Asked if being an endorser was equivalent to working for a candidate, Rafanan said ?endorsing is campaigning.?

Section 6 (6.6) of the Fair Election Act or Republic Act No. 9006 states: ?Any mass media columnist, commentator, announcer, reporter, on-air correspondent or personality who is a candidate for any elective public office or is a campaign volunteer for or employed or retained in any capacity by any candidate or political party shall be deemed resigned, if so required by their employer, or shall take a leave of absence from his/her work as such during the campaign period.?

The Comelec essentially repeated the same provision in its Feb. 4 resolution that provided the implementing rules of RA 9006.

The provision is intended to prevent any candidate from benefiting unduly from the exposure of the media personality endorsing him or her.

In effect next week

PPCRV lawyer Howard Calleja Wednesday said that since the Comelec?s resolution implementing RA 9006 was promulgated only recently, the law would be in effect by next week.

Violation of the Fair Election Act is punishable by one to six years? imprisonment.

Calleja called attention to this requirement of the Fair Election Act, saying he was just reminding media personalities that they have to abide by it by leaving their shows or media outfits.

?They?re saying they want change, so they should follow the law. They should not ask for an exception,? Calleja said.

Staple in campaigns

Celebrities have become a staple in campaigns, with aspiring public officials using their endorsements to boost their name. Some even say that support from actors was the secret weapon of victorious candidates.

The two leading contenders for the presidency, Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Villar, have tapped many popular actors for their campaign.

Aquino?s first TV commercial featured a bevy of TV stars from the top two networks, including his sister, TV host Kris Aquino.

One of Villar?s popular advertisements featured comedy king Dolphy. Villar has also tapped TV host Willie Revillame and popular singer-actress Sarah Geronimo to endorse him.

Stop airing shows

The media outfit also has to stop airing the shows of the entertainer, or the column of the columnist, according to Calleja.

He added that media personalities and actors could also not claim that they had shot the endorsement commercial before the campaign period began, because the advertisement could still be aired in rallies or uploaded on the Internet, and thus could still be used to boost a candidate?s profile.

At the Philippine Daily Inquirer?s presidential forum last Monday, Sen. Jamby Madrigal took a jab at Villar?s heavy use of celebrities. Reminded that she, too, used Judy Ann Santos to win a Senate seat in 2004, her comeback was quick: ?I have seen the folly of my ways. I?ll not do it again.?