The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is not about to show some love to the candidates on Thursday, especially those who continue to violate its regulations on campaign materials.
Valentine’s Day marks the last day of the grace period set by the Comelec for candidates to take down all campaign materials that violate size rules or are placed outside common poster areas.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that if these materials were not removed by Thursday, the poll body would document the violations and take legal action against the candidates.
Criminal act
“Once you are given notice to remove these materials, and are aware of the presence of these violative materials, and you still didn’t take them down, then the law can presume that you are taking advantage of the criminal act. You are just as responsible as the one who did it,” he said.
Jimenez said the Comelec observed “a lot of violations” involving oversized materials when the 90-day campaign period kicked off on Tuesday.
The poll body also reminded candidates to be mindful of their expenses during the campaign period. It said that the cost of campaign propaganda, including donated posters, would be computed to determine if their expenses were within the allowed spending limit.
Under Republic Act No. 9006, or the Fair Elections Act, candidates are allowed to spend only P3 per voter. —Jovic Yee