MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon clarified on Sunday that the list of campaign poster violators posted on her Twitter account only covered those residing in Metro Manila.
According to Guanzon, candidates included in the list were only the ones living in National Capital Region, and does not cover those outside Metro Manila.
“Nagnotify po ang mga election officers sa kanila sa Metro Manila, nagpadala po ng notices sa mga kandidato na may illegal poster,” Guanzon said in an interview with dzBB.
“Sa Metro Manila lang ‘yung listahan. E nagalit ‘yung iba. Bakit daw wala si ganun, wala si ganyan. ‘Yung mga address ng mga ‘yan sa Roxas City, address sa Davao, address sa Bacolod, maghintay lang po kayo kasi talagang namang padadalhan sila ng notice,” Guanzon added.
The clarification of the Comelec official came after public outburst questioning the non-inclusion of other senatorial bets in the list.
READ: Comelec names 40 candidates with illegal campaign posters
Guanzon further explained that it was the regional director who issued the notices against the candidates in the list.
“‘Yung mag-i-issue ng notice, Metro Manila director. Wala ‘yun sa jurisdiction niya…Inuna namin ‘yung Metro Manila pero nationwide ‘yung election officer ay nagbabaklas at nagsasagawa ng notice. Huwag kayong mag-aalala,” Guanzon said.
Under Comelec Resolution 10488, which serves as implementing rules and regulations of the Fair Elections Act, parties and candidates are only allowed to put up their campaign materials in authorized common poster areas.
Common areas are those in public markets and parks. Footbridges, trees, and electric posts are not considered as common areas. /je