Comelec denies Oplan Baklas invades private premises: We ask permission first

Personnel of Oplan Baklas take down an oversized billboard of a candidate. Image from Comelec / Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities conducting the controversial Oplan Baklas campaign ask permission from private property owners first before entering their premises, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez said Friday.

According to Jimenez, the operation targets “campaign materials that are oversized and posted out of place.”

Oplan Baklas, however, encountered a backlash after certain personnel tore down campaign materials displayed by non-candidates in their private properties without due process.

“As far as far as entering private areas is concerned, it’s always been part of the practice of Comelec to ask for permission — even in the last couple of days when all of this was really blowing up,” Jimenez said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

“What was not being said was that in those cases where they entered into private spaces, the people had asked for permission. We do not go invade private spaces. We do not go invade private residences for the purpose of enforcing our rules. We always ask for permission,” he added.

Jimenez said those who do not want to take down election materials deemed to be “unlawful” due to its size are advised “of what our next moves are going to be.”

“Obviously our next moves are going to be citing them in violation of election rules. Once they get that explanation, some remain adamant and some comply. So that’s all we do,” Jimenez said. “While I understand that there’s been a lot of pushback on what we’ve done, and perhaps there are calls for better rules — and we’re not averse to that, let me just repeat that.”

What the law says

Oplan Baklas gets its mandate from Section 3 of Republic Act No. 9006 which detailed what is considered lawful election propaganda, such as “cloth, paper or cardboard posters, whether framed or posted, with an area not exceeding two feet by three feet.”

Section 9 of the same law further stated that candidates may post any lawful propaganda material “in private places with the consent of the owner thereof, and in public places or property which shall be allocated equitably and impartially among the candidates.”

Meanwhile, Section 7 of Comelec Resolution No. 10730 detailed which are prohibited forms of election propaganda, such posting, displaying or exhibiting “any election campaign or propaganda material outside of authorized common poster areas, in public places, or in private properties without the consent of the owner.”

Nothing new

The legal issues surrounding Oplan Baklas is no longer new.

In 2013, the Diocese of Bacolod caught the ire of Comelec for posting “oversized” tarpaulins identifying senatorial candidates and partylist groups as “Team Patay” or “Team Buhay,” depending on their stand on the reproductive health law.

Two years later, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Diocese of Bacolod saying, “In this case, the size regulation is not unrelated to the suppression of speech.”

“Limiting the maximum sizeof the tarpaulin would render ineffective petitioners’ message and violate their right to exercise freedom of expression,” the Supreme Court said in its ruling.

Arbitrary, unconstitutional

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal earlier said that private property owners who are affected by the “Oplan Baklas” can block poll officers from entering their premises.

Those affected can even file cases, Macalintal said, as Comelec’s actions are supposedly “arbitrary and unconstitutional”.

The camp of presidential candidate Leni Robredo earlier argued that posters put up by private persons on private property are protected by the constitutional right to freedom of speech.

Victor Rodriguez, the spokesperson of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said the commission needs to “strike a balance” in doing its mandate and respecting the freedom of expression.

 EDV